By Sara Wiercinski
Actor W.C. Fields is reported to have said, “Never work with children or animals.”
Jeanne Beechwood, owner of the Martin City Melodrama, has made it her creative mission to act alongside both.
This spring she is joined by local actress Katie Marshall and a pack of senior rescue dogs for “The Great American Melodogma,” a one-hour ten minute vaudeville-style performance that promises patriotic comedy and song and dance.
“The style of vaudeville is like the original channel surfing. It moves very quickly from number to number,” said Beechwood.
In addition to punny adaptations of well known numbers like “Yorkie Doodle Dandy” and “Boogie Woogie Beagle Boy” the show includes original songs with lyrics written by Beechwood and composed by Jon Copeland. The audience gets to boo, cheer, wave flags and vote for “America’s best dog.”
“Part of the joy of working with original material is seeing where it lands,” said Beechwood. “The audience teaches me how to improve timing, where to add another joke. I learn each time.”
Beechwood started working with senior rescue dogs on stage in 2014, and has been impressed with the impact.
“People love the dogs and seem to connect with them,” she said. “After the show they come up and tell me that a dog reminded them of a lost pet. But they aren’t sad about it.”
Marshall, who earned her BFA in musical theater at the University of Central Missouri, has acted in hundreds of plays but never on stage with dogs.
“Working with animals has taught me that there’s always one more thing to pay attention to,” she said. “I have to know my lines, my blocking, and I have to make sure the dog is acting too.”
Beechwood hopes people who attend the show will laugh and escape their worries, “because we dare to be funny and have a good time.”
“It’s pure silliness, like I’ve been doing for 40 years.”
The Great American Melodogma runs weekends from March 15 through May 10. Saturday performances are at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3:30 pm.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at martincitymelodrama.org.
Martin City Melodrama is located at 702 Blue Ridge Extension in Grandview, just a 5 minute drive from Martin City.
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