Local theater is awesome

Last Saturday night, Hunter and I attended a dinner theater here in Eugene, at a place called the Actors Cabaret. I've known of the place for years, ever since I was in my 20s taking the bus from the old downtown station on 10th street. I'd be waiting for the bus back to Springfield from my night class, and directly across the street was this wall mural of a bunch of varied silhouettes of people of different sizes and shapes, all kinds of costumes (done as shadows, of course). I would look at it and imagine the different types of folks, and what might go on in that building. One day, I walked over to take a look, and noticed it was a live theater establishment, that actually had dinner theater! Ever since then, I've been wanting to try it, because I thought the idea of eating and staying to watch a show would be really kick-ass. Yeah, I'm showing my 1980s upbringing there, so what :D

Well, as I mentioned earlier in this blog at the end of last year, Hunter and I went to see A Christmas Carol, a musical version, at the Hult Center, and really enjoyed it. Turns out it was performed by the Actors Cabaret. Outside the performance hall at the Hult, there was a table with flyers of other upcoming shows. One of the shows was the musical The Producers. It's always been a favorite of mine, and it's Hunter's absolute favorite. We waited the four months, and got tickets, and the dream was realized last night!

We got there about 6:30PM, and got to our table. We'd already paid the extra, so the meal was no charge except for the drinks and dessert. One of the waiters we recognized as Bob Cratchet from the Christmas Carol :) We each had a pasta dish (which was okay), and right about when we finished eating, it was 8PM and the show started.

Wow! These folks are non-profit, but they put on one hell of a show. Now, Hunter was extremely familar with the songs and everything, and said they just did a bang-up job. I was very impressed how much sound and choreography they could get out of such a small space! The actors were very believable, and a ton of fun to watch.

At intermission, we got a couple of drinks and sipped them throughout the second half. At no time was I looking at my watch, and I was sort of surprised when 10:30PM rolled around and the show ended. What fun, and a great evening out! We definately plan to do it again :) Sorry I missed being at Heron Island that night, but it was well worth it for me :D

We've got plans to see "Curtains" now, when tickets become available.