Misfits' melodrama mixes laughs, bit of history

The Misfits Theater Group presents "The Como Indian Scare of 1863" or "Food Trumps Wood in the Card Game of Life," two consecutive weekends, beginning April 15.

The show is "loosely" based on a real historical event, the Como Indian Scare of 1863 but, in the melodramatic style that is the signature of Misfits productions, that's just the beginning.

Written by the late Tony Thornburg and polished by "Como" director Eddie Hult, this continues Thornburg's theater legacy.

"Tony always liked acting and started doing the classic drunkard part as an actor," said Kay Thornburg, his wife and The Misfits' president. "He was working with a theater group in California and they needed a play so he wrote his first melodrama and discovered that writing and then seeing the performance on stage was almost as much fun as acting.

"He had started this play, but didn't get it complete before (he passed)," she said.

In "The Como Indian Scare of 1863," audience members will travel back in time to the Como Saloon and the general store in Como, a small mining town located in the Pine Nut Mountains of northwestern Lyon County. There, "Old Man" Olegsen has discovered a bonanza of silver and named his mine after his only daughter, Brunhilda. He can now spend time with his college-educated daughter Hilda while pursuing the local store clerk widow, Polly Potter.

As happens in The Misfits performances, trouble is sure to ensue bringing heroes, villains, damsels and conniving characters bearing such colorful name as Sarenda Sawtooth, Jackrabbit Johnson and Alice Appleshot. Audiences will be encouraged to boo, hiss and cheer as the story warrants, during an evening filled with unforeseen twists, turns, side-splitting laughter - and even some history, though how accurate that history is, is up for discussion.

"This is a fun and energetic show and cast and Diane and George Morse have done a wonderful job building the sets," said Carol Bauer, who for this program has traded in her usual role of director to help in other areas. "We are happy to have new faces like Derek Merrifield who is in high school and just loves theater and Eddie has put a lot into directing this.

"I think it's good others are coming in and trying their hand acting or directing," Bauer said. "It takes courage and commitment to get up there and they all do it for their love of theater and for what it brings to the community. This is what keeps theater alive."

To be a part of all the trouble that unfolds in "The Como Indian Scare of 1863," early reservations are encouraged.

"If you want good seats, call early," Bauer said.

Performances take place at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, April 15, 16, 22 and 23 at Odeon Hall, 65 Pike St., Dayton. Tickets cost $10 and are available by calling Carol Bauer at 775-246-9622.