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Three-person show brings serious theater to small stage
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WASHINGTON — A holiday dinner theater event planned at Lebowski’s this weekend is, first and foremost, a good chance for a laugh.
With a minuscule cast, “The Ultimate Christmas Show (Abridged)” tells the fast-paced story of three actors who, on the night of a 20-act holiday-themed vaudeville show, must fill in for the roles of countless other performers who couldn’t attend due to wintry weather. Hijinks ensue.
And while the performance is a comedy, Director and Producer Nick Juelsgaard said it had a serious goal. He hopes the performance will pave the way for a new brand of local theater that doesn’t show up as much in Washington.
“We’ve been doing the community theater plays, and we wanted the opportunity to do more shows in more venues,” Juelsgaard said. “There should be more than one venue to do theater in town.”
The performers have no wish to trade off with shows at bigger venues like the high school auditorium or community theater.
But Juelsgaard said he hoped cultivating a niche for smaller shows would help give local actors an on-ramp to the performing arts with less pressure, and more opportunities to get involved. A small stage at Lebowski’s offers the chance to do just that.
“On a grander sense, for theater in town, I think there’s a chance that we’re going to be able to do plays at Lebowski’s that wouldn’t go over well at the community center,” he said. “Darker, or darker humor, or more one-act style … so we can have more opportunities for actors in the area to do smaller commitments, and get some experience without having to do a full main-stage play.”
The three-person play showing this weekend lends itself well to the smaller space, and its location lends itself well to a dinner theater event.
It’s worth noting that the small cast is composed of some of the star players in Washington’s local theater scene: Vern Miller, Brett Pierson and Kelly Juelsgaard. Nick Juelsgaard said all three were a delight to work with.
“It’s a lot of work for the actors, it’s a full 90-minute play and it’s three of them the whole time,” he said. “They have to memorize more, maybe, than you would normally memorize during a play. But it’s people who understand the assignment, I would say … we’re all experienced hands.”
The group of theater enthusiasts doesn’t have any specific plans for the future, although Nick Juelsgaard said they certainly hoped the crowd-pleaser performance would light the way for other non-traditional acts in Washington.
“We believe once it does go well, we’ll have a place to do more theater,” he said. “We don’t have an exact plan of when that might be or how that might look, but we do think it’s a surprisingly good space for theater.”
Admission to the Dec. 13 and 14 show is $30, and includes dinner and the performance. Doors open at 5:45 p.m. at Lebowski’s, dinner will be served at 6:30, and the 90-minute show will begin at 7:30 both nights. A poster for the show advises that it’s PG-13. Seats are first-come first serve, but tickets can be reserved by calling 319-653-2505, or visiting Lebowski’s in-person.
Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com
