McSweeney's Dinner Theatre Good Fun, Night Out

Only the Lonely (1965 ) is worth the price of admission, even before the meal at McSweeney's Dinner Theatre in Downtown Moncton, over Kramer’s building, second floor walk up theatre.

If you loved cars from the 1965 era and can recall who of what the term "Frankie and Annette " were about, as the modern Jen-Ben-Angelina of today's youth obsessed culture, then you will enjoy sitting through three hours of back to high school feature entertainment.

The ensemble cast of young performers, who were not even born when the music they perform with such fervent gusto was causing baby making booms in the back seat of cars before the Pill toned down the birth and first marriage rate and age group in the late 60’s; define well bred versatility.

I went last night in a group from LocalintheKnow that covered 24 to 74 in age group and we all enjoyed it. Where do young women go to learn to be vamps and wanna be sex kittens anyway?. Must be the Madonna influence who would have been strutting in her Like A Virgin costume's when these young performers were being raised on Big Macs and TV shows.

I have not previously been to McSweeney's Dinner Theatre and it is a treat.

That old building that once housed New Brunswick's only domestic natural gas company at the turn of the century and was built on the wealth generated from running the docks, wharfs and barges on the Petitcodiac River, was filled to the old, over-painted rafters last night, now retrofitted with color co-ordinated water sprinkler chic, with waves of laughter from an appreciative audience.

The evening starts with a stand up bar with some cocktail seating like you used to find in speak-easy's and cellar jazz bars a few decades ago in any City starting with the word New in it's title.

At 6:30 the actors, by times waiters and waitresses, and by amazingly more times, singers and musicians with serious dexterity skills on electronic piano, the usual cast of guitars as musical props and a mean set of drums and various assorted tambourines. The cast was into channeling Jan and Dean, Janis, the Beatles, and Roy Orbinson on occasion, as well as some of the songs you hear walking the streets during the Atlantic Nationals Car Show here in July.

In between servings, by the way the mussels are excellent and you can choose from three main courses, the cast offers a Dr. Ruth kind of narrative, improv script that involves members of the audience and local references. Its just good fun about an era that you did not have to live through apparently, to find funny.

The versatile cast includes:

• Dan Parlee as Albert County expatriate misery, Alfred;
• his lovely stage wife Melannie ( with two n's don't you know ), as Dame Edna, a lovely hunchback wannabe Dr. Ruth on Quaaludes who narrates the running ensemble improvisation of a stage play;
• with the slick back Dean Martin impresario Jeff McCullum, as Wicked Wayne, who smoothly segues between a mean stick on drums to a lounge rat singer;
• as well as the effervescent Jen Morris as Bonnie-the vamp - that every 60's high school class had at least two of;
• plus the sensitive shy guy who today would be a computer geek with a keyboard in the person of Joey Baglole as Dean; of which every class even today, has at least several dozen;
• and for balance, the girl next door in the person of Jessica MacArthur, as Georgette, a wickedly sly gal whose appearance is deceiving.

Everyone of the cast chock a block with talent and charming wit. They work hard for three hours and one can imagine the preparation and practice it takes to make it look so improvised and fun. Faking fun is hard work.

Did I mention that they also serve the meals and take the drink orders and then run the cash register to tally up the bar bills at the end of the evening. All in character, all the time.

They identify good sports in the audience and play off the personality of the crowd, unerringly finding the good sports and spirits in the place during the course of the evening.

The script is delivered with more enthusiasm and verve as well as strong musical rifts as a running cliche and gag on the era, than strong writing; but there are witty and clever moments that overall make the performance fun to attend for live theatre in Metro Moncton.

I recall my first Dinner Theatre in what used to be the Wandlyn Inn, now the Moncton Inn at Magnetic Hill. It was there that I first met Jenny Mundy, of whom height challenged Melannie Trenholm reminds me, in her stage antics and presence, and where I first encountered the wonderful Marshall Button, who today is a driving force behind our annual Comedy Festival, HubCap Festival.

I recall wondering then what he might do as he was from Ottawa at the time and eventually he came back to Moncton and is part of what makes Moncton great today.

Looking at them last evening and enjoying having my auditory senses attacked, I wondered where they will be in 20 years or so. There is a lot of talent in this group.

Sometimes, I find myself wondering how the education system works today with which we are going to have to do battle with Chinese world domination and the 1000 year religious war we have started with the Muslims and other Religious I'm Right-and-Your-Damned-Again Activists; in the immediate future with the educated young that we are producing today.

Watching them last night, it restores my positive belief that somehow, despite all our failures in education policy and execution, we are turning out the best and the brightest still.

Looking at the seamless movement between musical instruments and their obvious talent and ambition to be a success, I am encouraged that somehow we continue to turn out very bright, capable, articulate and spirited new generations of Canadian youth.

Go see it for yourself. Let these young, enthusiasts of their craft entertain you for a night.

Make a night of it at McSweeney's Dinner Theatre and then reward the bold management of Kramer's with a post performance review and drink at the Kramer's Bar.

I always worry how bold enterprises’ like McSweeneys and Kramer's are going to last in the brutal world of competitive business, but this is a niche that is working. They are doing a great service for making Downtown Moncton a more vibrant and entertaining place for all tastes and generations. By reports, they are frequently sold out.

This production is winding down and another new performance is in pre-production to start up when this one closes in a few weeks, Check the LocalintheKnow Local Calendar of Events for the Change over dates and new play name.

Hats off to the creative energy of directors Ingria Dilion and Mike Alison and the management of Kramer's /McSweeney's for daring to make live theatre over a meal an entertaining and rewarding expenditure of time and talent.

See it. It will make you laugh and pine for a time when things were simpler and the biggest problem in life was a lonely heart.