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modern "melodrama"

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Play Suggestions
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URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2981
Printed Date: 11/22/24 at 9:54am
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Topic: modern "melodrama"
Posted By: avonlee
Subject: modern "melodrama"
Date Posted: 2/20/08 at 2:52pm
I would appreciate suggestions for modern, current, non-corny shows in the melodrama category. Easy, quick, rapid-fire humor, but not an old, tired, or dated look or topics. Just something refreshing and new. Does that exist?



Replies:
Posted By: Lazy Bee
Date Posted: 2/27/08 at 4:19am
The lack of reaction to the quesion seems to suggest that it doesn't exist!

If you look at the basic structure of melodrama, the characters are very two-dimensional: the villain is perpetually wicked, a corrupter of morals, with no redeming features.  The heroine is always innocent and pure (with no redeming wickedness!)  If you try to put that into a modern context, it would come over as corny, so I think there is an inherent contradiction in the question.

Consequently, modern melodramas (by which I mean recently written ones) tend to be set in the Victorian era (Victorian to me - I'm English), and tend to be send-ups of the genre, with the characters caricatured.  (See, for example, http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk/cgi-bin/Search_Results.asp?iSc=107 - The Horrible Hot-Air Homicide .)

What modern topics would you expect to be tackled by melodrama?


-------------
Stuart
Lazy Bee Scripts
http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk - http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk read complete play scripts on-line


Posted By: whitebat
Date Posted: 3/12/08 at 8:21pm
"Something's Afoot" (Mystery Musical) has some melodrama type elements.  Is there a drama version of any of Horatio Alger's novels?


Posted By: Martin
Date Posted: 8/26/08 at 6:17am
Delia Dancer, Doughnut Girl
www.hitplays.com
This is a "moden melodrama"
Good luck



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