Script and gold mine of a cast make up for a few flaws in 'Lost Soul'

It’s October, and this year local theater companies are offering two Halloween-worthy works.

Star Bar’s “The Weir” is the creepy one.

Thin Air’s “The Lost Soul of Cripple Creek” is the light-hearted one.

New this season, “Lost Soul” was adapted by Mickey Burdick from an 1867 English melodrama. Burdick moved the story to Cripple Creek, added some catchy period songs and jazzed up the dialogue to make it funnier.

The story revolves around a rough but kind-hearted miner named Job and his sweet young bride, Nell, who’s manipulated into an adulterous affair by the villainous mine owner.

Murder ensues and the unhappy victim returns as a ghost who vows to get revenge.

Though the leads are capably played by Matt Payne and Laurie Sutton, I found their romance less than compelling (too much telling, too little showing), while the all-important stage brawls were clumsy and unconvincing.

But these weaknesses were more than made up for by the smart script, which gives the characters more depth than you usually see in melodramas, and the sheer showmanship of the secondary cast.

Shannon McMillan finally finds a role worthy of her comedic talents as Nell’s fashion-challenged friend Tilly.

And when this girl sings, she doesn’t just sell the song. She gift wraps it and delivers it to your door.

She’s matched with an equally talented Burdick, who earns his own share of laughs as Blinker, the villain’s blustering, bicep-loving stooge.

The play is followed by a 45 minute olio, featuring Sutton as a little girl whose bedtime is interrupted by a gang of monsters who transform themselves into a plaid-jacketed doo-wop group.

Musical highlights include “Screamin’ Ball at Dracula Hall” and an impromptu singalong version of Rocky Horror’s “Time Warp.”

This “spirited” show won’t give you any nightmares, but it is a lot of fun.

“the lost soul of cripple creek”
by thin air
theatre company

When: 1 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays, 1 and 7 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, through Oct. 31

Where: Butte Theatre, 139 E. Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek

Tickets: $9.75-$15.75; butteoperahouse .com or 689-3247