With spring in full swing, officials with the Fremont Opera House are preparing for a robust slate of events over the next six to eight weeks, including seeking cast members for the annual John C. Fremont melodrama that is performed for event attendees in two showings for the mid-July festival of all things Fremont. Lee Meyer, executive director of the Fremont Opera House, said she and others involved with the iconic hotbed of theatric creativity on Broad Street are excited about a variety of events and happenings.
First up for the Opera House is the two-day audition for roles in the John C. Fremont Days melodrama production, which is scheduled for the Saturday during the three-day festivities. “A melodrama is an old-fashioned play that has a villain and a hero, and it’s a crowd interactive play and the crowd boos the villain and the hero and there is a heroine,” Meyer explained for those unfamiliar with the ennui of an old-timey melodrama.
“The crowd gets involved and we add the old music from like the 1900s or, or before, you know, that very old music and it’s just really a lot of fun,” she said. “We get the crowd involved and we’ve got two showings of that (on Saturday of the festival). It’s about an hour long and it’s just plain fun.
” Meyer said the production harking back to the mid-1800s needs about 12 thespians, and the auditions are free and open to anyone who is interested. Those auditioning will need to do a “cold read,” which is from the m.
