Annual melodrama celebrates the Pike 

Swinging jazz fanfare filled the air in a small theater as footsteps clopped along a wooden boardwalk lined with colorful signs advertising amusement park games and in the corner are the remains of the once great Cyclone Racer, a wooden coaster that was once the pride of Long Beach.

This is “Terror at the Pike”, an annual holiday melodrama presented by the Garage Theatre on Nov. 7 during which they pay homage to the Pike as it once was, a bustling amusement park with thrills for the whole family.

“This is like a living cartoon,”  director Rob Young said, alluding to the cheerfully outrageous nature of the show.

The melodrama is an interactive, family-friendly play that serves to mark the end of each year at the Garage.

The melodrama is a five-part series written by Jamie Sweet and follows a cast of characters with names such as Rod McGirdlebutt (Diana Kaufman) and Scrufflepicklewickle (Gabe Pettinicchio) that give insight into the zany nature of the show. 

Before the show begins, audience members are given fake flowers and tomatoes made of fabric. 

They are briefed with instructions to chuck the tomatoes at the sight of the show’s villain, Ian Sidious (Vincent Zamora) and to throw flowers at the heroine, Dixie Troobaloo (Lola Binks). 

There are also musical cues to which the audience is encouraged to respond to with certain phrases and sounds. 

Throughout the course of the show, even the shyest attendees are fully immersed, laughing and shouting along with everyone else. 

The melodrama’s first episode takes place in the 1920s and runs until Saturday and starts again Nov. 30 to Dec. 16.

Young explained that it will take 5 years to run through the show in its entirety because each episode is performed only once a year but the scene will always be the Pike amusement park. 

Each episode features a different decade but the same antics and comedic stylings of the scooby-doo-like gang saving the day. 

“We love that the show is so silly but also relevant to those who love Long Beach,” Alex Rix, audience member said.

The history of downtown Long Beach, specifically the Pike, is something residents reflect on fondly.

During the intermission, attendees gather in the theater’s main entrance, lined with old photographs of the amusement park that was once the Pike (1902-1979), complete with rides and games. 

In keeping with the amusement park theme, audience members were treated to free ice-cream at intermission while some of the show’s characters milled about the room, engaging with them and cracking jokes. 

The show is a mix of long-time Garage Theater members and newcomers. 

Young says bringing the show to life was a collaborative effort with everyone working hard to make one another laugh. 

“There were times where I have cried laughing,” Young said. 

The attention to detail within the show makes it clear that the purpose is to treat audience members to a night they won’t soon forget.

“Terror at the Pike” provides an opportunity to be unserious and laugh out loud.

“It’s kind of cheesy,”  Binks said, “but it’s for the kids and for the kids at heart.”