Much of Astoria’s bawdy past lies buried beneath trap doors in local saloons, where legends tell of men getting shanghaied – captured and unwillingly sold as crew to ships, never to be seen again.

But each year, residents unearth the legends and myths of the region’s turn-of-the-century, Barbary-Coast-style culture in the rollicking musical melodrama, “Shanghaied in Astoria.”

Running July through mid-September, the show returns in 2006 with the usual suspects: the sweet but dumb Norwegian Eric Olsen and his love interest, cannery heiress Virginia Sweet; notorious saloon owner Miss Vivian; dastardly, corrupt villain Max Krooke and his underhanded assistant, Sneake; brassy boarding house mistress Miss Macie and her feather-clad working girls.

The audience has a role, too: cheering for the hero, sighing with the heroine, and hissing and hurling popcorn at the villains.

There’s can-can dancing, bungling fishermen and plenty of slapstick humor about local history, especially fishing and Scandinavian traditions.

Still running strong

In its 22nd season, “Shanghaied” still uses the same script as when it was first created by Clatsop Community College instructor Del Corbett, then-student Tammy Phillips and a team of local artists, although it gets better each year, said Judy Niland, publicist for the Astor Street Opry Company, which produces the event.

Steeped in regional tradition and lore, the show has become a local legacy of its own, according to ASOC. Niland said there’s nothing quite like it.

The evil villain Max Krooke, played by David Grimberg, is showered with popcorn during his first entrance of the season.”I don’t know of any other place in the country that uses a locally written, locally based script that’s run this long,” she said. “There might be others, but they’re few and far between.”

The talent showcased is also local, with a cast composed of actors and actresses who live along the lower Columbia River, directed this year by Anne MacGregor.

“The cast is a very tight, well-oiled machine,” Niland said. “They work really well together and have come really far in a really short period of time.”

Backstage before the show, Danielle Richmond, 13, puts the finishing touches on her Virginia Sweet look.”Shanghaied” has involved hundreds of volunteers and has drawn thousands of viewers since it began more than 20 years ago.

Income vs. expenses

In some ways, the show is doing “better than ever” financially, Niland said, at least with ticket sales, advertising sales and donations: “All that’s going swell.” But rising rent and utility costs continue to make it difficult to pay the bills.

With the help of Thea Dyal, who plays one of Miss Macie’s girls, artist Bill Dodge unveils his painting of ‘Shanghaied in Astoria’ on opening night last Thursday.”We’re having a tough time keeping up,” she said. “It’s the same old thing; we just have to keep pushing harder.”

And the show, which at one point ran in the old Astor Hotel, now faces losing its current venue. The 100-seat Finnish Meat Market, in Astoria’s historic Uniontown District, is up for sale, pointed out Franko Lowey, master of ceremonies at last week’s opening night. But the company would like to buy it, he said.

That night featured one step toward that goal: Artist Bill Dodge sold his recent “Shanghaied in Astoria” painting for nearly $3,000, benefiting the local show. Color giclee prints of the work will be sold with other merchandise at the Bimbo Booth during this season’s performances.

Community connection

The Finnish Meat Market is stuffed to the gills on opening night.More than 60 performers make up the 2006 cast and will rotate each week to fill different roles, Niland said, taking liberties in their enduring rendition of Astoria’s history, 22 years in the running.

“It shows that people long for tradition,” Niland said. “It’s what gives them a connection to each other, to a place. It gives you a sense of belonging.

“And you don’t have to be Scandinavian to appreciate it.”