Wednesday, January 29, 1986
Daily Nebraskan
Page 9
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Art
Pirelli
By Lise Olsen
Staff Reporter
About 50 miles down a four-lane
interstate lies Omaha's Firehouse.
Instead of ladders, trucks and fire
fighters, the Old Market Firehouse
Dinner Theatre offers food and farce.
Last March the Firehouse Dinner
Theater, 11th and Jackson streets,
began serving meals in an adjacent res
taurant, "Harrigan's."
Theater Preview
We sat on a hardwood church pew in
a basement corner of the restaurant,
where an antique-framed two-dimensional
couple watched us from their
portrait. The stone walls were covered
with antiques and theater posters.
Chairs varied from table to table.
We were hungry, so we broke into a
waiting bread basket. As 1 slid my pat
of Land-O-Lakes butter slowly over my
roll, we heard a man at a neighboring
table say, "When I went to El Salvador,
all we did was drink beer."
That was only the beginning of our
adventure at the Firehouse, a trip made
to view the current offering, "The For
eigner." Before the night was over we
would meet a slightly confused singing
waiter named Bill, drink a large pink
mixture of 80 proof alcohol and watch
men in sheets chase each other on
stage until one melted like the Wicked
Witch of the West in "The Wizard of
Oz."
My date had his first doubt about our
waiter, Bill, when Bill asked what "fla
vor" of beer he wanted.
I scorned the barley in favor of a
fruitful selection from Harrigan's ele
mentary French lesson-wine list. "Par
teger Vin Blanc sounds good," I said
using my best accent.
Dinner included a main dish, prime
rib or cordon bleu florentine, or shrimp
on a skewer, served with rice or pota
toes, carrots, salad and coffee.
I ordered the shrimp, which was
served with fresh zucchini in a tangy
orange cocktail sauce. The skewer was
well-stocked with nine tasty shrimp.
Delicious.
The creamy Italian dressing was
tasty, but my companion said his prime
rib was a little overcooked. We both
liked the vegetables, though, especially
the tangy rice pilaf.
At 7:35 p.m., Bill, who occasionally
sings and dances in the pre-theatre
show, informed us it was time to "ske
daddle upstairs" for the main event.
The preshow features the "Firehouse
Brigade," who double as dessert and
cocktail servers during intermissions.
They sang a somewhat predictable rou
tine of broadway hits including "That's
Entertainment" and "If I Only Had A
Brain" from the "Wizard of Oz."
My companion said some parts of the
show reminded him of his high school
swing choir, but I thought the chore
graphy was cute without being nau
seating. Surprisingly, the pseudo-spontaneous
gags were funny and nicely
broke up the predictable progression
of the songs.
But then came a somewhat annoying
announcement that the brigadiers are
paid only by tip. From attending other
dinner theaters, I realize it is common
to use such semi-slave labor. But in this
case our over-worked brigadier, Bill,
made just two breathless, but smiling,
appearances at our table. A host and
busboy brought our drinks and dessert.
With a guest-server ratio of about 20-to-1,
service was slow, but you had to tip
well with a testimonial guilt trip like
that.
The dessert (we had cheesecake and
amaretto pie) was wonderful but my
pink drink, named after the play, was
wicked.
Then at 8 p.m. the Omaha premiere of
"The Foreigner" began. In the opening
scene, the tone of the quasi-melodrama
is set by the introduction of a ridicu
lous premise: Charlie, a shy proof
reader who fears ridicule because of
his lack of social graces, is introduced
as a "foreign houseguest" who doesn't
speak English. This "I Love Lucy-ish"
plot line leads the viewer to expect the
absurd and the silly, and that's what
the play delivers.
John Paul Gamoke, "Charlie," is
excellent as the false foreigner.
Gamoke's physical acting keeps the
scenes exciting. As the play progresses
Charlie is visually transformed by the
attention he receives as an "exotic for
eigner." More and more, Charlie leaves
behind the dull shell of himself to
become an unlikely hero.
As Charlie gains self-esteem, he also
draws out the best in the personalities
of his hosts and exposes the villains,
who want to turn the Georgia country
home into a headquarters for the Ku
Klux Klan.
The plot centering on Charlie's
transformation and his effect on the
other characters, including delight
fully simple "Ellard" (Jerry Longe), is
the play's strength.
The play is set in Georgia in the
present, and maybe I'm just picky, but
the characters' accents seem incon
sistent with the setting.
My most serious objection to the
play is that the melodramatic villians
are members of the Ku Klux Klan. The
modern strength of racism and the
sheer existence of the "invisible em
pire" are disquieting social problems
that I do not take as lightly as the play
does at times.
Other critics disagree. "The For
eigner" is the winner of the 1985 Obie
Award for best off-Broadway production
and the 1985 Outer Critic's Award for
best new American play.
Taken as a whole, the dinner theater
experience was a nice, though some
what expensive, change from the
pizza-movie routine. The scarlet dinner
theater and the historic old market
district itself provide a festive atmos
phere for having fun that is well worth
an hour's drive.
Performances are every night except
Monday with matinees Wednesday and
Sunday. Prices range from $12:50 for
Wednesday matinees to $21.50 for a
Saturday evening.
Special discounts are available for
conventions, clubs, office parties and
other group gatherings. The box office
number is (402) 346-8833.
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Jerry Longe and John Paul Gamoke in "The Foreigner."
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By Scott Hill
Staff Reporter
The Tugboats, a local jazz group, will
no longer play Thursday nights at Ches
terfield, Bottomsley & Potts. This leaves
McGuffy's as the main outlet for jazz
aficionados in Lincoln.
According to Brady Weibeck, assist
ant manager of Chesterfield's, when
the Tugboats' contract ended earlier
this month, both club and group agreed
not to renew it.
"It costs too much," said Weibeck,
"and we simply weren't making enough
money."
Wiebeck said the contract cancella
tion was not a personal matter, but
simply a "mutual agreement."
Tugboat bass player, Russell White,
agreed. He said the band took a risk
when, last fall, they moved to Chester
field's from McGuffy's, where the group
had been known as the Lincoln Jazz
Society.
At McGuffy's, the group played jazz
standards and allowed members of the
audience who had brought their own
instruments to sit in and solo.
"We had the same format at Chester
field's, but we tried to monitor who
played with us better," White said.
White said the group, whose other
regular members include Tom Larson,
Joe Gourlay and Ed Love, is looking at
other places in Lincoln to play, "But,"
he said, "we're not like a band that
practices every week in a garage, we
are all professional musicians in other
ways."
Bob Thurber, manager of McGuffy's,
said he did not think the Tugboats'
contract with Chesterfield's would last
when the group moved there last fall,
but that he wasn't excited about the
contract cancellation at Chesterfield's.
"I think that any promotion of music,
especially jazz music, in Lincoln, is to
be encouraged," Thurber said. "Any
time music or jazz music is cancelled,
it hurts us all."
Weibeck said Chesterfield's doesn't
have a replacement for the Tugboats'
Thursday night slot.
Hypnotist appears
at Unions today
Hypnotist Jim Wand will make a
return appearance to UNL today.
At 2 p.m., Wand will present a
"teaser" in the Nebraska Union Crib.
At 5 p.m. Wand, who was at UNL last
year, will perform at the Terraces in the
East Union.
At 7:30 p.m., he will conduct a seminar
on self-hypnosis.
For more information, contact Lori
Amsberry at UPC-East, 472-1780.
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