"'If you haven't enough money to bury me,' says Gertrude Green to her sister in the Potlatch Playhouse's most recent production, 'then throw me in the lake. But think of me when you go boating." … The line epitomizes the best in Gregory L. Palmer's original melodrama. … Although the Potlatch Playhouse exists mainly to present and preserve the early American theatre, Palmer's writing is new. There are elements, as in Gertrude's plea to her sister, that are modern enough to be considered theatre of the absurd."
- Bainbridge Review (unsigned, 7-24-1968)
- Bainbridge Review (unsigned, 7-24-1968)
Betsy Green The Mushroom Queen
Written by Greg Palmer; first titled Betsy Green The Cannery Queen,
based on the classic melodrama, Bertha, The Sewing Machine Girl
Premiere production directed by Greg Palmer, at The Potlatch Playhouse, Bainbridge Island, Washington, Summer 1968
Revised and retitled for production at Snoqualmie Falls Forest Theater, Fall City, Washington, Summer 1996 and 1997
Published by Eldridge Plays & Musicals, as revised in 1996
An antic mixture of classic melodrama elements (a spunky heroine, a mad scientist, a handsome hero, a statue that comes to life, a mysterious "Oriental cult") with signally Northwest notes: those mushrooms; eternal forests threatened by condos; Irish and Norwegian policemen--all whipped together in a wildly improbable plot. Best appreciated by those with a howl-a-minute sense of humor.
Premiere production directed by Greg Palmer, at The Potlatch Playhouse, Bainbridge Island, Washington, Summer 1968
Revised and retitled for production at Snoqualmie Falls Forest Theater, Fall City, Washington, Summer 1996 and 1997
Published by Eldridge Plays & Musicals, as revised in 1996