Melodrama is Alive and Well in Theatres Across the Nation

Visit any modern Melodrama Playhouse today and you can expect to see the typical villain tying the typical damsel to a typical railroad track or maybe foreclosing on her family's ranch with the damsel holding the back of her hand up to her forehead keeping her tears in check as the black caped villain twirls his long moustache or strokes his beard in glee. Then when all hope seems lost ... at the last possible moment ... the hero busts in coming to the heroine's rescue. He vanquishes or arrests or battles with the villain. The damsel then embraces the hero and they ride off into the sunset or more likely sing and dance into the sunset. This is actually more of a caricature of what we expect from melodramas and is quite different from what melodramas actually were in the mid to late 1800s. In those by-gone days ... the melodrama still revolved around the fight between good and evil and were seriously written and seriously acted plays performed across the young United States dealing with issues of the day such as temperance (i.e., the evils of alcohol).

Modern melodramas are more about having fun, booing and hissing the villain, frequent asides by the characters to the audience, and overacting. Audiences love to hate the villain, cheer the hero, and watch good triumph over evil. It is great family entertainment and the essence of bringing community to theatre in its purest form.

Welcome to Melodrama 101

Some of the characteristics of authentic melodrama include: That villainy is always distinct from honesty; virtue always overcomes vice, and there is a happy ending. There is always a hero wearing a white hat, always a villain and his black hat and always a heroine. Melodramas are typically fast moving and emphasize the agony that the hero or heroine goes through before good can triumph over evil. Other stereotypical characters include a sheriff, the ‘fallen’ woman, and comical friends who face almost insurmountable odds shared with the hero or the heroine.

"Over The Top" Acting

Melodramas are characterized by acting which incorporates large gestures and lavish facial expressions which denote specific characteristics and emotions. Sometimes almost slap-stick comedy in nature. In the Old West ... this acting style was necessary so that the people sitting way up the back of theatres could understand the action ... today we still keep acting that way just because it's more fun that way! Melodramas are usually in the late 1800s and include improvisational pokes and jabs (all in jest) at the local community. Whether you're the mayor or just a proprietor of a local saloon no one is exempted from involvement. And if you heckle the actors ... be prepared for a scathing rebuttal. If you are in need of some pithy Heckler Come-backs ... visit our Free Download Page.

Melodies Make The Melodrama

The "melo" in melo-dramas comes from the melody used to highlight and underscore the productions. From "honky-tonk" or "rag time" pianos to authentic cowboy guitar music, just about any live music on stage will do to help you stay true to old western style melodrama. We also recommend that you have a sound effects "Wizard" or "Lackey" to provide live sound effects for each rip-roaring performance. On the Friends of Melodrama Resources page you will find several sources for special effects that will clank ... creek ... and squeak their way into the hearts of your cast and your audiences.

The virtuous hero or vivacious heroine is hounded by a villain and then rescued from a series of life threatening events over and over as our episodic story unfolds. Plot devices like disguise, abduction, concealed identity and fortunate coincidence are often used just to keep the audience guessing what will come next. Characters such as friends of the hero or heroine provide comic relief and, of course, help out with the singing and dancing. Melodramas are perfect for ad-libs and keep the productions fresh each and every night.

Each scene typically ends with a climax and often the villain looks like he will succeed in his nefarious plot. Look for plenty of fist fights and shoot 'em-ups in these thrilling tales of passion and greed and goodness and villainy. The audience will boo the villain and cheer the hero and are even encouraged to grab a foam "rock" or two (or popcorn or what have you) that have been scattered around the audience and hurl, toss or lob them at the villain as he displays his larceny on stage. You might want to remind your audiences to "Please avoid lobbing the foam "rocks" at your beautiful heroine or your stalwart hero and only throw the foam "rocks" that you provide" as real rocks or plastic fruit tossed on stage tend to keep actors from returning for their next performance. There was performance where someone in the audience actually brought in plastic fruit and a manikin's leg to throw on stage ... but we did manage to "intercept" the intruder well before the plastic appendage was tossed but not before some plastic pears became projectiles. If you are wondering ... yes ... plastic fruit does sting a bit.

"BALDERDASH!"

"CONSARN IT!"

"GADZOOKS!"

"TARNATION!"

"CURSES ... FOILED AGAIN!"

Components of a Successful Melodrama

Many of the elements that make up modern melodramas come from ancient theatre traditions. For example ...  Audience's vocalization, for example, is a long-held custom each year in the re-enactment of the story of Esther. The audience is encouraged to boo and hiss and shake noisemakers when the evil villain Haman's name is even mentioned and cheering always accompanies the mention of either of the heroes Esther and Mordecai.

Although some of the elements of American Melodrama have their roots in old world theatre ... as a genre ... we feel safe in saying that old west style Melodrama is unique and should be considered an American art form ... such as Jazz or Baseball..

Across America ... theatres, playhouses, schools and communities keep Melodrama alive and audiences love to attend these productions. Here are a few suggestions to make your melodrama even more successful whether you write your own, purchase one from HeroandVillain.com or from one of the many prolific producers of modern melodramas that you will find referenced on our Melodrama Scripts page or in our Resources page.

       Bring in your villain (or villains) early ... so the audience can participate.

       Foam "rocks" or "bricks" can be used to throw at the villain instead of popcorn.

       Two act melodramas are the norm and work well even for melodrama dinner theatres.

       Each act needs roughly 45 minutes of script (about 90 minutes in total) worth of dialogue & singing.

       It is very common to include some musical interlude (called an "olio") during intermission.

       The bigger the cast ... the larger your audiences. Families love to attend and cheer or boo relatives.

       Some playhouses double-cast roles and add many extras to increase community involvement.

       Corny jokes can only go so far ... a well written clever script is the foundation of a good production.

       Don't underestimate the intelligence of your audiences. Use quality props and authentic wardrobe.

       Just as with any play ... consider a one room multi-part set to avoid scene changes.

       Keep things simple and allow the actors to have fun with ad-libs making it a new play every night!

It often comes down to which hat you wear!

Here are a few of our Favorite Heroic and Villainous Quotes

"Nature abhors a hero. For one thing, he violates the law of conservation of energy. For another, how can it be the survival of the fittest when the fittest keeps putting himself in situations where he is most likely to be creamed?"

- Solomon Short

"You've got to love the villain if you have to play him. You've got to find something that you can live with in yourself if you're going to play the villain in a play on stage. "

- Jim Dale

"The same energy of character which renders a man a daring villain would have rendered him useful in society, had that society been well organized."

- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

"In the old days villains had moustaches and kicked the dog. Audiences are smarter today. They don't want their villain to be thrown at them with green limelight on his face. They want an ordinary human being with failings."

- Alfred Hitchcock

"A villain must be a thing of power, handled with delicacy and grace. He must be wicked enough to excite our aversion, strong enough to arouse our fear, human enough to awaken some transient gleam of sympathy. We must triumph in his downfall, yet not barbarously nor with contempt, and the close of his career must be in harmony with all its previous development."

- Agnes Repplier

"When it comes to the point, really bad men are just as rare as really good ones."

- George Bernard Shaw