Melodrama In Excelsior Springs! (Boo! Hiss! Yay!)

I hadn't experienced old-fashioned melodrama...well, of the staged kind, anyway...since the old days of working on the Showboat Becky Thatcher in Marietta, Ohio. Long about a decade and some change ago, the Becky would host a thriving restaurant and lounge scene on its upper decks while below deck featured a theatre hosting nostalgic and interactive shows where the stalwart hero would rescue the damsel-in-distress from the mustachioed villain while the audience would boo and cheer at the appropriate moments. Female performers from the show would stroll through the dining room carrying ruffled parasols in long gowns and elaborate hats and pose for pictures while barbershop quartets crooned in another corner of the room. One day, I'll write a post dedicated to the dear, departed Becky. This memory, however, was triggered by attending the melodrama Peril In Pointsville put on by the Excelsior Springs Community Theatre's own Slightly Off Broadway Players.

We first met Kiko and Deb, our "playdates" so to speak, for fortification at Ventana Cafe. Our buddy and Ventana owner Wendy took her usual great care with us and we dug our grub: Keith got the Spinach Salad, Deb had the Steak Salad and I went with the special: Cajun Whitefish done Scampi style...yum. I enjoyed mine with a frosty mug of Buffalo Sweat. We also dug into some classic Ventana desserts: homemade caramel-pecan cheesecake and banana bread pudding included. We also saw our friend Troy there who also happened to be the lead actor in the evening's production.

We made our way across the street after dinner to the way-cool venue for the community theatre. It's set in an old church and features not only a main theater with a great stage and balcony but one of the coolest bathrooms around; from the PVC-pipe toilet paper holders to the stained glass windows. We munched on some popcorn and enjoyed the show, particularly seeing our buddy Troy do a little steppin' on stage. Indeed there were calls for cheering the hero and hissing the villain. Amanda Day wrote, directed and starred in the production, which is more than enough, but also proved quite the lithe and lovely dancer to boot. Peril In Pointsville was great fun and I'm looking forward to the lineup of upcoming shows, including Sweeney Todd and Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Good show, E.S.C.T.!