This coming Saturday, June 12, the Queen of Wink joins Kathleen Turner and George W. Bush as the latest celebrity to take the stage in the Yucca Theatre's production of Summer Mummers.
Summer Mummers has been an annual production, since 1949, taking place in the historic Yucca Theatre in downtown Midland, Texas.
The Summer Mummers is a locally written melodrama, plus a production called an Olio, which is sort of a comedy/variety show.
Each year the melodrama script follows pretty much the same plot, with the theme of the story being a heroine and her hero sidekick finding themselves in some sort of woe. Then a villain and his sidekick try to take advantage of the heroine's woe. After a predictable struggle the heroes are victorious, the villains in ruins and the hero and heroine fall in love.
An alliteration lover makes up the titles for the Summer Mummers scripts, with a non-alliterative subtitle.
Such as "Debauchery on the Drawbridge (or More Than Just Another Sworded Affair)", and "Mayhem at the Moviola (or There's A Sexy girl Over My Body)" and "Dastardly Doings on the Diamond (or The Latter Batter's Chatter Rarely Flatters)".
I really like that The Latter Batter's Chatter Rarely Flatters subtitle.
After the melodrama ends, the Olia comedy/variety show begins.
The Olio has 20 acts, give or take 1 or 2. All acts are set to music and are, at longest, 90 seconds. Each year there are new acts, but many remain constants.
Like
The Cow. This act is basically a man in a cow suit, dancing to music with back up singers.
Les Girls is a female dance troupe that is a sort of strip show, removing clothing til they are down to some sort of corset. (I do not know if the Queen of Wink is in
Les Girls. I do know she was in a production of Hair in New Orleans.)
The Guys is the male version of
Les Girls with this being a male strip routine.
In
Mule Train a cowboy runs on to stage lip syncing the Frankie Lane song "Mule Train." While he sings the cowboy whips a small, stuffed goat.
For the Olio Finale the entire cast gets onstage to sing "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "You're a Grand Old Flag."
Throwing popcorn is part of the fun throughout. You can get a bag for $3, 2 for $5, or really load on the popcorn at $20 for 8 bags.
Booze is sold, both mixed drinks and beer. You buy alcohol tokens to redeem for your drink of choice. Cast and crew get half price tokens, which they are not allowed to use during a performance. So, what is called a "beer bitch," is designated to turn the cast member's booze tokens into drinks and deliver them backstage.
During its 3 month run, Summer Mummers sells more popcorn than all the Midland theaters sell in an entire year.
I don't know how much alcohol Summer Mummers sells compared with all the other alcohol vendors in Midland.
It will be interesting to read the Queen of Wink's review of her Summer Mummers experience. I hope with pictures.
I knew the Queen of Wink is extremely talented. I also knew the Queen of Wink is extremely limber, able to contort herself into yoga positions I could never dream of managing.
