No Place Like Home / Dec/Jan 2012
The Great American Melodrama
The minute you walk in the door, you will realize that The Great American Melodrama in Oceano is a different world. The old-time piano playing, the actors in costume showing you to your seats, and the saloon-type feel of the place - anyone who’s ever been there will tell you it’s more proof that “There’s No Place Like Home.”
The folks at The Great American Melodrama put on more than stage productions; they provide an experience. By the time the actors take the stage, you will have forgotten where you are, and wonder why you don’t do this more often.
The place has been around since 1975. It was John and Lynne Schlenker who came up with the idea of turning the old Rexall drug store into a melodrama. “I was thinking more of a hobby,” says John. “He was trying to live out a dream to put a live theatre in downtown Oceano!” adds Lynne.
John fell in love with melodrama as a performer in other areas of the country. “Virginia City, Montana, The Virginia City Players, Mountain Air Players, Buckskin Joe, Colorado...” he lists them off. “The gold rush era of the United States is full of melodramas.”
Melodramas tell stories through comedy, heroes and villains and usually audience participation. “They were based around American folklore, around happenings in the Old West, in streets of New York, and that sort of thing,” explains John. “And because they were about political issues, people would stand up and yell things, and say things or try to correct things, and they got a little bit rowdy.”
A cast of six to eight performers does it all: provide the music, seat the guests, write a lot of the shows, and work the snack bar during breaks. And they are entertaining through out the duration.
“A tip into the jar, a tip into the jar, what a glorious feeling, I need gas in my car,” the actors sing when someone puts a buck in the tip jar. “Somebody will bring their child and they’ll hand him a dollar or something, and the kid’s eyes just light up when they see what happens after they leave a tip. ‘Dad, can I have more money?’” Lynne laughs.
The Great American Melodrama is an Americana classic, a throwback to the Wild Wild West. Tourists book tickets before they book their vacations on the Central Coast. Yet, as often is the case, locals can miss out on the fun. “We run into people all the time, and we ask ‘How long have you lived here?’” explains Lynn. They’ll tell us they’ve lived here all their lives and we ask, ‘Have you ever been to the Melodrama?’ They’ll say ‘No,’ but that they’ve always planned on coming there and can’t explain why they haven’t done so yet.”
Even though that’s the case, the Melodrama has survived and thrived in its unlikely location because rarely do people come here just once.
Each performance includes a melodrama, a vaudeville revue, and of course the sing-a-long. There’s beer, burgers and popcorn so you can eat there and just enjoy an evening appropriate for all ages.
They are heading into the busy season, though. And the holiday show is a tradition for a lot of families around the Central Coast, so if you’ve been thinking about going, give ‘em a call and book it – it’s sure to remind you that “There’s No Place Like Home.”
Jeanette Trompeter, KSBY News anchor and reporter, hosts the “No Place Like Home” series every Thursday evening at 6pm.
