Dinner Theater

My first introduction to Dinner Theatre was in 1967.  The venue was called the Red Barn, which had just opened its doors in Nashville, TN.  After the meal was served, the stage descended from the ceiling and settled in among the tables on the floor.  If you were lucky with your seating, you could be close enough to the stage to almost reach out and touch the performers.  That night, the event was Fiddler on the Roof, and to this day, I can’t hear the song “If I Were a Rich Man” without thinking about that evening when I watched my first theatrical performance at the Barn.  For a girl from the country, this was a magical event.  The “Barn” was a mainstay in Nashville’s local arts community, and I was so sad to discover that it closed its doors, ending a 53-year run as the nation’s second oldest dinner theatre.

I’ve been to several other theatres and plays since 1967, and this weekend, I had the adventure of attending the Alhambra Dinner Theatre in Jacksonville, FL.  The Alhambra also opened in 1967, is the nation’s oldest continuously operating dinner theatre and a Jacksonville entertainment icon.

The ticket was a birthday gift from friends, and this performance was an Elvis Tribute.  If you know me, you know I am an Elvis fan.  I could listen to his music forever.  What was so amusing about this performance was that the Elvis fans were not the teenagers or younger women who frequented his concerts, but they were all in their late 60s, 70s, and 80s.  They are now the full-fledged grown-up version of the previous concertgoers.  And they were lining up around the stage to get a scarf or kiss from Elvis, just like in the past. And Elvis did not disappoint.  When he sang “Love Me Tender,” he hugged and kissed several fans.

During his rendition of Suspicious Minds, Elvis shook and gyrated his hips and made all the moves that had made him popular with his fans.  And the audience screamed their appreciation in return.  I loved it, and it felt good to sing along and transport myself back to a time of bell-bottom jeans and blue eyeshadow.  There are only three events that I can remember: where I was, who I was with, and what I was doing when I heard the news.  One was the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the attack on the World Trade Center, and the death of Elvis.  Most of my friends can only remember the World Trade Center.  They will say I wasn’t born when Kennedy was assassinated or Elvis died.

He saved my favorite song to the end.  I’ve heard that this was his on-stage closing song – “I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” – and then it was over.  Elvis left the building. And I did too, but what a fabulous time!!!