Live theatre is coming back to Elk Point this fall.
Elk Point Allied Arts is bringing back its Christmastime dinner theatre production, with a play called In-Laws, Outlaws, and Other People (Who Should Be Shot). The play is written by Steve Franco.
“It’s very exciting,” said director Don Conrad. “But there’s mixed feelings because just the unknown is still out there. I mean, it’s three months away and we’re looking good. I think we just have to look positively on it.”
The play is a family-friendly comedy. Conrad says it was important to select material that whole families could enjoy together, and he’s sure this production will fill the bill.
“It’s actually well-suited for the whole family. Christmas the last couple of years has been a very, very sad occasion because you couldn’t meet with families and we couldn’t do things like this,” he said.
“This play is actually about Christmas and a family getting together at Christmastime, and some of the incidents that families get into when they gather. It’s a comedy, and it’s time for us to laugh and enjoy Christmas. We just feel that it’s a really, really appropriate show to be putting on at this time.”
The Allied Arts Centre in Elk Point has been dark since the beginning of Covid precautions, except for a brief glimmer of hope last fall when the Elk Point Community Choir began rehearsals. That didn’t last long.
“We were all prepared. We got face shields and we did the temperature testing at the door and all the rest of this,” Conrad said. “And that only lasted one week and then we were totally shut down.”
Community activity at the venue is starting to come back. People are starting to book weddings and other events now that restrictions are eased.
And rehearsals for In-Laws, Outlaws will be starting in a couple of weeks.
“The preliminary work has been done. The big one is choosing a script that would be appropriate for our audience, and that has already been done,” Conrad said.
“The second step is the casting, of course. And once the casting is done, it’s just the scheduling of rehearsals.
“It’s just like the Olympics,” he said. “You’re moving to the final gold medal. So if everything goes well, we’ve got plenty of time. And then, of course, you get into the building of the sets and the costumes and stuff like this, which are all part and parcel. Everything falls into line as you go along, but the rehearsals are the most important thing.”
The exact dates and the ticket prices will be determined this week. Conrad says he expects the price will have to go up from their last performance in 2019, but there will be a less-expensive option.
“Because the economy is really horrible and things are very expensive, we are going to be adding a sixth night,” he said. “On that sixth night there will be no dinner, and the ticket price will be 50 percent of the dinner theatre price.”
Concessions and bar service will be available at the extra performance. “The only thing that’ll be absent will be the meal and half of the price,” Conrad said.
