Midland, TX – The Board of the Summer Mummers has selected as its 2010 Melodrama“Serenaded Sweetly in a Sandstorm or Tone Deaf in the Tall City” written by Jessi Willmann and Shannon Tate. The Summer Mummers is the oldest continuous melodrama performed in the United States. You just can’t explain it; you must experience the zaniness that invades the Yucca Theatre from June through Labor Day weekend.



Summer Mummers performs every Friday and Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. at the Yucca Theatre from June 11^th to Sept. 4^th. The Yucca Theatre is located at 208 North Colorado in downtown Midland. Advance Reservations are available now through the MCT Box Office. General ticket sales begin on Wednesday, May 26^th. Tickets prices are: $20 for the Pit, $15 for the House, $10 for the Balcony, and $5 for the Gallery. Call the MCT Box Office at (432) 570-4111 Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Not recommended for children under the age of 16.

The 2010 Melodrama is directed by Cody Tumlin and includes old-fashioned silent film sequences, known as the Moviola, which are directed by Roger Barnes. The festive evening is topped off by the All-American Olio directed by Phil Tytanic and choreographed by Misti Tytanic. For photos and facts, see the website atwww.summermummers.com



Summer Mummers is a fundraiser for Midland Community Theatre. All proceeds from Summer Mummers benefit the operating budget of Midland Community Theatre, Inc.


For more information call Tracy Alexander at (432) 682-2544.

WHAT IS SUMMER MUMMERS?

Melodrama is a unique theatrical experience, invented in the USA. But nobody does it quite as uniquely as Summer Mummers. Summer Mummers, a Permian Basin summer tradition for more than sixty years, is the longest continuing melodrama in the United States and is internationally renowned. This unique group has been privileged to perform in Dundalk, Ireland and Dongying, China, proving that laughter is indeed a universal language.

The oldest auxiliary organization at Midland Community Theatre, Summer Mummers entertains thousands of patrons each summer while providing Midland Community Theatre with an astounding $400,000 each year. In fact, nearly twenty-seven percent of Midland Community Theatre’s annual Operating Budget is a direct result of Summer Mummers.

Even more amazing than the money raised is the unbelievable amount of volunteer hours it takes to create this special event. For 62 years volunteers have given their time and talent each summer for the sole purpose of raising money for Midland Community Theatre. Nearly 100 volunteers each night give collectively an amazing 13,400 volunteer hours each summer. Before the first ticket is sold and lights shine on the stage, the Summer Mummers volunteers are hard at work. Governed by a six-member volunteer Board of Directors, Summer Mummers is really a year-round “job” for the hard working volunteers. They not only select the script; they cast the show, sell advertising, order supplies, organize production committees, clean the theatre, and make costumes. And - every volunteer actor and dancer in the Melodrama and Olio has given between 60 and 120 hours of rehearsal time.

In 2009 visitors to Summer Mummers represented 8 foreign countries, 34 different states and 136 Texas cities and towns - a remarkable attendance for a remarkable event. Hundreds of out-of-town visitors travel to Midland each year to enjoy shopping, dining out, spending the night and attending Summer Mummers. Midland Community Theatre actively works to secure special performance opportunities for groups, conferences and conventions taking place in the Permian Basin.

The evening begins with a Melodrama – three acts bracketed by the Moviola, little snippets of the story presented as a silent film. The story features a greedy Villain up to no good, a Heroine in peril, and a Hero with a heart as big as Texas. Jam-packed with corny jokes, awful puns, and sight gags the melodrama parodies our local traditions, politics and contemporary culture. Rounding out the evening is the All-American Olio, a vaudeville-style revue with singers, dancers, skits, and comedians. But the one thing folks can’t seem to forget is the over-abundance of popcorn that is part and parcel of each evenings entertainment. The audience is encouraged to throw popcorn during Intermissions, during the Moviola, at the actors, at their friends, and at everybody else! Going home with kernels stuck to hiding places you didn’t know you had is all part of the charm of a summer evening at the historic Yucca Theatre.

You just can’t explain it . . . You MUST experience it!