The Bakersfield Demolition Drama smashes a Gaslight hit with Sam Sleuth and the Fall of the Coffee Baron - By N.L. Belardes

The vaulted room of Bakersfield's Gaslight Melodrama

I think more aptly put, the performance I saw at the Gaslight could have been better titled Episode One of the Sam Sleuth Mystery Hour: The Fall of the Coffee Baron. Why? Because I want a part two, and a part three, and a part four… oh you get the idea. And Sam Sleuth was only about an hour long… (add in the Vaudeville which I sadly had to skip to go watch Roller Derby chicks. Nevermind).

First off, if you’re not from the northwest or the Oildale area and you’re headed north on 99 and decide to swing down Olive Road to hit the backdoor entrance to the Gaslight to avoid Rosedale traffic, think again. You might get lost. Allen Road dead-ends when headed south from Olive, and then it’s guesswork from there. I was lucky to turn west; I think it was on Hageman, and then another lucky turn onto Sante Fe. I think that was the name; and then Sante Fe turns into Allen again, which is totally confusing—all because I wanted to beat Rosedale traffic and arrive on time. Which I wasn’t. I wish there was a sign on the corner of Jomoni or Jumanji or whatever the street is called because I’m blind as a bat… It’s a well-hidden barn, OK?

I was late. Matildakay should have driven. It was her car anyways. And you all know that I CAN’T PAY ATTENTION without thinking about possible porn directors. So sue me.

On to the show…






Detective Sam Sleuth takes a break from his shoe phone

Right off, the Gaslight is quaint, family-owned and tugs at your senses with an atmosphere that’s as friendly as the big tubs of popcorn and salty smell that wafts through the place. Sure, it’s a barn and you might feel like you’re part of some audience nativity scene. But that’s fine. There’s food, there’s ICE CREAM. There’s a fun-loving spirit perfect for any melodrama. I don’t think I missed but eight minutes of the show—and a short show it is, though well worth the ticket price for the quality of entertainment you get.


I can't eat ice cream but I bought one...


This CSUB theatre guru forced me to buy her food so
SHE could enjoy her job while I enjoyed the show...

I have a new name for some of the local talent to forever be known here on out on Paperback Writer as The Bakersfield Demolition Drama. They’re a team, and they’re not out to wreck your life as much as to take away any kind of sour mood you might be in at the moment. Oh yes, they’ll wreck your sour apples and smash them into a sweet cinnamon pie mood with their uproarious writing. Yes, it’s Michael Prince and James Mongold, two brothers smashing together their first Bakersfield hit show with Sam Sleuth and the Fall of the Coffee Baron. They’re so smashing they’re the Bakersfield Demolition Drama. They will crush you with their wit and malachi crunch you together with their madcap sly humor and slapstick style.

And the whole idea of black & white styled film-like imagery?





Imagine stepping in from the bright Bakersfield summer heat after my poor driving. I need a damn GPS implant. We stumbled into a dark room that felt like what little color was left had been sucked from planet Earth and was only allowed to glow from the darkened, angular faces, arms, and legs of the cast. The colorization of Sam Sleuth does not cast a shadow over the performance, but enhances the very humor and tone of the play. It was my first black & white theatre performance. Not a new technique, albeit a difficult one. Audience members have to respect the ‘washing out’ of the entire set and of the actors and actresses. The theatre is darkened to perfection with shadows allowed to cast like an old American murder mystery film. Any light leaked onto the stage is stylishly placed or cast with spotlight perfection. Angles are sharper, shadowy faces grimace to a frothy delight, and the entire set is painted in grey tones, as well as black and white, which makes for a brilliant show of style in and of itself.

Like I said, this is only part one, right?

The dialogue in Sam Sleuth and the Fall of the Coffee Baron is witty and uproarious. The plot is fun and has some twists. I admit I wanted probably three more twists than the storyline had built into it. I think the writers must have been cramming the story into about an hour to allow for the vaudeville part of the show. Maybe part two will allow for a few more twists in the plot, which could make for even zanier writing.

Why? Because the Bakersfield Demolition Drama could have spun even more witty dialogue! The dialogue leading through the plot was amazing. I couldn’t get enough of the back-and-forth jabs, the narrator’s bumbling conscience of the story, the historical jokes and references to modern day and film noir eras of technology and progress, the bantering between characters and melodramatic rendering of dark stereotypes, like the bohemian blind jazzody ventriloquist with the owl in hawkish disguise, and butler British homemaker brothers whose loyalty is maddening.


The Bakersfield Demolition Drama in action...


...and again...


And yet again, brothers James Mongold and Michael Prince

Mystery reviewer ThomasJacksonWalker agrees about the dialogue (Read his review). He includes some dialogue snippets in his own bantering take on Sam Sleuth.

Directed by Michael Prince, you can’t get any better from such a creative mind. He makes full use of the stage and isn’t afraid to have his actors toss dialogue back and forth across the entire length. And why not? He even joins in the fracas in a housekeeping frock with his own brother that will make you realize why the early British Lords of Bakersfield who migrated to the nearby Rosedale were so flamboyantly brilliant to have around. Selfish plug for a novel—I couldn’t help but think about the humor and irony of it all… film noir Cinema of the Lords entry anyone? Sam Sleuth style?





A special shout out to Suzanne Shmedding who I had the privilege of working with on a local TV show. She’s hilarious in Sam Sleuth, exceptionally funny and has a rubber face like Jim Carey’s that can melt into any form of human emotion imaginable. I don’t know how many years she stared into a mirror practicing contortionist facial expressions, but she’s just hilarious…


The many faces of Schmedding


Facial contortionist or just darn good actress?

Go watch the play. There’s still time left. And there may never be a part deux!

SAM SLEUTH and the FALL of the COFFEE BARON (July 21st-August 26th)
THE GASLIGHT MELODRAMA ~Call (661) 587-3377 for reservations
12748 JOMANI DR., BAKERSFIELD, CA 93312

Read past theatre articles:

N.L. as Queen of the Downtown Fur Rocky Horror Review
The Five Dresses of Queen Kong
The Hobbit
Peter Pan
Why I never wrote about Amadeus
Rocky Horror
Bakersfield Theatre Funny Business

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Sunday, August 13, 2006. You can leave your response.