Del Corbett takes a trip back in time every year when he goes to watch “Shanghaied in Astoria.”

As a drama teacher at Clatsop Community College 40 years ago, he and a handful of others dreamed up the melodrama to entertain summer audiences.

“It was a really dedicated group,” said Corbett, now 90 and retired in Warrenton. “It was crazy how the thing came together. Everything just kind of flowed. It was one of those symbiotic and synergistic gatherings of people in the same mindset.”

This summer, the Astor Street Opry Co. has celebrated its 40th anniversary, showcasing fresh blood with familiar faces as actors from the past four decades have returned for brief substitutions with this year’s cast.

The show opened July 11 and runs through Sunday with 7 p.m. evening performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and a final matinee 2 p.m. Sunday.

Bawdy

The roots for the long-running project began with Corbett, opting for a melodrama combining British music-hall traditions with United States’ vaudeville styles from the 1900s.

Scandinavian personality Egil Unander-Scharin, musician Liam Dunne and actress Edna Packard joined forces with business owner Greg Minor, who played the villain Max Krooke.

The script, then called “Damsel in Distress,” was penned by Tammy Phillips, a 19-year-old student working toward a degree in writing. It included songs by Dunne, Roger Martin, Jean Miller, Twilo Scofield and Dave Bennett, arranged by Jennifer Goodenberger and Phil Morrow.

The story drew on Astoria’s bawdy waterfront history with stories of “shanghaiing,” where honest men were kidnapped and sold to unscrupulous ship captains. The plot saw conflict between Virginia Sweet, an heiress to a fishing cannery, and Krooke, who wants it for himself.

This year, Jason Hippert has played the villain, stepping aside occasionally for guests from past productions. A Norwegian hero, Eric Olsen, and two bungling Finnish fishermen, Yakko and Eino, figure into the action. Playing them have been Brody Jones, Jaime Baumgardner and Scarlette Baumgardner.

‘Charm’

“The charm of ‘Shanghaied’ is undeniable, but its endurance is thanks to the passionate individuals who have nurtured and brought this show to the masses,” said Markus Brown, who has been involved with the troupe as an actor and director.

He commended this year’s directors, Tim Murphy and Elsa Nethercot, for inviting him, Chris Lynn Taylor and Brian Allen to make guest appearances during this year’s run. Jon Osborn, Beth Beauparland, Lexi Blacksten, Maddison Beauparland, Angela Lister and Mary Kathleen Rohner also contributed.

Other cast members this season have included Clover Boyovich, River Harer, Brandi Higgins, Peyton Baird, Tiffany Dailey, Rosie Fallin, Jessica Villard, Zach Nethercot, Sandi Hilton and Nick, Rob and Jennifer Sturdivant.

Brown credited one of its founders, Judith Niland, with laying the groundwork. “Judy led the Astor Street Opry Co. theater group for most of its run, and many of us owe our success to her,” he said. “In a community without the vibrant theater scene of today, she fought, begged, and charmed Astoria into recognizing its most valuable resource: its homegrown art.”

Over the years, the troupe morphed into a nonprofit group, the Astor Street Opry Co., and moved locations as its fortunes changed. Most recently, it has been based at its playhouse on Bond Street in Astoria.

As well as hosting smaller events, including one-act play festivals some years ago, leaders added a Christmas show, “Scrooged in Astoria,” plus a Scandinavian-flavored retelling of the Lewis and Clark story developed for the city of Astoria’s bicentennial.

‘Shanghaied in Astoria’

A musical melodrama at Astor Street Opry Co., 129 Bond St., Astoria

The 40th season wraps with performances at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday

Tickets are $10 for house seats and $20 for front seats, available at www.asocplay.com