Some Lakewood moviegoers noted the double-billing at the Lakewood Theater this summer. In addition to the feature film, Cleo Productions – a two-year-old Dallas Theater production company – moved a “western melodrama with music” called “Miss Fanny’s Misfortunes” from a hotel dinner theater to the Lakewood Theater, 1825 Abrams.
The actors were not performing on the venerable movie palace’s main stage, of course, but in an arcade space that once housed a roomful of crackling, blazing video games.
Managing Director Dean Lindsay was happy with the response: “The audience loved the show; we ran six weeks with mostly word-of-mouth ticket sales.”
Now, the same producers are bringing in a comedy troupe from Denton called The Plumbing Company for a show titled “Christmas Again Already”.
“The show is made up of live music and comedy sketches satirizing the American consumer Christmas, where everybody goes crazay getting gifts and then ritually tearing into them,” Lindsay says.
The show, which will run six weeks beginning at 10 p.m. Nov. 19, is scheduled Thursdays though Saturdays, with a “PG-13” 7 p.m. show thrown in Saturdays for children.
Tickets for all shows are $12 for adults and $7 for children. The material in “Christmas,” Lindsay says, is a compilation of works and ideas of the seven-member comedy troupe, under the direction of The Plumbing Company director Andrew Hunt.
“And you can take popcorn into the arcade, naturally,” Lindsay says.
Working feverishly, Lindsay and Cleo Productions director Gail Warren are building a “unit space” in the arcade.
“The unit space is made up of risers, platforms, curtains and backdrops that can be changed, depending on the demands of the performance. The theater will seat only about 60 people, so we want to keep it versatile,” Lindsay says.
Shows may be designed for a thrust stage, arena stage or environmental theater using this approach, he says.
Lindsay says he hopes to work with restaurants in the Lakewood area to help boost attendance.
“We’re working on some cooperative exchanges right now, but nothing is set. Cleo Productions wants to achieve a community atmosphere, whether we are doing comedy or cabaret,” Lindsay says.
For more information on the company and upcoming show, call 392-2536.
Arts Calendar
Nov. 1 – The dance festival Accent on Youth premieres at 4 p.m. in the Great Hall at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, 5100 Ross. Tickets are $7 for adults; $5 for students and seniors. Dance styles included are ballet, tap, jazz and modern. Call 828-4788 for information.
Nov. 4-29 – “The Royal Hunt of the Sun”, Peter Schaeffer’s poetic account of the conquest of the Incan empire by Pizarro, opens The Gryphon Players’ season at Undermain Theatre’s Elm Street Theatre, 3202 Elm. Voted last season’s “Best New Theatre Company” by Dallas Observer readers, the company is familiar to most fans from their three seasons at the Bath House Cultural Center. Performances run Wednesdays through Sundays; for times and tickets, call 526-1158.
Nov. 4-Dec. 5 – “The Kathy and Mo Show: Parallel Lives” is an off-Broadway comedy hit wherein two women play 33 characters, at Pegasus Theatre, 3916 Main. Shows run Wednesdays through Sundays; call 373-8000 for times and tickets.
Nov. 6 – The acoustic music of Zen Cafe returns to the Bethany Coffee House in the fellowship hall of Bethany Lutheran Church, 10101 Kingsley at Ferndale, from 8-11 p.m. The coffee house is smoke- and alcohol-free. Future performances include Lost Tribe (Dec. 4), Emilie Aronson (Jan. 1), Kirk Edens and LaDonna Goetz (Feb. 5) and Folk Like Us (March 5). Suggested donation is $3 ($1 off by bringing a coffee mug to leave at the church); proceeds benefit the church’s community ministries fund. Coffees, teas and desserts available; call 343-0439 for information.
Nov. 6-20 – D-Art Visual Art Center, 2917 Swiss, hosts “Sculptural Expressions” by sculptor Eliseo. Call 690-9496 for information.
Nov. 11 – Dallas poet Tim Siebles, currently doing a residency at Providence Fine Arts Center, returns to Dallas to read at SMU’s Literary Festival at 3 p.m. at the Hughes-Trigg Theater. Free to the public.
Nov. 14 – Uncle Calvin’s Coffehouse, located in the social hall of Northpark Presbyterian Church, 9555 N. Central, hosts a children’s concert (5-6 p.m.) and an evening show (8-11 p.m.) featuring Trout Fishing in America. Children’s show is $4; evening show is $10; proceeds benefit Wynnewood Presbyterian Community Center. Advance purchase is recommended; call 821-6953 for information.
Nov. 14 – The Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther, hosts a poetry reading by Christine Siark Bassett from 6-8 p.m. in the Gallery Space. For information, call 670-8749.
Nov. 14-Dec. 19 – Undermain Theatre’s second season production, performed in its uniquie basement theater space at 3200 Main, is Suzan-Lori Parks; “Imperceptible Mutabilities”, an innovative blend of humor, poetry and music exploring the African-American experience through the centuries. Wednesday is “pay-what-you-can” night during the show’s run; call 748-3082 for reservations.
Nov. 30-Dec. 4 – “Art Treasurers Underground” is the Dallas Business Committee for the Arts’ second annual Holiday Gift Shop, taking place from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the underground tunnels of NationsBank Plaza Downtown. The event features a collection of gift items from more than 30 of the City’s arts and cultural institutions, and proceeds benefit these organizations. For information, call 696-1745.
