Steeped in the last days of vaudeville, Mel desperately holds onto her theatre and tries to give the show of a lifetime. Raunchy and political onstage, she brings out ridiculous acts accompanied by musical saw, accordion, harmonica and more. Backstage, she is Victor, a trans man who is saying goodbye to the only place he's felt he could be himself. Spoken word meets theatre, with an original 1930's style soundtrack. It's all jake, kittens, come get the bum's rush with us.
Mel the Radio Play! - Best of 2017 by Electric City Magazine
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The Press Loves Mel
Photo by Andy Carrol
From Vancouver Fringe
"Charlie Petch is so winning and aggressively joyful that, ultimately, Mel Malarkey feels like a triumph, even as everything falls to pieces." David Johnston for ColinThomas.ca
From the Atlantic Fringe
"At the heart of Malarkey, there's a lament for a form of entertainment that was superseded by the arguably less intimate formats of TV and movies. Where, one may ask, can we find entertainment that captures at least some of Vaudeville's riot, joy, and raunch? Well, with Mel at the Rainbow Room" - Martin Wallace, The Coast
From The Cameron House in Toronto
"A lovely ode to vaudeville in the bawdy, funny and poignant Mel Malarkey Gets the Bum’s Rush." - Life With More Cowbell, Culture Blogger
"This is a show that deserves to be seen by more SRO audiences and I hope it finds its way into the Fringe, or Summer Works and then gets expanded for a full blown Pantages run." - ToPoet.ca, Reviewer & Blogger
From Mel's Debut in Peterborough On
"Brilliant performance... comedy and pathos that squeezes the heart" - Sam Tweedle, Kawartha Now
"Truly gross and hilarious bawdy humour" Gabe Pollock, Electric City Magazine
"Charlie Petch is so winning and aggressively joyful that, ultimately, Mel Malarkey feels like a triumph, even as everything falls to pieces." David Johnston for ColinThomas.ca
From the Atlantic Fringe
"At the heart of Malarkey, there's a lament for a form of entertainment that was superseded by the arguably less intimate formats of TV and movies. Where, one may ask, can we find entertainment that captures at least some of Vaudeville's riot, joy, and raunch? Well, with Mel at the Rainbow Room" - Martin Wallace, The Coast
From The Cameron House in Toronto
"A lovely ode to vaudeville in the bawdy, funny and poignant Mel Malarkey Gets the Bum’s Rush." - Life With More Cowbell, Culture Blogger
"This is a show that deserves to be seen by more SRO audiences and I hope it finds its way into the Fringe, or Summer Works and then gets expanded for a full blown Pantages run." - ToPoet.ca, Reviewer & Blogger
From Mel's Debut in Peterborough On
"Brilliant performance... comedy and pathos that squeezes the heart" - Sam Tweedle, Kawartha Now
"Truly gross and hilarious bawdy humour" Gabe Pollock, Electric City Magazine
Audience Reviews!
Some Audience reaction from our last show for a packed house at the Winnipeg Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. We got a lovely standing ovation. So wonderful as it was a new way of performing this show I continue to fall in love with.
“One-person theatrical masterpiece” Guelph Spoken Word
“I have no words. Mel Malarkey was an incredible experience... I am so grateful I allowed myself to be there to enjoy it. Thank you for your presence and providing space for such lovely, heart-crushing yet hilarious work.” Bassam, Spoken Word Artist & Activist
“Charlie Petch is better at writing than most of us are at ANYTHING. Their Vaudeville show was a mind boggling exploration of the “show within a show” concept executed with a theatrical bravado that only a rare few can pull of with such a casual dexterity. Brilliant, mesmerizing. Enchanting. Bravo, brave soul, bravo” Fannon Holland, Spoken Word Artist & Activist
"I just wanted to say again how much I enjoyed your play, MEL MALARKEY GETS THE BUM'S RUSH, on Saturday night. Comedy, pathos, charm, poetry, character, perfect pacing, ingenious staging, brilliant directing and the best musical saw I've ever heard -- not to mention a full house of enthusiastic and superbly responsive theatre-goers -- combined to create a dramatic experience that truly ran the gamut: from belly laugh to the most touching and rarefied emotions. Your own performance, breathtaking, dazzling, and seductively convincing, culminated in a zany and mesmerizing final segment that sets a new high-water mark in live theatre. Kudos to you and all those at The Theatre on King for presenting this entertaining and absorbing gem." - Scott Mackay, award-winning author of The Miser of Cherry Hill, Omega Sol, Phytosphere
Some Audience reaction from our last show for a packed house at the Winnipeg Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. We got a lovely standing ovation. So wonderful as it was a new way of performing this show I continue to fall in love with.
“One-person theatrical masterpiece” Guelph Spoken Word
“I have no words. Mel Malarkey was an incredible experience... I am so grateful I allowed myself to be there to enjoy it. Thank you for your presence and providing space for such lovely, heart-crushing yet hilarious work.” Bassam, Spoken Word Artist & Activist
“Charlie Petch is better at writing than most of us are at ANYTHING. Their Vaudeville show was a mind boggling exploration of the “show within a show” concept executed with a theatrical bravado that only a rare few can pull of with such a casual dexterity. Brilliant, mesmerizing. Enchanting. Bravo, brave soul, bravo” Fannon Holland, Spoken Word Artist & Activist
"I just wanted to say again how much I enjoyed your play, MEL MALARKEY GETS THE BUM'S RUSH, on Saturday night. Comedy, pathos, charm, poetry, character, perfect pacing, ingenious staging, brilliant directing and the best musical saw I've ever heard -- not to mention a full house of enthusiastic and superbly responsive theatre-goers -- combined to create a dramatic experience that truly ran the gamut: from belly laugh to the most touching and rarefied emotions. Your own performance, breathtaking, dazzling, and seductively convincing, culminated in a zany and mesmerizing final segment that sets a new high-water mark in live theatre. Kudos to you and all those at The Theatre on King for presenting this entertaining and absorbing gem." - Scott Mackay, award-winning author of The Miser of Cherry Hill, Omega Sol, Phytosphere
