Friday, August 21, 2009

Fun for the Family - Summer Melodrama


Take a step back in time to the early days of family life in the Rio Grande Valley and join the fun as El Paseo Arts Foundation presents an old-fashioned melodrama where villains abound and an unexpected hero saves the heroine and wins the day.

Daniel R. Donohue’s, Villainy in the Valley (“Lucious’s Juices" "The Deadly Disappointment") a side-splitting romp that's overripe with cornball gags and a cast of zany characters will be staged on Monday, August 24th and Tuesday, August 25 at the South Padre Island Convention Center. Doors open at 6:30 with a cash bar available. The performance starts at 7:30 p.m. The play is co-directed by JoAnn Evans (SPI) and Jody Hughes (SPI).

In the great tradition of melodramas, Villainy in the Valley provides an evening of fun and family entertainment. The show depends on audience participation. Sigh for the dainty heroine, cheer for the hero, and boo and hiss the villain.

The show begins with an “olio”—a musical comedy revue with singing and lots of laughs. To set the mood the audience will join some of our local celebrities in a sing-a-long and practice booing the villain and cheering for the heroes. Then the curtain goes up on a cast of local personalities who bring to life the assorted characters of the town of Rio Arroyo.

Lucious Laseter, con man extraordinaire is intent on swindling Judge Angus McTate out of his citrus empire. This very rich and very gullible judge hopes that his long lost niece, the lovely, naive and fleet-of-foot Tess Trueheart McTate will marry his new accountant Laseter. However, Tess arrives with another, her beau, Bart Bo and Laseter conceives a dastardly plot to discredit Bart, kill the judge, and claim Tess and her fortune for his own.

Laseter is aided in his nefarious deeds by Floyd Coozy, an inept and dull-witted felon and his flamboyant twin sister, Floozy. Jo, the savvy bartender and owner of Christina’s cantina tries to take care of everyone, even Charlie the town drunk and poet lariat. If only, Marshall Mellow paid more attention to what was going on and spent less time bragging about his heroic feats. If only, Idona DuNada the reformer from Austin wasn’t always making trouble and trying to bring culture to Rio Arroyo.

Alas, it looks like Lucious Laseter may well succeed in evil plans and all seems lost for Tess including her beau, Bart. Poor Tess! Oh, woe! Will Lucious carry off Tess and her fortune? Will the Judge discover Lucious’evil scheming? Will Marshall Mellow ever stop taking about himself? Will Jo save her cantina from Idona DuNada’s sweeping reform? Will Tess and find true love at last? Will Floyd and Floozy ever figure out what’s going on? Will Charlie ever get another drink?

Don’t miss the chance to be part of the fun and find out the answers to these questions as the exciting and surprising finish unfolds.

Our friends and neighbors have been working very hard to provide an evening of entertainment for all of us to enjoy. Let's turn out and show them our appreciation for bringing community theatre to the Island.

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