If you want to experience high dining and Broadway talent up close and personal, you can save your hard-earned Midwestern paycheck by joining those who already know that in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, you can have a darn good time without laying your money on a New York table. The Fireside Dinner Theatre is a Wisconsin gem that sparkles with New York flair. But after thinking rather hard (great power of art!) about this theatre and the show, I want to grade it the highest and genuinely wish everybody engaged in running the theater, everybody who made this show all the very best in their creative work and wish the Fireside Theatre the greatest time during this holiday season. The powerful, clear voice of the leading female Heather Patterson King (playing Doris Walker), as well as very strong acting by Jon Reinhold (Fred Gaily) and inspiring performance by the lovely, tiny Gracelyn Skrepenski (Susan Walker) are the greatest highs of this show.Īt first, I was going to give a bit lower grading for this venue. And everybody on this stage looked very happy playing for about eight hundred grateful spectators. Actually, a big virtue of this show is a total engagement of all the cast, in an overall well-paced and and well-performed manner. I especially enjoyed the second act, where all the ensemble and all the leading actors were harmoniously engaged in a fabulous, crescendo grand finale. According to all the laws of the genre, it presents quite a bright spectrum of characters quite dynamically. This provides excellent view practically from any seat. The audience sits around the stage, in a mini-amphitheater (square) layout of the seats. This show is not as easy to stage (and to perform!) as it may seem. How well-measured but effortless all the choreography should look. How technically perfect all the settings should be. If you think about it, how properly thought through the whole idea must be - to make several dozen actors of different age groups, training credentials and acting experience perform flawlessly in these - rather difficult - settings. I have to say, that I was mostly struck by the thought that how challenging it must be for organizers to stage a show on such a small, uniquely designed stage, that has four-way angled access for actors from the exit ways of the theater, during the show the stage is also frequently recessed downwards, underneath the floor level, for frequent changes of scene decorations. The legendary musical Miracle on 34 the Street played that day. The theater was packed with shoppers, restaurant diners and of course theater lovers. The privately owned venue does its best to attract visitors from different Midwestern states, and there's no doubt that they strive to do their utmost to achieve this goal. I heard a lot about the Fireside in general, and in quite superlative terms, but this visit was my first. To begin with, memorable and enjoyable - and also long! - was an almost two hundred miles bus ride from Illinois to Wisconsin, as well as the whole day spent at the Fireside Theater in Fort Atkinson. It was a very memorable visit to this historic theater. We were all family and adult people- no kids or teens. The choices supplied did not fit our group. Later in this review it asks who was with us. I can hardly wait for the next time we all go. Their voices were the best and the whole thing riveled the movie. The actors and actresses were well-chosen for the parts they played. The music and singing were spectacular! It was two and a half hours which flew by. I sat in the front row with my husband and sister. The others loved their entrees and by the time we came to dessert, we were so full that we had them box it up and we took it home. My meat was so tender, I could cut it with a fork. The mushroom soup (I cannot remember its name) was the best I have ever had. Our waiter was attentive and helpful, answering any questions we had about what was what on the menu. We had a table for six and had an excellent view of the dining room. I didn't have the mobility and time to visit them this time, but in the past, I have purchased clip earrings, sequined Christmas ties, sweat shirt, vase for holding flowers, ornaments, and other items. There is a fireplace, a bakery where their special breads are sold, and several shops. It is warm and cozy, but seems to extend forever. She waited patiently and did not leave me alone until the rest of our party caught up to me. When we arrived, our tickets were at the "Will Call" booth and a requested wheel chair was quickly provided along with a young lady to push me to wherever I wanted to go. We have been to The Fireside Dinner Theater before, but this was the best one of all.
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