Head Villain Cadwell Von Fowl and his sidekick Lickpenny will be making a return to a heavily modified Bonitafest this year despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic that is COVID-19, said Melodrama Artistic Director Max Branscomb.
Branscomb said the Bonitafest committee had two choices for the annual Bonitafest parade and Melodrama that have been around for almost half a century: to give up or to evolve.
“Theater people are creative and that’s what we’re supposed to do: create and find new ways,” Branscomb said.
The event usually features what he describes as “kind of a democratic parade on Friday night where everyone can join in” from people on horseback to kids on bikes and even residents walking their llamas.
Bonita Vista High School parking lot has been set up in past years with booths where about six to seven thousand people circulate, as well as entertainment provided by local groups like school bands on two different stages.
“Of course, we can’t do the parade or the street fair or the performances… Our vision is we’re going to meet at Sweetwater Community Church, then drive a 13-mile route through the neighborhoods. The beloved Bonita Sunnyside Fire Department will lead the parade with a 1954 Mac Engine, the Sheriffs are on board to help us, they’re very friendly and they’ll likely have a car in front and back,” Branscomb said.
Branscomb plans to adapt the Melodrama that is usually performed live onstage in conjunction with the event into a one-hour radio program, potentially housed online as an accessible podcast.
“I teach mass communication at Southwestern College and one of the sections I love teaching about the old radio shows… melodramas are a little old-fashioned anyway, so I thought why not do it as a radio play this year? I think it will be fun,” Branscomb said.
He said the dreaded dead air of radio and inability to incorporate visual cues are a couple of challenges for the production as actors usually play to a crowd of 1,000 to 1,200 audience members who can fall into the live performance.
Cadwell Von Fowl is a recognizable stock villain in his top hat and cane, said Branscomb and the same actor, Tim Evans, has played Lickpenny for most of the 43 years the melodrama has been produced.
We will need to have the scripted performance run a little tighter but “radio used to be called the theatre of the mind so it will be my job as the writer to help create the imagery that we need,” Branscomb said.
Referencing Orson Welles and Norman Corwin— vintage radio writers from the 1930s and ‘40s— he says their genius was in allowing the audience to form their own vision.
“Our listeners are smart, they’ll figure it out.”
At this point, the main challenge, he said, is funding the event.
Typically they receive funding through the Community Enhancement Program; Branscomb said San Diego County District 1 Supervisor Greg Cox has been a big supporter of Bonitafest for years but funding has not yet been allotted this year.
Although Bonitafest details have not yet been worked out, nationally-renowned sports reporter Jim Trotter will serve as Grand Marshal of the parade. Trotter is a longtime member of San Diego Association of Black Journalists, has written for Sports Illustrated and ESPN, currently works for NFL Media and is described by Branscomb as a “football expert, super nice guy and wonderful gentleman.”
Filling that parade route with participants and viewers is Branscomb’s next challenge, a route he hopes will be filled with people standing out on their sidewalks to watch the distanced participants roll by.
Branscomb said this year’s Bonitafest is definitely going to look different but he hopes it gives people a chance to celebrate all the things that have been run over by the pandemic.
“Americans are used to celebrating those things like graduating from high school or college— we’re a social people and we like to share good things with friends. In our small way, we’re trying to give the community an opportunity, send a message that we may have to adapt but we don’t have to stop doing things.”
The parade is scheduled for Sept. 19. Broadcast details have not yet been announced for the Melodrama Radio Play.
A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the villain. The correct name is Cadwell Von Fowl. Also, the event in years past was at Bonita Vista High School, not Bonita High School. The Star-News regrets the errors.
