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Play review The High Street Theater Foundation has the right idea, bringing dinner theater to downtown Moorpark. Sunday's opening performance of "The Beatles Slept Here" played to an appreciative audience that overlooked the kinks which should be fixed before the remaining shows. The Secret Garden on High Street served an outdoor brunch beneath a clear plastic tent, beginning with salad or crab cake on a bed of fresh spinach leaves. The crab cake was crunchy outside, tender inside without any "fishy" taste or smell. Entrée choices, all served with warm bread rolls, were salmon salad, eggs Benedict, steak and eggs, chicken with potato, or penne pasta. I had the poached eggs on English muffins. The dish included grilled vegetables and potatoes, nutritious and delicious. My portion size was just right and didn't leave me overstuffed and groggy for the show. The meal ended delightfully with a choice of apricot bread pudding or Chocolate Surprise, a shell of chocolate cake overflowing with an incredible chocolate pudding, with whipped cream and vanilla and raspberry sauces on the side. The downside was that seating began late. The first course didn't arrive until almost 2 p.m. and the dessert came just as the show began, so I had to eat too quickly to enjoy the great taste. Also, my entrée should have been hotter. Coffee was available at intermission, but no hot tea. The restaurant could easily provide an urn of hot water and teabags. On with the show- any attempts to describe the "plot" would end in frustration. Several story threads run along but don't connect in any coherent manner. Events just happen without much logic or motivation. It's best not to try to make sense of it and just enjoy the fun. Basically, Clarabell (Rosemary Moffat) schemes with Dr. Robert (Ron Rosen) to declare her brother, grumpy Sgt. Paprika (Ken Jones), crazy so she can take over his share of the seedy Penny Lane Hotel. Paprika hates the Beatles, so Clarabell hires four young punks to disguise themselves as the Fab Four to drive him crazy. Meanwhile, Mean Mr. Mustard (Chris Carnicelli) plans to rob the hotel safe with his henchmen Larry Haney, Cesar Tarquino and R.G. Tuomi. Some high school girls have a plan to raise money for a service project by raffling off dinner and a "night on the town." Hotel auditor Eleanor Digby (Sonje Fortag) reluctantly admits that in 1964, the Fab Four actually spent the night in one of the rooms. Members of a Beatles fan club (Elizabeth Lauristen, Susan Nicoletti, Patricia Adrian, Robyn Rothstein, Erica Stevens-Kuhn) show up and build a "shrine" of their memorabilia in the hotel lobby. They're ecstatic to learn their idols once trod these sacred floors. Mr. Mustard steals their collectibles and a less-than-competent gumshoe, Detective Johnny B. Goode (Mike Moffat), blames the theft on Paprika. After a wacky chase, the collectibles are somehow returned, the bad guys are caught and the cast leads the audience in a Beatles singalong. The highlight is the kooky "Beatles Babes" who swoon hysterically and wear outrageous sixties' miniskirts and fishnet stockings. Carnicelli is villainy incarnate and he clearly enjoyed the audience's boos and hisses. His nutty assistants bumble about like the Three Stooges. The audience sits close to the stage, and proximity encourages interaction. However, the stage needs carpeting to deaden some of the actors' heavy footsteps. The cast did not have a chance to rehearse in the space, which led to many late entrances and traffic jams on the small stage. A couple of actors seemed to forget their lines at times. Guests can participate in a contest to count how many Beatles song titles they hear in the dialogue (hint: they're nonstop), so study those old records beforehand.
The show was written by Craig Sodaro and directed by Allan Hunt. Dinner performances are on Fridays and brunch shows on Sundays each weekend through March. For information, times, prices and reservations, call the High Street Theater Foundation at (805) 529-0532. |
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