Hijinks, Mayhem Collide in 'Sideshow Shenanigans'

Before you call someone “melodramatic,” see Sideshow Shenanigans at the to take in the full meaning of the word. 

Written and directed by Gary McCarver, this old-school, Old West-themed play rolls drama, comedy and music into one whopping super-quesadilla-from-- size extravaganza. As the final notes of the on-stage player piano fade while the cast takes its bows, you’ll have rediscovered your childhood love of The Big Top, the cartoon show Dudley Do-Right and just how fun it is to throw foam rocks.

Every melodrama opens with drama, and in this case it’s a fight for control over the small Inferno Payne Circus traveling the western territories in the 1860s. Threats are made, crosses and double-crosses are done, and preposterous puns and fast quips fly through the air faster than the deadly blades of the troupe’s knife thrower.

Sideshow Shenanigans is the ultimate family-friendly romp, with young and old alike encouraged to hurl foam rocks at the male actors (but leave be the womenfolk, please!). Few shows can brag a cast of nearly two dozen and characters including clowns and jugglers, a fortune teller, acrobats, sharp shooter, strong man, and a dancing bear.

A cue card-holding clown instructs the audience on when to boo at the villains and cheer for the heroes. A pianist (Linda Eldridge) touches on just the right musical flourishes to embellish the dialogue and plot. She also accompanies the cast members when they bust out into song, which happens often and well.

The musical numbers originated from pre-1921 songs that fell into public domain and thus are no longer under copyright. McCarver wrote new lyrics for the tunes, injecting references to San Juan Capistrano as much as possible. One song offers the refrain, “When I think of Old San Juan, I think of home.”

In addition to Sideshow Shenanigans, McCarver has penned the last four melodramas staged at Camino Real Playhouse. The director/actor/website designer is a scholar on the art form, offering heroandvillain.com as an educational resource.

McCarver’s traces his fascination of classic melodrama to the now-defunct Bird Cage Theatre at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, where many writers, actors and comedians such as Steve Martin got their professional start.

“Vaudeville came out of the old melodrama, it’s sort of the stepchild of melodrama,” explained McCarver. “If we do have a dying scene, we make sure it’s so campy that it’s like a cartoon so it doesn’t scare the kids.” 

Melodrama is the perfect art form for San Juan Capistrano, with roots that predate the Wild West, local lore filled with bandits and ne’er-do-wells and historical spots that include a jail.  The Playhouse’s annual melodrama show is timed to coincide with the swallows' return to San Juan Capistrano.

Sideshow Shenanigans (or The Greatest Unearthed) runs weekends through March 26, and tickets range from $24 to $40. Visit the Camino Real Playhouse website for show times and ticket availability or call the box office at 949-489-8082.