Spread the Love: Little Nell and the Mortgage Foreclosure by John Donald O’Shea

This week on Spread the Love, Lindsay and Craig talk about Little Nell and the Mortgage Foreclosure, a charming melodrama suitable for high schools, middle schools, and community theatres by John Donald O’Shea.

Transcript

Welcome to Spread the Love. This week we are talking about Little Nell and the Mortgage Foreclosure by John Donald O’Shea. It’s a melodrama with all the traditional fixings: young heroine, dashing hero, moustache-twirling villain. But there’s more than melodrama here. Don has written in a lovely modern comic voice, which is completely engaging. The mix of traditional and modern give this play a boost to make it a melodrama with the most. Craig, what do you love about Little Nell and the Mortgage Foreclosure?

Well, Little Nell is our first (and so far only) melodrama. And I absolutely love how the script is faithful to the melodrama structure, but it also cheekily steps outside the form with a stage manager who is none-too-pleased with the goings on on stage. This play has a broad appeal and can be staged by pretty much anybody. It’s been done by middle schools, high schools, and even some community theatres. It’s a great choice for some great fun.

That’s it for Spread the Love.