The Bienfait Lions' dinner theatre production of Wild Mushrooms was such a fun time for theatre-goers last weekend, some took in multiple viewings.
The performances were held Friday and Saturday evening, with a Sunday matinee at Weldon School in Bienfait, and the actors and crew said the shows went off without any glitches.
"It went off like a hot knife through butter," said Dwight Thompson, a Lion member who was one of nine cast members in the production and who has been part of the dinner theatre since its inception eight years ago.
Thompson played the role of the conservative Italian father in the comedy featuring a caper that uses wild mushrooms to get the mafia off the backs of the little family from the Bronx.
Thompson said the cast was another great one this year, and the group is an easy reminder of why he loves to perform each year.
"It is awesome. They are a great team to work with. It's like a family," he added.
While some of the team has been part of productions for the previous eight years, others are first timers. Thompson noted that they always like to have newcomers join in an enthusiastic way, and this year they welcomed a few young locals into the cast.
Along with the cast and five crew who handle set, sound and everything else with the show, there are about 50 other volunteers from Bienfait and Roche Percee who helped out with the food, drinks and all the other little jobs that needed to happen before, during and after the presentations.
The performances saw sellouts on Friday and Saturday evening, with 440 tickets called for between the first two nights. The Sunday matinee typically sees fewer people attend, but Thompson said he was pleased to fill about 150 seats during the performance that was accompanied by afternoon pie, rather than the complete meal that was offered the two nights previous. He noted there were even some people who attended the Friday show who enjoyed it so much they came back to do it all over again on Sunday.
That's what the production crew strives for each year. They want to put on a show that is above all, fun.
"We always try to do a comedy," said Thompson. "We figure life is too serious, so why not have a laugh. We're always interested in doing something like this. When you make someone laugh, they feel good."
They get their plays from the Samuel French Playhouse, and they order four or five to read through. Thompson said after reading them, they come to a consensus on which play they liked the best and then pay their royalties to start getting the show ready.
The cast goes through about three months of rehearsals, which started in early September this year.
Thompson said they have had a great relationship with the school since they started the dinner-theatre event. The school has been the show's home each year, and in return some of the funds collected have been put back into the school over the years.
He said the school has been very gracious to them, adding that "they always have their doors open to us."
The simple, one-room set was a key ingredient in the Wild Mushrooms production. Having only one set meant that they didn't need a large crew to move pieces in or out between acts, though in the past they have done productions that required multiple sets.
The performances raise money for the Bienfait Lions Club, which in turn distributes it to different causes within the community. Thompson said there are currently no specific projects for which the money is designated. The amount raised this year has not yet been estimated, but he said in the past the average has been around $10,000 and is expecting a total around that mark.
