Stage West Theatre Restaurant

“It’s a great deal. For the ticket you get dinner, a show and parking. It’s a one-stop shop,” exclaims Stage West production manager and artistic associate Kira Campbell. The value and the feel-good entertainment have kept audiences coming back to Stage West since the early 1980s to dine while enjoying stage performances by TV stars such as George Wendt (Cheers), Richard Karn (Home Improvement) and Joyce Dewitt (Three’s Company).

Over the course of a year, Stage West presents five main-stage productions. Two to three of them are musical plays or tribute concerts. The other two are usually comedies and farces. “It’s dinner theatre. You don’t want to take anything too seriously. Nobody wants to listen to Shakespeare after eating a big buffet,” Campbell quips. The theatre also presents two Saturday afternoon children’s plays produced by Birnton Theatricals.

Campbell, who has been with Stage West since 1991, lists some of her favourite Stage West productions. Her list gives a great overview of the company’s variety: the classic Broadway musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Avenue Q, a risque puppet comedy for adults; British Invasion, a musical revue that reproduced the look and sound of 1960s English rock; and The Buddy Holly Story, the dramatic musical tale of the bespectacled 1950s rock ’n’ roller. In the 2015 season, Campbell is excited about seeing audience reactions to the retro musical revue 80s Solid Gold and casting a version of Monty Python’s Spamalot.