Desiderio’s Dinner Theater is one of our favorite local establishments. Over the years, we’ve seen some wonderful plays and enjoyed some wonderful food.
I had never heard of An Old-Fashioned Family Murder by Joe DiPietro but the actual play is both clever and funny. The Colonel, a wealthy but ill father, decides to change his Will. His two daughters, Clarice and Dotty Claythorne, discover one of them might be cut out of the Will.
Arthur Whittington, a once successful mystery writer, intends to begin writing his come-back novel in the Claythorne mansion on a dark and stormy night. Shirley Peck, the widow of a legendary police detective, has a knack for solving crimes. Her young son, a junior Detective Paul Peck of the local police force, struggles to find the clues to the murder and to make sense of them when he does.
An Old-Fashioned Family Murder is plenty of fun. It premiered on September 2024 at the New Theatre & Restaurant in Overland Park, Kansas, featuring a cast that included Sally Struthers, Caitlin Kinnunen, and Kevin Ligon. The local cast, Justin Chortie, Jay Byron, John DellaConttrada, Lilian Reszel, Lisa Hinca, and Steven J. Brackmann, put on a good show that garnered plenty of applause at its conclusion. GRADE: B+
Jackie wants to know: how was the food?
Back in a previous century when we were dating, we went to what was supposed to be like a drive-in: you sat in a convertible and ate and watched a movie. I don’t remember what the movie was or the food, but neither was memorable.
This was probably ca. 1968 or so.
God, I’m old.
Jeff, Diane had chicken marsala and I had a ribeye. Nice salad and a gelato dessert. Our cast for the evening–dinner and performance–was $200. Free parking!
Sounds tasty! A lot better than the burger we had in 1968.
Jeff, we’ve attended several plays at that dinner theater and the food is as good as the performances!
Sounds interesting but a bit pricey for me b
Maggie, dinner and a performance for $100 per person isn’t bad, especial if both the dinner and the performance is good.
I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves, but $200 to see Sally Struthers isn’t my idea of money well spent! The last time–maybe the only time–I attended a dinner theater, the star was Don Ameche! I forget the title of the play, but it was amusing!
Bob, there used to be a lot more dinner theaters but Covid-19 killed a lot of them.