When the temps dipped below 20 degrees back in the frosty winter months, many evenings found Scott and I doing dinner and a movie. But not your typical dinner and a movie date.
Since we were still adjusting to the cold, we felt compelled to maintain a state of semi-hibernation and mostly ordered take-out (which Scott picked up on the way home) and proceeded to watch movies, rented directly from cable.
It was a lazy but warm existence.
Now, however, the sun has finally graced us with its presence, some mystery flowers are pushing up outside our house, and it’s time to go out for dinner and a movie.
Or, even better, to put a new twist on things and do dinner and the theatre. More accurately, dinner theatre.
Broadway Baby Theatre claims to be the longest running dinner theater in Milwaukee. Noting that their production of Beau Jest received a good review from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel theater critic, we decided to check it out.
Frankly, I was a little worried when we pulled in the parking lot and I caught a glimpse of the building. But once we got past the slightly funky exterior everything was fine. Inside the walls were adorned with large portraits of silver screen stars, the stage set looked inviting, and the tables were covered with crisp white cloths and crimson napkins.
We scored a great table – right in the middle of the room so we had a great view of the stage and the crowd. There was a full house and although several other couples were about our age, the majority of the crowd was comprised of the 55-plus set.
We couldn’t help but overhear a lot of people commenting about some of the past shows they’d seen at the Broadway Baby Theatre. Obviously, they have quite a following of “regulars”!
In fact, our waitress said she herself had been there for fifteen years. “The shows are always great and the food is good too,” she told us.
She then quickly brought our drinks and gave us a run-down of the night’s specials.
Several of the options sounded good, but I wanted to try the most popular, which apparently is the prime rib accompanied by carrots, mushrooms, and a baked potato. For an appetizer, I requested the clam chowder and Scott decided to try the pasta salad.
You’d think after consuming all that food we wouldn’t even be able to think about desert, but the minute our server mentioned “Chocolate Seduction Cake” we knew we had to have a slice. Actually, Scott had a slice and I stole a tiny bite.
But don’t offer me credit for restraint just yet.
I ordered a small bowl of rainbow sherbet, and of course, consumed several cups of coffee. Hey, it had been a long day! I needed a little caffeination. Apparently, the lady behind us did, too.
She went on and on about how she hoped she could stay awake for the show (apparently, she’d consumed more than a few glasses of vino). But she shouldn't have worried. Beau Jest was excellent and we found ourselves laughing from start to finish.
The story was delightfully witty, with just the occasional touch of melodrama thrown in for good measure. And it all made for an evening that was much more entertaining than any movie-of-the-moment.
Sounds like fun. I love dinner theatre. I'll have to check it out.
Posted by: Steve Jenson | April 13, 2006 at 02:47 PM