Mile Hill Melodrama

Recent Performances

Nana's Naughty Knickers - November 2016

Anybody for Murder? - November 2015

Max is planning to murder his wife Janet, collect her life insurance, and enjoy life with his girlfriend when Mary and George arrive on their Greek island with news: Mary and Janet are beneficiaries of a huge fortune. Plans and plots hatch, and soon everyone is bent on murder. All that stands in their way is the presence of a neighbor who knows a thing or two about murder, crime writer Edgar Chambers. 

This thrilling comedy is by the writer of the television series, "The Avengers". 

Click here to view photos of Anybody for Murder in our photo gallery.

A Month of Sundays - April 2015

This bittersweet, subtle comedy tells the story of two old friends growing old together. The show is set in a retirement home, and revolves around two residents: Cooper (who has chosen not to live with his daughter and her family to avoid his perceived indignity of depending on them) and his friend Aylott. Cooper flirts outrageously with his nurse and the cleaning lady, and gives his daughter and son-in-law a hard time when they visit him on the first Sunday of every month from Short Hills.

Together Cooper and Aylott face the challenges posed by the ageing process - the forgetfulness and the physical deterioration – and dispel some of their worries of what awaits them with humour and wit, aware that life is more easily endured if treated as a comedy.

Click here to view photos of A Month of Sundays in our photo gallery.

100 Lunches - November 2014

The Red Velvet Cake War - April 2014

In this riotously funny Southern-fried comedy, the three Verdeen cousins—Gaynelle, Peaches and Jimmie Wyvette—could not have picked a worse time to throw their family reunion. Their outrageous antics have delighted local gossips in the small town of Sweetgum (just down the road from Fayro) and the eyes of Texas are upon them, as their self-righteous Aunt LaMerle is quick to point out.

Having “accidentally” crashed her minivan through the bedroom wall of her husband’s girlfriend’s doublewide, Gaynelle is one frazzled nerve away from a spectacular meltdown. Peaches, a saucy firebrand and the number one mortuarial cosmetologist in the tri-county area, is struggling to decide if it’s time to have her long-absent trucker husband declared dead. And Jimmie Wyvette, the rough-around-the-edges store manager of Whatley’s Western Wear, is resorting to extreme measures to outmaneuver a priss-pot neighbor for the affections of Sweetgum’s newest widower.

But the cousins can’t back out of the reunion now. It’s on and Gaynelle’s hosting it; Peaches and Jimmie Wyvette have decided its success is the perfect way to prove Gaynelle’s sanity to a skeptical court-appointed psychologist. Unfortunately, they face an uphill battle as a parade of wildly eccentric Verdeens gathers on the hottest day of July, smack-dab in the middle of Texas tornado season. Things spin hilariously out of control when a neighbor’s pet devours everything edible, a one-eyed suitor shows up to declare his love and a jaw-dropping high-stakes wager is made on who bakes the best red velvet cake. As this fast-paced romp barrels toward its uproarious climax, you’ll wish your own family reunions were this much fun!

Click here to view photos of The Red Velvet Cake War in our photo gallery.

A Christmas Cactus - November 2013

Christmas Eve is tough for private investigator Cactus O'Riley, a white hot redhead with the holiday blues. She is trying to lure her secretary Fred away from his protective mother, while dodging the affections of Deputy D.A. Windsor, and considering closing her business. She doesn't need the added aggravation of two fugitives who burst into her office looking for justice and a dead detective named Jake Marley. Cactus also doesn't need Fred's mother, who arrives to take Fred home but decides to stay because she thinks this is the Christmas murder mystery party she has always dreamed of attending. Christmas turns into a dickens of a holiday for Cactus as she solves mysteries, delivers small miracles and takes a second chance on love and sleuthing. Comedy, mystery, and romance converge in this charming contemporary Christmas tale where goodwill and justice triumph.

Click here to view photos of A Christmas Cactus in our photo gallery.

Sex Please, We're Sixty - May 2013

Mrs. Stancliffe's Rose Cottage Bed & Breakfast has been successful for many years. Her Guests (nearly all women) return year after year. Her next door neighbor, the elderly, silver-tongued, Bud "Bud the Stud" Davis believes they come to spend time with him in romantic liaisons. The prim and proper Mrs. Stancliffe steadfastly denies this, but really doesn't do anything to prevent it. She reluctantly accepts the fact that "Bud the Stud" is, in fact, good for business. Her other neighbor and would-be suitor Henry Mitchell is a retired chemist who has developed a blue pill called "Venusia," after Venus the goddess of love, to increase the libido of menopausal women. The pill has not been tested.

Add to the guest list three older women: Victoria Ambrose, a romance novelist whose personal life seems to be lacking in romance; Hillary Hudson a friend of Henry's who has agreed to test the Venusia: and Charmaine Beauregard, a "Southern Belle" whose libido does not need to be increased! Bud gets his hands on some of the Venusia pills and the fun begins, as he attempts to entertain all three women! The women mix up Bud's Viagra pills with the Venusia, and we soon discover that it has a strange effect on men: it gives them all the symptoms of menopausal women, complete with hot flashes, mood swings, weeping and irritability! When the mayhem settles down, all the women find their lives moving in new and surprising directions.

Click here to view photos of Sex Please, We're Sixty in our photo gallery.

The Hallelujah Girls - November 2012

The action in this rollicking Southern comedy takes place in SPA-DEE-DAH!, the abandoned church-turned-day-spa where this group of friends gathers every Friday afternoon. After the loss of a dear friend, the women realize time is precious, and if they're going to change their lives and achieve their dreams, they have to get on it now! But Sugar Lee, their high-spirited, determined leader, has her hands full keeping the women motivated.The comic tension mounts when a sexy ex-boyfriend shows up unexpectedly, a marriage proposal comes from an unlikely suitor and Sugar Lee's arch rival vows she'll stop at nothing to steal the spa away from her.

Click here to view photos of The Hallelujah Girls in our photo gallery.

Isabel is a modern young woman who lives alone and works in a book shop. When she is not pining after a handsome author, she is visiting her grandmother (Bubbie) in Manhattan's Lower East Side. This irascible granny and her friend the matchmaker have found a "good catch" for Isabel, whose initial reluctance gives way to a blossoming romance when she finally meets Sam, the pickle vendor. This character-driven romantic comedy ends with a new beginning.

Click here to view photos of Crossing Delancey in our photo gallery.

Let's Murder Marsha - November 2011

A happy housewife named Marsha, hopelessly addicted to reading murder mysteries, overhears her loving husband discussing her upcoming birthday surprise with an interior decorator. To her ears, though, it sounds like they are planning to murder her! With the assistance of her next door neighbor, she tries to turn the tables on them with a poisoned potion. When her own mother shows up for her birthday a day early, Marsha thinks she is in on the diabolical scheme. When her maid's date, a policeman, shows up to take the maid out, Marsha think he is on to her poisoning attempt. Well, finally, just when you would think all this would be cleared up, Marsha's intended victims discover what she has supposed, and decide to teach her a lesson by actually pretending to be murderers. This is a terrific show for family audiences who like their comedy broad and fast and nonstop.

Click here to view photos of Let's Murder Marsha in our photo gallery.

'Til Beth Do Us Part - April 2011, Mile Hill's 20th Anniversary Production

Our intention with this production was to collect members who were in Mile Hill's very first show to share the stage again in our 20th year. Sandy, Glenn, Sylvia and Tracey were keen to see the difference 20 years makes. Unfortunately, Thelma injured her back and was not able to 'play' with us. How fitting that one of our newest members, Wendy Dolan, was willing to take on the role. And of course, when you are looking for a man always game to wear a dress, who you gonna call? ... That's Mr. Jackson to you. What a run!

- MHM

Click here to view photos of the 20th anniversary celebration in our photo gallery.

Highlights from Previous Years

Caught in the Net - April 2010

I remember during one performance, Nigel and myself were performing a section of the play we had mastered during rehearsal and we both ran out of lines. We went around in circles, repeating lines, coming up with new ones until one of us finally paused to listen to the prompter. Afterwards we joked about it, saying that such a thing couldn't happen again. The next night we did it again at the same spot! I will never forget the look on our director, Bjorn's face after that performance.

- Francois Vezina

Click here to view photos of Caught in the Net in our photo gallery.

Shrunken Heads - November 2009

It was acting crazy, honest! More fun than a barrel of monkeys! The words are still stuck in my head so all of that studying must have worked. Pink and blue streaks in your hair, who knew it could be my signature look.

- Sharon Wasilewski

Click here to view photos of Shunken Heads in our photo gallery.

Killjoy - April 2008

Sonny was a fun character to play becvause he starts with low self-esteem then later overcomes a huge obstacle and ends up running the family business with confidence. This play was especially fun because I felt very comfortable with the cast. I had a lot of laughs with Patricia, and Bjorn and Glenn taugh me about things on set and backstage. To finally be able to do a play with Tracy was the best part of the experience, for she is the reason I am part of MHM.

- Justin Maki

Click here to view photos of Killjoy in our photo gallery.

The Cemetery Club - November 2007

This play was a jewel. We were dealing with the sensitive subject of death and had to convey to our audience the emotions our characters were experiencing and carefully lead into the humourous bits. The set had to change from an apartment to a cemetery and back again in a matter of minutes, accomplished by our amazing backstage people. Love, laughter, and tears - I truly enjoyed the play.

- Sandy Graham

I Take This Man - November 2005

The director said, 'It's the perfect role for you. You make a grand entrance by being carried on stage, get to lay on a couch for the first half of the play, doing nothing, while two lovely women drool over you.' He just forgot to mention that I had to be in my underwear and my opening line was one and a half pages long!

- Jim Vezina

Everybody Loves Opal - February 2004

It was so much fun playing Opal. Some people think I am Opal and call me by that name when we meet in the grocery store. I really enjoyed the beginning of the play where Nigel directed me into the audience with my wagon to collect junk. As silly as the play was, with tea bags drying on the line - one dip or two - and a fake stuffed cat, there was a real moral to the play. Opal had an unshakable faith in the goodness of people and it was infectious! To use her own words, "she was real genuine."

- Wanda Edwards

Blythe Spirit - April 2002

This was a very technical play. The biggest obstacle for me was to act like I couldn't see the ghost of my husband's first wife even though she was standing right in front of me, or beside me, or practically on my lap. I loved playing opposite Nigel and Tracey. Their warmth, professionalism, and tremendous acting abilities made me feel quite at ease in my first 'big part.'

- Shelley Isleifson

Abbot and Costello: Who's on First - June 2001

It was quite a challenge to do this classic routine with my good friend Nigel as Mr. Lou Costello. So quick with so much seemingly repetitive nonsense, that all makes sense in the end. Plus, it was probably the only chance to put ourselves on the same platform as the pros. It was also great that Linda Turk, curator of the Hymers Museum, saw fit to lend us an original Hymers baseball team uniform from the olden days, for this olden days production.

- Glenn Graham

Arsenic and Old Lace - April 1999

What a pleasure it was to act opposite Wanda in this classic play. This was the one time that we got Kevin Molkoski on stage and unfortunately behind stage. He and Glenn with time to kill would scheme ways to torture poor Wanda whenever she opened the door to the cellar. Sharon got even with Kevin when the curtain fell and she covered him with silly string. How appropriate!

- Tracey Morgan

The Importance of Being Ernest - June 1995

Without doubt, the hottest weekends in the history of MHM were during the performances of this play. Dressed in heavy, tight fitting period costumes, under hot lights, and serving cake and tea for the Sunday matinee, we sweated through and learned that with strategically placed fans and ice, the show could go on. In spite of it all, this play will always be my favourite and I'm glad we did it.

- Thelma Molkoski

The Travelling Sisters - November 1992

When I joined MHM I was content to stay behind the scenes. For this play I agreed to take a part but only if I would be unrecognizable. Wearing a jet black, hideous wig, skin tight leggings, a hot pink shirt and spiked heels, I played a gum chewing lady of questionable character. I knew I pulled it off when I heard my mother say, "Who is that b*tch?" 

- Jenny Groenheide

Terror Walks Tonight - April 1991

This was the birth of the theatre bug. A multigenerational combination of inexperienced people just looking to have some fun. We did not expect to be doing this in front of an audience of more than our family and friends. When we saw the parking lot filling up we were shocked. Five weeks later we put on another performance with square dancing, the Kam Valley Fiddlers, and a sing-along to round out the night. Mr. Potato Head provided the eyes, nose and kissy lips for the dummy.

- MHM