Last December, we, the Dramalab group, didn't do The Addams Family, but instead we did a play called The Golden Nugget of Badcrow written by John Batty.
The idea of the story was like Carry On Cowboy meets Monty Python. The Indians find a golden rock-sized nugget and settle down beside it. News of the nugget reaches a trapper called Murdo Sprockett who goes in search of it, with an Mexican woman called Consuela, and finds it, but then discovers that he can't move it, so he decides to return later for it, however he then gets caught in one of the his traps. Dying, he asks the passing postman (Wells Fargo) to deliver a message to his wife, Constance, telling her that she "owns" the nugget. The trapper's wife decides to claim the nugget, much to her daughter's (Lucinda) greatest dislike.
Meanwhile, the villains of the story, the McMaster boys, Sly (the meanest) and Lennie (the dumbest of the two), come by and frighten the Indians away, but struggle in finding the nugget (it being painted by Consuela). Then the town of Badcrow is built near by. The "Golden Nugget Saloon" is run by Organza with Cindy and Barbie as her salon girls.
On their way west, the Sprocketts meets three nuns (Sister Ignatius, Sister Agatha (who is tone deaf) and Sister Bridget (a new recruit)), who too are heading west to deliver the "good news". Meanwhile a man called Stan enters Badcrow (In the script he has a horse. But John Batty found an old camel costume, but the camel was turned into a rat after the first night of performance). Stan finds a note from Murdo saying "You own the golden nugget of Badcrow. Ask the Mexican." When the McMaster boys sees Stan's pet, they knock him out to get his pet, then they knock each other out when they argue who owns the pet, who then walks off. When Stan walks up, he has lost his memory and, upon finding the Sheriff's badge, he thinks that he is the sheriff and locks the McMaster boys up. The salon girls gets Stan to release the boys for a drink when the Sprocketts and the nuns came running into town the Indians chasing them, but are frightened off by Constance. After a few introductions, the McMaster boys are frightened off and everyone starts to settle down in Badcrow.
Meanwhile, the Indian Chief's son, Laughing Cow, played by yours truly, is growing up into manhood and is sent into the desert to prove that he's worthy for manhood. While he chases a rat for dinner, he meets Stan's wife and daughter, Rita and Tracey, who ask him if he has seen Stan, leaving Laughing Cow confused and he wonders off then the ladies attempt to show him photos of Stan but lose interest in the Indian.
Lucinda finally has enough of the west and decides to return home (east). She meets Rita and Tracey and points them the right direction. Then Laughing Cow chases the rat by and away, "saving" Lucinda from the rat. Constance and Stan approach the Indians for peace as Laughing Cow and Lucinda marry. Meanwhile the McMaster boys, having taken the note Stan left, attempt to get information of the golden nugget from Consuela, who has taken refuge with the nuns. The boys decide the disguise themselves to closer. Sly dresses up as the Pope, but Lennie dresses up as gorilla, much to Sly's annoyance. The plan almost works, but the boys are frightened off.
When the locals are celebrating peace, news comes that the McMaster boys had kidnapped Consuela. Stan decides to step in, just as the golden nugget is found, and just as Rita and Tracey barge on the scene. The McMaster boys are frightened off the last time when Rita hits Lennie's gun, causing it to go off and the bullet to ricochet about and hitting Sly's bum. When Stan tells his wife that he "doesn't know her", Rita hits on the head and he regains his memory. The play ends with Organza telling the golden nugget was shared out to everyone and peace continued on.
We all had fun doing the performance. Playing an Indian wasn't too bad, it was fun. On the first night, David, who played a witch doctor/medicine woman in the Indian tribe and the rat Laughing Cow chases, played the front end of a camel. But as he walked on stage from the audience side door, he missed his footing and slipped off the stage, but he got up and continued the performance. For the remaining two nights, the camel became the rat. I think that David deserves a medal for bravely.
I wonder what we're doing next December.
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