JUNE 5, 2002
You have a choice of four entrees when you do dinner at the new Starlites Dinner Theatre in the Grand Cities Mall. I contemplated the choices of stuffed chicken breast, pork tenderloin, sirloin medallions and vegetarian lasagna. Then, I ordered up two pork tenderloin dinners and hoped my friend Barbara Lander (BL) would like that.
She did. We found the pork tender and tasty with its Grand Marnier sauce. But first came the salad with parmesan, and croutons that were soft enough to eat. When I get little bullets for croutons, I just pile them up at the edge of my salad plate. The pork tenderloins were accompanied by a baked potato and green peas in the pod. Dinner rolls were a cut above some you get with a meal.
Starlites Dinner Theatre has finished its run of Lend Me a Tenor and is starting Singin’ in the Rain on June 12. After that, it’s a mystery, The Hound of the Baskervilles, from July 24 through Aug. 25. You can make reservations by calling the theater number below. Prices for the show and dinner range from $35 to $47, depending on whether you are a student, a senior, a regular feller or a group, and whether you attend on a weekend, choose a matinee or go in the evening.
Although the newly renovated theater has a kitchen, the managers have found it more feasible to have the food catered. The contract presently is with GF Goodribs. All entrees are served with a salad, rolls, vegetables and a nonalcoholic beverage. We chose coffee, although there was a wide range of soft drinks available. Appetizers, desserts and drinks from the bar are served at an additional cost. Dessert selections include Snickers or caramel-apple cheesecake ($4.75).
It was amazing to see how the former movie theater has been transformed—at an outlay of $120,000—into a pleasant dinner theater. You feel welcome from the time you enter the theater area in the mall with its blue neon lights. We were greeted by Dan Eggen and his wife, Marla Kalin, who operate the nonprofit professional theater. At this time, one of the former twin theaters is being used. There are plans to have two of them up and running.
The dining area is spacious and attractive, with several levels of tables with white cloths and blue-cloth dinner napkins. We enjoyed the soft music during the leisurely dinner. The theater allows an hour and a half for serving before the 7:30 P.M. shows. Some people come only for the show.
We had a five-minute warning before the show started. And then a one-minute notice. We sat back and thoroughly enjoyed the show, which in itself is cleverly written and was done exceedingly well by the Starlites cast of actors.
The food, along with the friendly ambience and high-quality show, was good enough to set the scene for a pleasant evening. The audience was thin, but management of Starlites is optimistic. They hope to build audiences as new shows come up every six weeks.
Starlites was evicted from Grand Cities Mall in August 2002 for nonpayment of its rent.