Cougar Cry
Page 8
Sweetheart Dinner Theatre
by: Matthew Lowder
With five nights of performances and three nights of din
ner, the Sweetheart Dinner Theatre could be described
as nothing but a blast. For all of you that didn’t have the
time to attend the free Tuesday and Wednesday even
ing performances, “Nyah-nyah-nyah!” Three one-act
comedies kept the audience (as well as the performers)
jittering on the edges of their seats as punch line after
punch line rolled through the Walker Center lobby in
waves of laughter. From Valentines Thursday until Sat
urday, the comedies were preceded by an excellent
prime rib buffet provided by the Culinary Department,
making the $20 tickeis well worth the price.
Scrumptious salads, seasoned vegetables, groovy
mashed potatoes, pork scallapini paprikash, ribs smoth
ered in sauce, and an assortment of cream puffs and
cheesecakes to choose from all combined to make this
one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever had. I forgot
the rolls, slightly brown yet still soft, warm but not too
hot, smothered in sauce or dripping with butter, scraping
the last remnants of mashed potatoes off your plate...
Dang, I’m drooling again. Kimrey Jordan, director of the
Culinary Department’s involvement, obviously had an
extremely talented selection of students working with
him to provide us with such an astounding selection of
food. Sweet southern tea and dainty cups of coffee flew
around the tables. The waiting staff, supervised by Emi-
lie Waddell, sweated in their professional haste to make
sure every customer was well served. Dressed in white
cooking coats and wearing poofy paper hats, the cooks
resembled every person’s dream of a private chef.
Although it was hard to draw attention away from your
expanding waistline after pigging out an a super meal,
the Theatre Department did an admirable job. As a part
of their associates in fine art course, three students
chose, cast, and directed their own plays. Jessica Tilley
directed The Apple Blossom Family, a strange family
gathering on New Year’s Eve set in 1968 and sprinkled
with amusing sexual innuendos (in my opinion). Apres
Opera was directed by Evan Anderson and was atiout a
reunited friendship fraught with cranky waitresses and
narcoleptic boyfriends. Chad Hall, performing the part of
Peter, was in many people’s opinion, the funniest and
most memorable actor in the event. Last, but certainly
not least, with A Beast of a Different Burden, Shannon
Reynolds made his directing debut, taking another small
step on his way towards Broadway. His play, set in a
New York apartment, was about a lonely vampire, a des
perate woman, a friend named Dez Nutz, and a box of
rats. Get the picture?
All three of the directors did an excellent job and have
clearly shown their talent for theatre. According to Dave
Reynolds, director of the Theatre Department, each stu
dent . .did very nice, were creative, worked hard, and
had good casts.”
Dave’s personal thoughts on the experience were, “The
weather was fabulous.”
Is this an allegory for something else, or is he really talk
ing about the clear, uninterrupted skies during the week
of Valentines?
It’s hard to imagine what the Dinner Theatre was like
when the college first began around forty years ago.
Performances took place wherever there was room, the
food was cooked in homes, and it wasn’t surprising if
less than ten people showed up. Although the Walker
Center was used once it opened in 1984, the kitchens
weren’t added until two years ago. Before that, the Culi
nary Department had to prepare all of the food in the
Technical Arts Building and then wheel it into the Center.
This was the same time period plagued with elevator
breakdowns. Now, Mr. Jordan is making full use of the
new kitchen and Dave is certainly taking advantage of
the high-tech lighting system. Each of the directors are
using the delightful talents of their students to an amaz
ing extent.
Wrapping up, if you didn’t get to attend the Dinner Thea
tre this year, keep your eyes open for next year’s event.
Don’t just take your valentine out for a steak at Sage
brush, guys. Get her an all-star performance, a fantastic
meal, and a box of cond-l mean, chocolates!
Did you miss
The Music Man
/ on March 20-24th
}and April 3-7th or
William of Stratford
f April 10th-14th? ^
Well it
must suck to be you :)