Martin City Melodrama comes in from the cold

Jeanne Beechwood was a 27-year-old actress when she decided to open her own theater.

Thus was born, in 1985, the Martin City Melodrama & Vaudeville Co. It took its name from its location — 135th Street and Holmes Road — an area of south Kansas City that was once an independent village before being annexed in 1963.

The company filled a niche: slap-happy entertainment rooted in deep American theatrical traditions.

That space presented significant challenges, including a load-bearing post at center stage.

After the mall closed, Martin City relocated at another shopping center in decline, the Great Mall of the Great Plains in Olathe. The owners announced the mall would close after Martin City had been there only a few months.

Now Beechwood’s company has found a new home: Crown Center. Yes, it’s a mall. But it’s alive. Other theaters operate there. It attracts foot traffic.

Martin City’s first show will be “The 12 Days of Schtickmas!” The production begins Nov. 27 and will feature the company’s trademark “water-glass symphony.”

Beechwood’s theater company has entered a long-term agreement with Musical Theater Heritage, which operates the little complex formerly known as the Off Center Theater on the mall’s third floor. Martin City Melodrama will take over a 128-seat former movie theater. The arrangement came about after Mark Edelman, Theater League’s president, suggested she call Chad Gerlt, MTH executive producer.

After several weeks of talks, they worked out an arrangement and Beechwood had a new home.

After the holiday show she has a spring production planned, “The Wizard of Paws,” a retelling of “The Wizard of Oz” from Toto’s point of view that will feature rescue dogs. Eventually she hopes to revive a series of classic forgotten American musicals, which at the Metcalf location included “As Thousands Cheer” and the Marx brothers Broadway vehicle, “The Cocoanuts.”

“The second week of October we started carrying lumber in,” Beechwood said one afternoon at the theater. “And this is where I will die. Every move I say that. I cannot move again. But this time I mean it.”

Gerlt said the addition of Martin City helps MTH fulfill the nonprofit organization’s commitment to Crown Center to increase the number of annual performances.

“It was always my vision to have a miniature Lincoln Center there,” Gerlt said. “I just wanted a flurry of activity there every day throughout the day.”

Martin City, he said, was a perfect fit.

“She came in, and we met face to face and she was really distraught because she’d been doing these shows for 30 years,” he said. “I said, ‘Let’s take a look at the space.’ There’s some challenges to it. There’s not an exit off stage right, but we’re making it happen. It’s going to work out perfect for them.”

Beechwood talked about the company’s history and future during an interview at the theater.

Q. When did Martin City Melodrama open?

A. Oct. 2, 1985. It was an old church that had then gone through several different bar owners. It was a country-western bar when we moved into the upstairs. The downstairs was a wet T-shirt contest bar.

It was just completely two different kinds of business — family theater and a crazy bar down below. And there was many an argument about how loud they turned their music at what time.

Q. How long were you at that location?

A. I left that space in May of 2001, because what was an old building when I started became older without repairs being done to it.

Q. At one point you bought land in the Martin City area and had plans to build a new theater. What happened?

A. We were hoping to build our own space out on 130th and Holmes, which is now a beautiful new QuikTrip. We actually sold the land to QuikTrip. We were supposed to get tax credits from the city, and they went to a different theater organization that year.

Q. Then you transitioned to Metcalf South. What was that like?

A. Metcalf was very, very kind to us. While it may have not been an ideal space, transitionally I would not rewrite that history. I knew that mall wasn’t going to be around forever. But what was supposed to be a couple of years turned into 14 years.

But we opened a theater for children there (and) the Martin City Jr. theater program has been fortunate enough to go to the New York Fringe Festival two times.

And I was able to open the Top Bananas program there where we put on shows with special-needs adults. So I don’t think those would have happened (without) leaving Martin City. So it was a good thing.

Q. And then you moved to the Great Mall, which closed unexpectedly.

A. The journey to the Great Plains Mall brought me here, so I have to be grateful for that journey. But I thought we were done for. I didn’t know where we were going to go.

And just the energy of moving so many times was exhausting, and we’d accumulated so many things over the years. The main stage was literally in the master bedroom and on the front porch (of my house).

The funny thing is I got a citation from the city for my weeds being too tall but not for a 22-by-17-foot stage on the front porch. So who can explain that?

Q. What else do you have in your house?

A. Three pianos in my garage, there’s 400 drops (curtains with painted scenes) in my living room, about 30,000 or 40,000 costumes downstairs. I’ve got two houses filled with props. It’s crazy.

Of course, the original intention of having a second house … was to be able to house actors. I was going to have a little rep company. Well, that hasn’t worked out yet, but what it did was allow me to put stuff somewhere.

Q. What do you think the best thing about your new location is?

A. It’s a win-win for Musical Theater Heritage and for us because I help them pay the rent but we’re going to attract new customers. And they’ll take over the snack bar and selling the tickets, which I had done for 30 years.

If you could think of two things you hate about your job and someone else would do them, wouldn’t it be great? So I am thrilled. I actually get the opportunity for the first time in my business career to just be an artistic director and producer.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Martin City Melodrama comes in from the cold."