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| re: Food for thought: Are there many dinner theaters left? | |
| Posted by: Ballerina56 12:36 am EDT 09/02/19 | |
| In reply to: Food for thought: Are there many dinner theaters left? - WaymanWong 06:46 pm EDT 09/01/19 | |
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| Actually, dinner theaters were big in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. In addition to performing in several dinner theaters as a teen in my hometown, I also did a few musicals at Club Bene in Morgan, NJ. By the time I got there in the early 80s, a young John Travolta had already made his debut. It was a fun place to get your feet wet. The rehearsal periods were brief and the runs were short. They'd pick the cast up in a van at Port Authority and truck us out to rehearse and perform. The owner, Joe Beninato, was a sweet, cigar-chomping Italian man who we all thought had ties to the mafia. We used to line up in the lobby on pay day and get our "checks" from his thick wad of cash. The venue also hosted comedians (Regis Phiibin, The Smothers Brothers, George Carlin), singers (Jon Bon Jovi, Meatloaf), and small local bands. It was demolished in 1984. I've been to the Westchester Broadway Theater in Elmsford, and I know that Toby's Dinner Theater in Columbia, MD still exists. They're doing "Kinky Boots" next season. |
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| Other notable names that started in dinner theater? | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 07:49 pm EDT 09/02/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Food for thought: Are there many dinner theaters left? - Ballerina56 12:36 am EDT 09/02/19 | |
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| That's neat about Travolta. I also read that Andy Karl, at 16, played Aladdin at the White Marsh Dinner Theatre in Baltimore, Md. | |
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| re: Other notable names that started in dinner theater? | |
| Posted by: JohnPopa 10:46 am EDT 09/04/19 | |
| In reply to: Other notable names that started in dinner theater? - WaymanWong 07:49 pm EDT 09/02/19 | |
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| Before my time (well, I was 5), but Scott Bakula played Jesus in "Godspell" at the Carousel Dinner Theater in Akron, Ohio in 1978. | |
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| Candlelight Playhouse -- Chicago | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 11:29 pm EDT 09/02/19 | |
| In reply to: Other notable names that started in dinner theater? - WaymanWong 07:49 pm EDT 09/02/19 | |
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| Going through my playbills for Candlelight Playhouse, dated '91 -- '96, I am finding names of future Broadway performers like Will Chase, Stephen Buntrock, Dennis Kelly, Blake Hammond, and Kathy Voytko. | |
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| Oops, a typo! | |
| Posted by: Ballerina56 12:56 am EDT 09/02/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Food for thought: Are there many dinner theaters left? - Ballerina56 12:36 am EDT 09/02/19 | |
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| It was demolished in 2014. | |
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