Stage Review - Lavender Melodrama (Olympic Theatre Arts)

Stage Review - Lavender Melodrama
Presented By: Olympic Theatre Arts - Sequim, WA
Show Run: July 10 - July 26, 2026
Date Reviewed: Sunday, July 12, 2026 (Opening Weekend)
Run Time: 2 Hours (including at 15-minute intermission)
Reviewed by: Greg Heilman

There are some reviews that are easier to write than others, and this year’s Lavender Melodrama isn’t one of them.

I only discovered Olympic Theatre Arts’ annual tradition last summer as The Sound on Stage continued expanding the scope of its coverage throughout Washington. Leaving that performance, I was struck by just how entertaining it was. It was smart, irreverent, delightfully self-aware, and every bit as enjoyable as some of the best melodramas I’ve experienced over the years, even those produced in Disney parks, by some of the best storytellers around. As I dug deeper into the show’s history, the pieces quickly fell into place. Its creator, David Herbelin, had previously worked for Walt Disney Imagineering, contributing to entertainment in the parks, and his background, even beyond his time at Disney, made him perfectly suited to create a show like this.

He’s someone I wish I’d had the opportunity to meet. I tried on several occasions to arrange an interview, but our schedules never aligned, and if my math is right, David and I were with Disney at roughly the same time, albeit in different divisions and in different locations.. Hearing of his passing earlier this month made that missed opportunity all the more regrettable. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations we shared electronically, and through his work as Executive Director, David left an unmistakable imprint on Olympic Theatre Arts, the Sequim community, and undoubtedly countless people beyond it. Among the many things he leaves behind, the Lavender Melodrama may prove to be one of his most enduring creations.

Returning to Sequim this weekend, I expected another clever installment much like last year’s production. Instead, David surprised me one final time. Rather than revisiting familiar territory, this year’s Lavender Melodrama, titled Lavender Liberty, delivers an entirely new story, introduces memorable new characters alongside returning favorites, and elevates its technical presentation with projections and props that have taken a noticeable step forward in both quality and sophistication. It is unmistakably David’s voice. Lavender Liberty is warm, witty, gently self-deprecating, and always eager to celebrate the community while simultaneously poking fun at it.

Now in its fifth year, the Lavender Melodrama has become as much a part of Sequim’s annual Lavender Festival as the colorful fields themselves. Each year’s production tells a new story while retaining the classic melodrama traditions of heroes to cheer, villains to boo, and damsels to sigh for, all while inviting the audience to become active participants in the fun. This year’s installment, running through July 26 at Olympic Theatre Arts, continues that tradition with another affectionate send-up of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula, and the people who call it home…or choose to retire there. It’s a tradition that I hope can find a way to continue, and one that I’d put up there locally with others, like A Christmas Carol at Union Arts Center, or Intiman Theatre’s Black Nativity, shows that should be on everyone’s calendar year after year after year.

This edition’s script broadens its satirical reach beyond Sequim itself and the retirees who help fuel the local economy. David casts a much wider net, finding humor in everything from Pacific Northwest landmarks and roadside attractions to the quirks of modern politics and society. My favorite sequence follows newcomers Phil and Sally as they land at SEA-TAC and make the journey north to Sequim for the festival. Supported by simple but wonderfully effective props and some of the most contextually integrated projections I’ve seen on stage in quite some time, the sequence is laugh-out-loud funny from beginning to end. Every landmark, tourist attraction, and local stereotype becomes fair game, yet the satire never feels mean-spirited. It pokes fun at nearly everyone, but always with a wink rather than a finger pointed in accusation. The political and social commentary lands the same way, it’s timely, clever, and never preachy.

Returning favorites include Mario Arruda, making his fourth appearance as the heroic Loddon Blue (Hooray!), Nikki Forrest, once again embodying the ever-imperiled Mayor Rebecca Kay (Sigh!), Chelsea Doyle as the delightfully devious Little Lottie (Hubba Hubba!), and Ben Heintz as the alliterative Pioneer Pete, a villain who is against change (what is the word for people like this again?) and is bent on making sure it never happens, going even as far as pledging to allow only native settlers to live in Sequim, everyone else is to be escorted out of town (sound familiar?). Joining them is Matt Forrest as the aptly named Watchdog, who commits wholeheartedly to an unabashedly canine interpretation that becomes one of the evening’s recurring comic devices. Alivia Halverson and Amber Tiemsland portray a variety of townspeople throughout the evening, while Mike Hochstatter and Joodie Klinke (last year’s Lady in Red) are wonderfully relatable as festival visitors Phil and Sally, providing an ideal lens through which the audience experiences the madness unfolding around them. Every performer understands the heightened style melodrama demands, embracing broad performances, audience interaction, and playful exaggeration without ever allowing the comedy to become forced. The audience isn’t simply watching the show, they’re participants in it, and this cast thrives on that interaction.

And what is a melodrama without a musical accompaniment. Not having that would be like a silent film not having a piano playing along. Here again, it’s Ken “3 Fingers” Young providing this bit of musicality to the festivities. If you get a chance to read Ken’s bio, it’s clear why if you look over at him during the show, he’s just playing, no music, no cues, just Ken and his 88-keys.

One of the most impressive accomplishments of this fifth edition of the Lavender Melodrama is how much the production itself has evolved. Last year’s projections were effective; this year’s become an integral storytelling device. Becca Orozco’s projection design doesn’t simply establish locations, it drives the action. Whether transporting the audience from SEA-TAC through the familiar landmarks of the Olympic Peninsula or punctuating the many visual gags, the projections consistently know exactly when to support the comedy and when to become part of it. Combined with intentionally uncomplicated scenery and cleverly deployed props (credit to Diane Smith and Fey Beeson), the production feels far more cinematic than one might expect from a community theatre melodrama, all while never losing the charm that defines the show.

Joodie Klinke’s costume design is equally successful in embracing the exaggerated nature of melodrama. Every character is immediately identifiable from the moment they step on stage, their costumes reinforcing personalities that are intentionally larger than life. Heroes look heroic, villains look villainous, and every supporting character contributes another splash of color to David’s whimsical world. It’s a design that understands the genre just as thoroughly as the performers inhabiting it, and every piece is highlighted by at least a bit of lavender color, again not losing sight of why the Lavender Melodrama exists in the first place.

Holding all of those pieces together is Matt Forrest’s direction, which keeps the show moving with good timing and remarkable confidence. Audience participation is never allowed to interrupt the rhythm, scene changes arrive effortlessly (or if they don’t, the audience is suitably entertained), and the production maintains a brisk pace that rarely gives a joke time to cool before the next one lands. More importantly, Matt clearly understands that the success of a melodrama isn’t simply in encouraging the audience to boo, cheer, and sigh, it’s in making them want to. From the opening moments until the curtain call, the audience remains fully invested in every groan for the villain, every cheer for the hero, and every exaggerated sigh for the damsel in distress.

I truly love that Lavender Melodrama refuses to become complacent. It would have been easy to dust off last year’s script, make a few topical updates, and rely on familiarity. Instead, David wrote an entirely new story. Returning audiences are rewarded with fresh material, while newcomers never feel as though they’re arriving in the middle of an ongoing tradition. That’s no small feat for an annual production, and it speaks to the creativity that made David such an important figure in Olympic Theatre Arts.

As I made the drive home from Sequim, I realized my regret over never having met David in person hadn’t changed. But after seeing two editions of the Lavender Melodrama, I also realized that perhaps I had met him in the only way that mattered. His sense of humor, his affection for his community, his understanding of theatrical storytelling, and his belief that laughter can bring people together are woven into every page of this production. Long after the lavender fields have been harvested each summer, audiences will continue to gather at Olympic Theatre Arts to cheer the hero, boo the villain, sigh for the damsel in distress, and laugh together. That’s a legacy any playwright would be proud to leave behind.

Which brings me back to where I started. Some reviews are harder to write than others. This one was difficult because it says goodbye to a playwright whose work I wish I’d gotten to know sooner, and to a man I wish I’d had the chance to know at all. But if this year’s Lavender Melodrama is David Herbelin’s final gift to the community he loved, it’s a wonderful one—funny, inventive, generous in spirit, and filled with the kind of joy that reminds us why live theatre matters in the first place.

This year’s edition of Lavender Melodrama, is presented by Olympic Theatre Arts and runs on stage in Sequim through July 26. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.olympictheatrearts.org/.

Photo credit: Blu Rok Photography