Tell me a story: Blackout Theatre presents melodrama 'Ol' Dirty Rio Grande Valley' for three weekends

Blackout Theatre is all about bringing the drama.

The Albuquerque-based theater company has gained a reputation of thinking outside the box when staging works.

This time around, Barney Lopez and Stephen Armijo are at the helm of the melodrama, “Ol’ Dirty Rio Grande Valley.”

Lopez wrote the piece and Armijo is the director.

Tell me a story: Blackout Theatre presents melodrama 'Ol' Dirty Rio Grande Valley' for three weekends

The play opens at 7 p.m. Friday, June 7, at ABQ Collective. It will also run Saturday, June 8, and Sunday, June 9.

The production will then head to the Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood on June 14-16. It returns to the Winrock Town Center on June 21, and then hits Madrid at The Mine Shaft Tavern on June 22. It ends its run on June 23, at Tractor Brewing-Wells Park.

“We’re taking this one on the road,” Lopez says. “It will be something for everyone to see.”

“Ol’ Dirty Rio Grande Valley” stemmed from an idea Armijo had a few years ago. He began to pitch it to the company.

“It took some time but I never gave up,” Armijo says.

The play follows Maggie Garcia, who sells the finest hot green chile peppers in all the Rio Grande Valley.

But her son Primo is sick and tired of small-town living, and even sicker and tired-er of green chile.

When smooth-talkin’ Harvey Hollywood comes to town, Primo — and the whole ding dang valley — learn that sometimes, you oughta be careful what you wish for.

Armijo says the production is a twist on the old-fashioned melodrama. He encourages the audience to participate throughout the play.

“This is a story that everyone understands because it’s not necessarily greener on the other side,” Armijo says. “Primo becomes disillusioned with New Mexico and wants to seek out a better life somewhere else. They have to get out of the dirty ol’ Rio Grande Valley. They meet a time traveling movie producer that promises great things for the town if they move 50 miles away.”

Lopez says the play is a lot about a town that needs to change in order to survive.

“But do we give up traditions and values along the way,” Lopez says. “Those are some of the themes in there.”

While the project is one that Armijo has pushed for years, it didn’t come to fruition until he teamed up with Lopez to write.

“I’m a writer who doesn’t like to write,” Lopez admits. “I’m not eager to do it. Having Stephen behind me, he was there to keep me at the pen and get draft after draft together.”

The pair developed an entire town of characters — which the cast takes on.

“The audience is our final character and we want them to get involved by throwing things,” the pair says.

Each production will have live musicians scoring the melodrama.

“We definitely want the entire family to come see these performances,” Lopez says. “It’s the reason we are taking it to multiple locations.”