Please, be more melodramatic!

The annual Woodchoppers Jamboree Melodrama, put on by The Grand Encampment Opera Company, has been a long standing tradition with the first shows in the 1980’s. Of course the art of theater has been practiced in Encampment long before this.

The opera house was originally just a meeting hall. Thanks to Encampment thespians, a fundraiser play was held in 1902 which gathered enough funds to add on the stage and storage rooms to the building making it a more complete facility. In 1903, with the newly modified Opera House, they held another fundraiser for the Encampment Volunteer Fire Department. A true example of The Grand Encampment Opera Company repaying the generosity that was given to them.

Today the melodrama is directed by Mary Martin. Mary has been with The Grand Encampment Opera Company since 1992 and has continued the legacy of the thespians of Encampment. She has given a lot of her time into the Opera House and the activities held there.

This year’s melodrama is “The Perils of Priscilla or The Schoolmarms Dilemma” by Shubert Fendrich. The cast for the main show is Caleb Chellman as Smedley Smidgin, Kira Beach as Harlowe Starbuck, Cathy Glenn as Miss Tyler, Madi Dunning as Miss Priscilla, George Hooker as Freckles, Anna McLinksey as Jenny and Rachel Swanson as Becky. Accompanying them in the form of olios is Kellan Swanson, Wiley Swanson, Jamis McLinskey, and Presley Munson as well as the can-can girls who are Sami Anderson, Kyenna Jackson, Ashley Finney, Jillian Jordan, Sorsusha Munson, and Alvira Giacometto.

The tech for the show is Mary Martin as the director, Becky Kreusel playing piano, prompting is Joy Martin, and lighting and sound by Hailey Ellingham. It is a riveting story of good vs evil, betrayal, and much more. The melodramas presented by The Grand Encampment Opera Company have become known for their good humor and a well put together cast.

The melodrama’s cast has been practicing for months to ensure that they can meet the high standards they have set for themselves over previous years of successful shows. The melodrama is a family friendly event and The Grand Encampment Opera Company encourages everyone to come down and enjoy the show that the cast has worked so hard to build.

The Woodchopper’s Jamboree Melodrama will be held at 7 p.m.on June 14 and 15 at the Grand Encampment Opera House (622 Rankin Avenue) in Encampment.