Play at FivePine evokes 1952

Last updated 2/17/2009 at Noon

Theatergoers will time-travel to 1952 on Thursday and Friday, February 26-27 in a dinner theater production of the comedy "Red Herring" at FivePine Conference Center.

The Cascades Theatrical Company (CTC) production of the Michael Hollander play centers around a murder mystery and political intrigue in the run-up to the 1952 presidential election.

"This was decided on as a really great vehicle for dinner theater," said director Lilli Ann Linford-Foreman. "It's a little bit racy and it's very funny."

The story centers around Maggie Pelletier, played by Tina Borders of Sisters.

"She's a police detective in Boston," Borders explained. "There's a murder at the beginning of the play that she's assigned to investigate and it turns out to be ... much bigger than a simple murder."

The case turns out to have implications for Maggie's relationship with her FBI beau, Frank Keller, and considerable mayhem - and humor - ensue.

"It's very well-written, good characters and a lot of fun," Borders said.

Borders, who moved with her husband and two children to Sisters from Seattle a little over a year ago, has been involved in theater since she was a child and "pretty steadily for the past eight years."

The play has minimal set requirements, which makes it possible for CTC to stage it in Sisters. The play relies on costuming and props to create a sense of verisimilitude to its period.

Making the props serve as authentic setting is the job of property master Jim Hammond of Sisters.

"It turns out that there's like 70 props in this thing," Hammond said.

Some he has had to track down, others he's had to create. Hammond got a local supplier of campaign buttons to recreate "I Like Ike" buttons, and Hammond himself repackaged a box of Velveeta cheese to closely resemble the 1950s packaging.

Hammond lent his own disabled Winchester Model 1897 shotgun to the production and is working on tracking down a period-appropriate dial telephone.

"It's quite a challenge," he said.

Hammond was first introduced to community theater in the 1970s in Boston. His work made it hard to commit to plays for many years, but he took up the theater again when he moved to Sisters in 2004.

Dinner theater creates a "more relaxed atmosphere" says Linford-Foreman.

"For the actors, there's a more intimate feeling with the audience," she said. "It's more like a party."

Attendees will dine in a 1950s-style buffet before settling in to watch the play. For the Sisters performances, the audience is invited to get into the act by wearing 1950s-style clothing.

Tickets are $50 and include dinner and the performance. For more information call 389-0803.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.