Allamakee Community Players, Inc. teaming with Empty Nest Winery for “Check, Please” dinner theatre Feb. 12
Cast of “Check, Please” ... Left to right - Front row: Vickie Larson, Cheri Turner, Cameron Berges, Mary Beth Specht, Karla Lubahn; Back row: Russ Hagen, Jonathan Buhl, Mike Sanderson, Joeann Tesar. Not pictured: Sarah Hagen, Cathy Buhl, Barb Hagen. Submitted photo.
For the first time in years, Allamakee Community Players, Inc. (ACPI) will be performing in a dinner theatre event, but that first-time event for many in the current ACPI group will benefit from being held at a location that is no stranger to such a production. Empty Nest Winery has a recent history of hosting successful dinner theatre productions at its rural Waukon location, but for its first time will be teaming up with the local ACPI organization to provide such entertainment.
“Check, Please” will hit the stage Saturday, February 12 for a Valentine’s Dinner Theatre event, beginning at 6 p.m. The two-act comedy follows a series of blind dates that couldn’t get any worse - until they do.
The February 12 event will combine the talents of the Allamakee Community Players with a three-course dinner served by Empty Nest Winery. “Anytime local organizations can come together for an event like this, it’s a great thing,” shared Pam Kruger of Empty Nest Winery. “We’ve hosted dinner theatre events before, but never with such local talent. It will be a learning experience for all of us in working together, but it’s going to be great and we’re really looking forward to it.”
The production is being directed by Sarah Hagen. “We’re just a group of everyday people who like to get together and laugh, and we really enjoy entertaining others,” Hagen said of her ACPI colleagues. “This is a great group to work with and we are looking so forward to teaming up with Pam and Dave (Kruger) at Empty Nest to bring this production to our local community.”
Certainly no strangers to the stage, this group of Allamakee Community Players was looking for something new to try, continuing to build on a long-standing tradition of successful local productions. “Community Players has done dinner theatre in the past, at places like the Opera House and even the Landmark many years ago,” Hagen said. “After not being able to put on a production in 2020 due to COVID, and doing Theater in the Park last year, we wanted to do something even bigger this year, and we think this is going to be a great fit.”
Tickets for reserve seating for the production can be ordered in advance online at www.eventbrite.com. Additional information can be found on Facebook at Empty Nest Winery or Allamakee Community Players, Inc.
