“Be afraid . . . be very afraid . . .”
So opens Werewolf of Arroyo Grande, as the curtains part to reveal a full moon shining in a spooky woodsy setting. However . . .
Those words, and the title of The Great American Melodrama’s Halloween season production, are a bit misleading. Please allow for the following corrections:
“Be entertained . . . be very entertained . . .”
And without revealing any secret plot points to the mystery, there are actually two werewolves of Arroyo Grande (at least!). And one very amusing chicken. More on that later . . .
One thing that’s always predictable about the Melodrama in Oceano is that the puns, the self-reverential winks, the nods to local institutions, and the silliness of it all, just don’t stop. Werewolf is no exception. Director Michael Brusasco and his cast of seven mine the script’s thinly-disguised intrigues and machinations for all their worth—with a special call-out to the venerable Toby Tropper and the versatile Natalie Mara who couldn’t give bad performances if they tried.
The song parodies, taking their cues from ‘80s pop standards, practically explain themselves (“Maneater” and “Hungry Like a Wolf” are a couple of the obvious ones). If you are nostalgic for the 1980s, you’ll love this show.
Also standing out are the costumes by Barbara Abbott, the masks by Jamie Douglas (very inventive), and the choreography by Drew Silvaggio. But two other members of the creative team deserve special mention: Jackie Heimel and Jesse Mooney-Bullock, for making the aforementioned chicken (whose name is, of course, Doodle Do) really come alive, in more ways than one. Really!
All in all, you will come away from this production entertained, and remembering the funny fowl instead of the whodunnit. And that, in a sentence, is the essence of the Melodrama.