#dinner theatre

[hairup-squareup]

When your adhd gets the best of you and you get back in your pirate phase and now your binging a pirate dinner theatre show in California writing weird little headcannons for the show cause you know… adhd.

[veronicatartley]

Drunken Tart Dies While Drunker Tarts Eat

Dinner Theatre and the Cruellest Month

By Veronica Tartley Feb. 10, 2005

February is the cruellest month. Suicide flanked by heart-shaped balloons. I get through it as only a member of the ironic generation can: I do dinner theatre and I do it drunk. The Mysteriously Yours.... Dinner Theatre, located in the gothic metropolis of Toronto, was my destination. How else to wile away February's darkest hours-crudely lined as they are with pink crêpe paper-but to sit girdled in your best taffeta, eating rolls hard as rocks whilst washed-out actors hurl their rage at deaf senior citizens. How else, indeed.

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MYSTERIOUSLY YOURS... DINNER THEATREToronto, Ontario Cuisine: Continental Price: $80.00 per person (taxes and tip not included)

Drinks: Specialty cocktails, $6.85; Wine, $24-$80 a bottle, $4.95 a glass. Vegetarian Options: Yes Smoking: No Payment: At the door. Interac, Visa, MasterCard, Amex, cash Reservations: Yes (credit card required) 1-800-NOT-DEAD

Veronica's Verdict: Kill Me Now.

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The Mysteriously Yours... Dinner Theatre information package, brimming with camp and exclamation-marked promises, wins me over when I look at it. "What's this?!" it cries. "Suspicious characters mingling at your cocktail reception? Was that a confession of jealousy you overhead? And who is that mysterious woman you're talking to??!!" Well. Never you mind. All part of the whodunit magic that Mysteriously Yours... promises. The suspense, we are assured, will be unbearable. And the jokes, oh those will fly non-stop. There will be laughter. There will be murder. There will be music. And we, the mere maw, will have our parts to play in the fun!

So. Bored to death of burlesque houses and Korean karaoke, I called 1-800-NOT-DEAD and made reservations for two. I spoke with a woman named Candy. Candy was so sorry. There were no more tables for two. We would have to be seated at a table for eight. Did we mind terribly? No? Oh good. Now were we aware that the actors would be sitting among us? And that we would be helping the detective solve the case? Was it our anniversary, birthday, funeral, etc.? No? Oh. Because if it was, all we had to do was tell Candy and she would make sure that we were really involved in the fun. Candy asked that we arrive between 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM for our "gourmet meal," which, she was sorry to say, did not include drinks-alcoholic or otherwise. As the intrigue began at eight, Candy advised that we not be late.

We were late, me and my cowboy for the night, when we stumbled down the red stairs to the "subterranean nightspot" that is Mysteriously Yours..., drunk from martini-bar-hopping, our tiaras askew. Candy greeted us with a tight smile, told us to put on our nametags and hurry on to dinner. We careened into the vast, dimly lit dining hall, filled to the gills with fat women in sequins and waiters trying visibly not to weep. A huge stage, ominously curtained in blue velvet loomed before us. "Table seventeen?" asked a gentleman with a little goatee and a British accent that I'm sure could have been ripped from him as easily as the beard of a department-store Santa. I held my tongue and followed him.

Already seated at our table were two sour-faced siamese women in glasses. They smiled stiffly at us as we slumped into our chairs. There was a young couple too, Vanda and Thom, who beamed toothpaste-commercial grins at everyone, full of news and unnecessary information. It was their anniversary! Oh, they had been here many times before! Oh, it was such fun! Oh, and did we know the actors actually came and sat with us at the table? Oh!

There was a cocktail menu, thank heaven. You may well remember that I was sorely disappointed by the dearth of kitschy drinks on my last culinary adventure. This was not to be the case this time. Mysteriously Yours... boasts a long list of expensive and aptly named drinks: Poison Kiss, Deadly Affair, Arsenic Cream ... I had a Shoot Me, my cowboy a Kill Me Now. Though we didn't die, Vanda's prattle did grow dimmer. And we were able to order our meals in peace. I wasn't surprised so much by the contents of the menu but by the number of choices. There were three possible appetizers-a daily soup and two green salads. For the main course, five options-chicken, lamb, salmon, prime rib and vegetarian risotto. Dessert was trifle, chocolate torte, cheesecake or tiramisu. A sound selection. (There are also, for the so inclined, daily specials available in each category, $10.95 extra.)

I expected dinner to be tragic. Perversely, I wanted dinner to be tragic. What I got was fouler than foul: a dinner that was adequate. The bread was fine. The soup-sweet potato with a coconut-curry garnish-was thin and cloying but not nearly as bad as I had hoped. We both wanted the lamb, but they were out of it. So I had the salmon and my cowboy had the beef. He didn't say much but he ate it all, so I knew it couldn't have been terrible. As for the black-sesame-crusted salmon in a citrus, vanilla-bean glaze, complete with white rice and vegetable medley, well, it was reassuringly bland but it was not half as dry as I'd dreamed.

My pleasure in the ironic, deep as it doth run, will never extend to dessert. A child of the nineties, I took a chance on the tiramisu with the sincere wish that I would enjoy it. Alas, it was so grocery-store-birthday-cake-bad that even I, gluttonous sugar whore, couldn't eat it. So I wolfed down my cowboy's chocolate torte-unyieldingly, but this time thankfully, mediocre. So dinner was tragic, in a way. Tragic in its mediocrity. I was served a meal I couldn't laugh at. Or even weep over. But I was soon to be consoled. For the theatre portion of dinner theatre was just as dreadful as my fantasy.

The intrigue started at around eight, as Candy had promised. At least that's when the actors crawled out of their holes and began making fun of our clothes. I'm certain the poor elderly woman in leather pants will never live down the moment when the "brain doctor" pointed at her and screamed, "Kinky pants! Kinky pants! Look everybody! Kink! Kink!" We met them all. The loveable old Mrs. Hudson. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The mysterious woman in the veil, with her cryptic words and her frighteningly pale blue eyes. And of course the "brain doctor" whose antics were perhaps the most aggressively "all in good fun."

Once the actors had their fill of pointing at us and laughing, the play began, not on the stage at all, but around and in between our tables (the stage, so Vanda informed me, would be used later for dancing). And the play was more of the same: people who had been dumb enough to inform Candy that, yes, it was their birthday, anniversary, etc., were made to stand up and endure more hilarity at their expense. Woven between these well-meant humiliations was the tenuous whodunit plot of CSI: Baker Street. A comedy. A murder mystery. A (shudder) musical. You can only imagine. I was there to witness it and I could barely imagine. Saucy songs were sung by the drunken old whore, Mrs. Hudson-ditties we all know and love like "Never Go Walking Out Without Your Hatpin." The dialogue was filled with naughty innuendo designed to make amply bosomed matrons cluck their tongues and titter. Puns too, mainly of the "Surely, you're not serious ... I'm serious, and don't call me Shirley" variety had us all choking on our Kill Me Nows.

By the end of the evening, everyone at table seventeen hated me and my cowboy. For we were not, I'm afraid, much help in solving the case. We were too busy drawing pornographic pictures on our clue sheets, drunkenly feeding each other the dregs of my tiramisu and then pretending to die of food poisoning. I have a dim memory of Candy grabbing us both by the scruff of our necks and hurling us into the street, but I can't say for certain. No matter though, I remember thinking, as we laughingly dragged ourselves through the February dark. That's one more day of the cruellest month killed with a bang rather than a whimper. All thanks to two hundred dollars and the good people at Mysteriously Yours... ✧

[cenobyte]

Unity 1918

Our little town’s arts council has been extremely fortunate to have drawn the interest of some brilliant young folk. They wanted to do drama. Dinner theatre, they said. We were excited, they were excited… The play they chose to put on is Kevin Kerr’s Unity 1918, about a small town (in this case, Unity, Saskatchewan) in the days and weeks leading up to the end of the First World War. I thought it…

[my-chemical-wheaties]

Thinking about dinner theatre right now.

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Remember these newlywed theatre nerds: Jamie and Megan

Today their Christmas video popped up & it is delightful so I'm sharing it here along with two (2) of their theatrical videos. I hope Royal watchers will enjoy their Sandringham footage & commentary.

Trigger warning for the haters: you'll be disappointed to hear eye witness accounts of Wills & Kate out TOGETHER at their local pub prior to their travels as a couple for the annual Middleton Christmas vacation.

Check your heart: Marriage is hard enough without the evil machinations of wicked people. How black is the heart of one who wishes for the demise of this solid marriage.

Well done, Wills & Kate. Ignore the haters. Invest in seeking God, loving one another, loving your families & serving your country. We are with you! 💙

Spare the Musical: The Book of POOR Man

Harry & Meghan the Netflix Musical

Theatre Nerds at Sandringham with the Royals

Prince of Wales seen chatting to pub patrons in the ladies loo. 😳🤭

Royal Jewels:

Diana said she selected the massive blue sapphire and diamond engagement ring because it was the biggest ring on the tray. Based on photographs and film, Diana quickly discovered that the BIGGEST rock is also the most impractical.

My favorite gift from Wills to Kate is her (allegedly) "custom" silver-coloured stainless steel Cartier Ballon Bleu watch which pairs perfectly with Kate's sapphire and diamond engagement ring. Kate was known for grocery shopping in Angelsy wearing only her gold wedding band.

Now we see that Will's has upgraded his bride's finger candy to include a more practical yet beautiful, sapphire & diamond eternity band. Kate's watch perfectly complements William's omega seamaster watch which allegedly could have been a gift from his mother, Princess Dianna. As Catherine said: "[Wills] is a true romantic, there's a real romantic in there."💗

Thanks to @world-of-wales @ladydianaphotos @kingwilliamv @theroyalsandi and every BRF tumblr blog that catalogues these timeless images.

[underestimated-shadow]

This, this, this, this…

…is pure Oliver Putnam.

Only Murders in the Building (2021-)

[ohplart]

Last week i saw Les Miserables (the Arena Tour) for the first time in my life, so here's my thoughts about it (actually it's just me praising every performer of this production, but they deserve it) (oh and also, sorry for my bad english, it's not my first language).

Okay. First of all: Jean Valjean. I didn't get to see Killian Donnelly as Jean Valjean and I'm a little bit sad about it because I really hoped to see him once in my life (especially as Jean Valjean) BUT MY GOD DANIEL KOEK THE MAN THAT YOU ARE. THE TALENT. HE HAS A FLAWLESS VOCAL TECHNIQUE. I actually feel so lucky to have witnessed his talent. I encourage you to go on youtube and listen to him singing who am i or bring him home or anything, you won't be disappointed. 

Javert. My beloved Bradley Jaden. I couldn't be happier to have finally seen and heard him live, his voice and his acting are out of this world. I love his Javert with all my heart, he is so stiff at the beginning but as the story goes on he becomes so feral, almost animalistic. I love him. Again, go listen to his version of stars, it’s incredible. And the suicide soliloquy!! MY GOD!! i can't even describe it, he is so angry and desperate, so feral. Oh Bradley Jaden, the things you do to me.

Channah Ewitt as Fantine is fenomenal. So delicate but also so powerful in her vocals and her acting. Finally hearing I dreamed a dream live has been such an emotion for me and i'm so happy Channah has been "my first" Fantine live.

Cosette. Beatrice Penny-Tourè. My God. Like a month ago I saw a video of her singing a heart full of love from one of the very first shows they did and I fell in love with her voice (and I listened like 30 seconds of her singing), so you can imagine that I was so excited to listen to her live. But nothing could prepare me for the transcendent experience that is listening to her live: she makes every note seem effortless and the way she embodies Cosette is incredible. She is exactly how I imagine Cosette.

Jac Yarrow is a fantastic Marius, so in love, so cute, so sweet. His voice is so beautiful. Obv he made me cry during Empty chairs at empty tables.

Nathania Ong as Eponine in something out of this world. I'm still in awe of her performance. She reminded me again why Eponine has always been one of my favourite characters. Her On my own is powerful and emotional, and of course she made me cry like a child during A little fall of rain.

The Thenardiers are SO FUNNY. Even though the concert version doesn't let them move as much as they do on the "staged" production, they made the scene look so dynamic  that at some point I felt like I was dancing and cheering on stage with them.

As it happened with Killian as Valjean, I unfortunately didn't get to see James D. Gish as Enjolras. I heard him sing the part in some videos and i really wanted to listen him live (his voice is so powerful i'm sure it will resonate in my bones ahah), BUT AGAIN WHAT A PRIVILEGE IT WAS TO LISTEN AND SEE ANDREW MAXWELL AS ENJOLRAS. His voice is so beautiful and he embodied Enj so well I'm afraid I fell in love. Also his voice is more similar to how I imagine Enjolras’ voice would be like so again I couldn't be happier to have witnessed his talent. (also, in the les mis website it says that this is his professional debut so again CHEERS TO THE FENOMENAL SCOTTISH KING THAT ANDREW MAXWELL IS!!!)

What can I say about Raymond Walsh as Grantaire? He is perfect for the role. He made me laugh in ABC cafè and he made me cry in Drink With me. I feel so lucky to have finally seen him perform in this role live.

My endless love for Enjoltaire made me follow them during their scenes. During ABC cafè they bicker a lot (I giggled a lot). In drink with me Grantaire sings his entire part towards the audience and Enjolras tries to stop him but someone stop him before he can reach Grantaire. R doesn't look at E, if not for a brief moment, and when he finish his last line he just starts walking to his spot but Gavroche stops him with a hug (Granaire and Gavroche dynamic is so dear to me and i'm so happy that it is maintained in this production). Then they go sitting and Enjolras follows them and OH MY GOD while Enjolras starts to step on the stairs he stops and looks at Grantaire for a very long moment, while Grantaire looks in front of himself. It felt like Enjolras wanted to say something to Graintaire but then he changed his mind and went to sit on his spot (my heart was bleeding for them, I love these two so much) (maybe I will draw this exact moment so you can understand better).

Then let's praise the backbone of the show, THE ENSEMBLE. Fenomenal, outstanding performers. Sometimes I would get too much caught in their background scenes that I would lose track of the main scene. One thing that made me emotional is that the performers how plays the barricade boys don't have the time to go change their costumes after their death (they actually stay on stage all the time), so during the Marius and Cosette's wedding you can see the barricade boys singing and cheering for Marius on the background (i cried a lot). They also do a little silly dance when the Thenardiers do their part (I giggled a lot).

One last thing (I promise), let's make a round of applause for the lighting and sets designers (and all those who work in the technical department), they did an amazing job. A huge part of the scenography is made by the lighting trusses that move up and down and for me this is such a clever and brilliant idea (like "the scenography on the floor can't be moved or changed? Let's create something IN THE AIR!"). Oh, and also a round of applause for the orchestra, 25 musicians who sound like 60, so much love and respect for them.

Bravo to everyone!!

I'm sorry that this post is so long, but I have been waiting to see Les Miserables live since I first saw the movie (so since 2013/14), so I really needed to write down what I saw and share it with someone, like a proof that i saw it for real and it's not just a dream.

[lesbian-munkustrap]

It’s ✨ Michael ✨ Gruber ✨ Time ✨

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

Lupin III p2e26 “A Rose and a Pistol/Shot Through the Heart” has everything:

“I call ’em ‘Zeni-GOTCHAs!’”

Bisexual lighting, appropriate for:

Jigen's terrible taste in women + live Lupin reaction

LupGoe intricate rituals

LupGoe mutually not immune to Fujiko

“You told me there would be a Japanese restaurant in Barcelona 😤”

A finale Cowboy Bebop 100% cribbed from (JigLup intricate rituals)

Sick rose petal/muleta match cut

LoopZoop intricate rituals

So much music from Carmen

[lazyjellyfish300]

outfits shiu & i would wear on our date nights

source: pinterest

[stubz]

i shared a fic about Megamind that had him have a prison family and now I'm gonna dive into that

I'm 90% certain that crime improved/increased with Megamind's arrival at the prison. It improved in that those who were released became better people and many crime rates for different charges decreased significantly.

But it increased in that after becoming an uncle/brother/father to this blue alien kid, some things just hit differently now.

Like Ivan who is a big-time thug can't just ignore how his boss treats his very own daughter. Jimmy doesn't find it funny anymore when his crew has homeless kids working for them for moldy bread and a place to sleep. Gregor nearly kills his landlord for what he heard him say to the child whose family just came here from Egypt.

Things hit differently when you have a kid of your own. And that's what happened to hundreds of men when Megamind arrived.

Most probably just improved and moved on but I see a lot them sending him letters and visiting whenever they can. Some who have no one, act up so they can stay and take care of him. Even after learning that a lot of the guards care for him too.

[eridonna]

YASS GO GIRL 🫶🏻 !!

pic

[booigi-boi]

At a theatre seeing a Hercule Poirot play. Reminded me of how couple years ago when watching Poe Party with my mom, she kept asking where Agatha Christie was and got sad when she died

She did think Sean's a good actor tho 🐐✨

[pynkhues]

https://x.com/brightssunshin/status/1860408854003298682

https://x.com/chuuloid/status/1861160266391576590

literally post season 2. To Me

I n c r e d i b l e, love your work, ops, haha

[pollen]

letting myself unmask has been so nice at times because i'm seeing my boyfriend express joy much more readily too. who knew me being expressive and all that would do so much good!!!

[awesternsun]

the broadway 2025 season deserves a gilbert and sullivan operetta and i'm not even joking. they're all for the most part very pointed commentary about the state of (then-)contemporary british society, right? reviving even one of them in the context of a second trump presidency would be downright lethal.