When my partner and I originally started, we were looking to generate income that would provide for our families and still (give us) the artistic outlet. We found that dinner theater was that vehicle,
(Playwrights) now are writing for sitcoms because they get a lot more money, and the quality doesn't have to be that good, ... But, boy, some of these older pieces like (those by) (George S.) Kaufman and (Moss) Hart slay me with how well they're written and constructed.
This is nothing new. Since the Greeks, people sat on a hillside with a basket to eat and watch Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles.
At this point, whether the audience has trained us, or we've trained the audience, we're closer to the same page than certainly I was 25 years ago,
We're here to entertain, we're not here to change the opinion of the world; we're not here to teach (people), which is part of some of the other theaters' directives.
Early on, we were the only place in town other than Starlight (Musicals) and places like Market Square (Arena) that did concerts, ... This was 'the' concert venue at the time, and we did 35 or 40 concert dates a year. Pretty soon there were eight other places in town.
