Limelight Productions show opens March 17 at The Vault
The Vault’s banquet room will be transformed into a Chinese
restaurant March 17, for the opening night of Limelight
Productions’ dinner theater
”
The Orient Express.
”
The teen theater show will feature 18 students who will act out
the murder mystery. It is the first teen-only show produced by
Limelight Productions. The show runs March 17, 18, 25 and 26, with
dinner served at 6 p.m. and the show starting at 7 p.m.
Limelight Productions show opens March 17 at The Vault
The Vault’s banquet room will be transformed into a Chinese restaurant March 17, for the opening night of Limelight Productions’ dinner theater “The Orient Express.”
The teen theater show will feature 18 students who will act out the murder mystery. It is the first teen-only show produced by Limelight Productions. The show runs March 17, 18, 25 and 26, with dinner served at 6 p.m. and the show starting at 7 p.m.
“I thought it gives the teens something to do and hang out,” said Sally Hail, the director of the show and co-owner of Limelight with Jessica Smiley. “I chose a murder mystery because I thought that kids like to go out, too, and they enjoy going out to dinner.”
The show includes dinner, with a traditional corned beef and cabbage meal to be served on March 17. Hail said it is especially suiting since the play features a Chinese restaurant that is owned by two Irish women. The show follows a bad guy, the richest man in town, who has been receiving threatening letters. When he falls dead in a restaurant filled with people, the other characters must figure out who did him in.
The March 18, 25 and 26 performances will feature Chinese cuisine, with a little Irish twist, such as egg rolls filled with corned beef and cabbage. There will also be vegetarian options all nights.
The show will have a minimalist set, and Hail said guests can expect to see the actors moving through the dining area during the show.
“The kids will be acting in the crowd,” she said. “It will be set in a Chinese restaurant with acting happening around you. Dealing with being in a crowd makes them better actors. Many experiences acting in as many different ways as possible builds the kids level of self-esteem.”
She added that the younger actors might not be able to concentrate in the crowd, so that was part of the reason for limiting it to the teens. But she wants the show to be welcoming to all.
“I’m billing it as a family dinner show,” she said. “We want kids to come. We want people to see more theater.”
Tickets are $20 each for dinner and the show, or $70 for a four-pack.
Hail originally wanted to do the show in a Chinese restaurant, but she said there were no locations in San Benito that were big enough for the show. After looking at a few places, she settled on The Vault, where the staff has been accommodating. The restaurant will do the catering for the event, and the actors spent the last two weeks of rehearsal in the space.
“They are just on board,” Hail said. “They are giving us practice space from now on.”
Hail said she tries to limit the number of nights a week the students rehearse so that they have time for homework and other activities. The students have been rehearsing since the beginning of February, for about six weeks. But she has offered some unique practice experience. For the show, the students are charged with coming up with their own costumes.
“I took them on a costume field trip to Salvation Army,” Hail said. “I bought a couple gift cards for Mars Hill. The kids had to be in character in the store, and I gave the gift cards to the top performers.”
She said the staff and other guests got a laugh.
“I always say acting or drama is the other sport,” Hail said. “But drama has so many of the same things as sports. When you do a show, it’s a team. If someone falls down on the team, you lose. It’s got so many of the same issues.”
Next up for Limelight Productions is a drama club that will begin meeting once or twice a week in April. During the summer, the theater troupe offers a three-week summer program, in which the kids attend workshops before performing a show at the end of the camp.
“It’s so high energy and so fast paced,” Hail said. “There is no boredom. It’s nuts, but I love it.”
Limelight Productions ‘The Orient Express’
March 17, 18, 25 and 26; Dinner starts at 6 p.m., with the show starting at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $20 each or $70 for a family four pack.
For more information on tickets or upcoming events, visit Limelight Productions Facebook page.
