By Ethan Nahté
The Grand Illusion Theatre at Mena Mountain Resort is proud to announce the cast for their next production “No Opera at the Op’ry House Tonight or Too Good to Be True,” a full-length melodrama published in 1972 and written by Tim Kelly.
The co-directors for the production are Scotty Jenkins and John Puddington. Jenkins said, “This is the first time a melodrama has been done in the round in Mena. We’ve got the cast together and we’ve started rehearsals.”
The cast of characters and the actors: Betty, Tia Moe; Billy, Tim Hesse; Big Gulch, Mike Moe; Claude Hopper, John Puddington; Alma Pumpernickle, Angel Moe; Wolfgang von Wolfpack, Mike Rohland; Lily Liverspot, Jeanie Bunyard; Madame Violetta, Denni Longoria; Cindy Lou, Deborah Schump; Cap’n Alkali, Scotty Jenkins; Woman in Shawl, Jan Rohland.
Kelly, who was prolific and wrote over 300 plays, is a playwright that Jenkins is familiar with. “We did one of his shows several years ago at the Ouachita Little Theatre called ‘Murder in the Magnolias,’ which is primarily sketch comedy put together in the form of a play.
“This has really big characters in it. There’s a villain who has to call in a notorious con (person) to help hatch his plan for what he wants to do. A melodrama is interactive for the audience. They can boo and hiss at the villain. We’re going to provide popcorn so they can throw it at him.”
There will actually be popcorn to purchase for eating, but they ask that that popcorn is not thrown as the oily or buttery bits can cause someone to slip and fall onstage.
“There’s the fair maiden in distress,” Jenkins said. “It’s reminiscent of Rocky and Bullwinkle with Boris and Natasha, or Dudley Do-Right, especially with Snidely Whiplash.
“Our group’s a little bit different in how we operate. A normal theater holds auditions and picks from those people. We’ve got a core group that have been together.”
The person cast for a particular role may not necessarily match what one would envision.
“We did get a couple of younger actors to come in. The woman who is playing my daughter is my age,” Jenkins said with a laugh. As a reference, Jenkins first began acting onstage in 1968. “We take the literary license and kind of broadcast it. The theater is about the illusion, anyway, of what you’re doing. We try to make believe we’re older or younger than we are.”
In case younger readers believe this would be a play meant for their parents or grandparents, the plot brings to mind the dastardly Count Olaf in “Lemony Snicket” attempting to marry Violet Baudelaire for her fortune.
The play has some offstage singing as part of the plot, but this is not an actual opera or musical. Jenkins said, “It tells a story of a young woman who comes into an inheritance. This is a traveling opera group based in the late 1800’s in a place called Desert Rat, Arizona. It’s the Salami Opera Company. The villain has followed them around to their last three towns, setting up a familiarity with this girl. He’s going to try and marry her to get her goldmine she owns in the Yukon.”
There is much more to the plot and the subplots, as well as drama queens and bizarre characters.
“It’s a really fun play. It’s like a great actor trying to portray a bad actor. The characters are bigger than life.”
The play runs July 12, 13, 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m., and a Sunday matinee on July 21 at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $9 for adults and $5 for students, including college (must present valid I.D.), and 9 and under is free.
They’re promoting a brown bag and bottle. You bring your own food and drink. Alcohol can be brought in as long as it’s not sold.
[Rileigh Husted contributed to this article.]
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