I
Lincolnites neglect dinner theate
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Jeff Englund and Robert Tliurber, cast members of
Come Blow Your Horn currently playing at the Lincoln
Colonnades Dinner Theater. The dinner theater is
experiencing some financial difficulty due to a lack of
interest by Lincolnites.
The scene is from a drawing by cast member Gail Oliver.
This seems to be my week for griping. Not
content with rattling the bones of the Stuart
Theatre controversy, I find myself preparing to
take my small audience to task once more.
Thereforel beg whatever indulgence is available.
Last fall, The Colonnades Dinner Theater
opened with a sparkling production of Cole
Porter's Anything Goes. Nicely mounted in a
banquet room of the Cornhusker Hotel, the show
earned its fair share of praise and
Lincolnites were delighted with the novelty of at
last having a dinner theater in their own back
yard. Unfortunately, the show, hampered by
erratic publicity, did not attract decent audiences
and closed with a respectable debt.
No profit
The Colonnades' second production Come
Blow Your Horn, opened in December . to
generally favorable reviews. However, in spite of
improved publicity work, the show is still
drawing barely enough audience to break even,
much less to make a profit. According to
Publicity Manager Robert C. Thurber, the
production is attracting an average of 52 patrons
per night, and has managed to fall slightly into
debt as well.
This should not be.
More is at stake than the simple success or
failure of the Colonnades Dinner Theater. What
is in question here is whether or not Lincoln can,
or will, support a theater that depends on box
office receipts for its existence.
In its first two productions, the Colonnades
h-s set a level of professionalism in' its
performances that is beyond that of the Linco'n
Community Playhouse. In addition, the dinner
has been consistently
served
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decent and the service has been almost always
beyond reproach. For $7.95 per person ($6.95
weeknights), the Colonnades offers what
amounts to a remarkable entertainment bargain,
one that should appeal to a wide variety of
people.
Lincolnites wary
Yet, for some reason, lincolnites seem to be
wary of giving this uniquely enjoyable
entertainment a try. If box office receipts do not
improve for the next productions, it follows that
the Colonnades will be forced to cut back or
even possibly close down their operation, leaving
the Lincoln theater audience somewhat poorer
for its passing.
And that would be a poverty indeed.
This weekend holds plenty for Lincoln
Audiences. At the Red Rose Lounge is the
popular bluegrass-flavored group "Timberline",
which boasts a lead singer who does one of the
best John Denver takeoffs around.
Cattmann's Lounge has brought back Kirk
Orr, an affable young man who plays guitar and
sings very well. It has been a while since he's
been in town, and a performer of his genuine
likeability should always be welcomed.
The crowning joy of the weekend is the
extended engagement at the Rendezvous Lounge,
56th and Cornhusker, of the Ramsey Lewis Trio.
These men are some of the most polished
pop-jazz musicians around, and the Rendezvous
should get a good round of applause for bringing
them to Lincoln.
Support the MARCH OF DIMES
1975
RED BOOKS
are now in stock
COM BOARD
iust 39? each
STARTS TODAY!
DOUBLE FEATURE
2 X- RATES KITS
mm mm
PZiDIGOElDD!
s -'
THE CO LEGATES
Plus- "The Maltese
Asparagus"
NO ONE UNDER 18
1730 0
EMBASSY 432 6042
HmMMHRaMMHaMHHMBiM
M '5 ik I ft .
I -P4i nil
iv fmrm
v y --
Monday, January 27
8:00 PM
Pershing Auditorium
Tickets $6.50
Available in Omaha
nt Hnmers (both locations;
and the Daisy; in Lincoln at
Brandeis, Miller & Paine
(dt. & gtw) Dirt Cheap,
Nebraska Union South Desk,
The Daisy and Pershing
Aud. Box Office.
(A BAMBOO PRODUCTION.)
page 9
daily nebraskan
friday, January 24, 1975
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