Spotlight Cabaret a Welcome Addition to Edmonton Entertainment Scene
Edmonton’s newest dinner theatre is in the lively Spotlight Cabaret that sprung up off Whyte Avenue last summer and became something of a fun place to be. It’s across the street from “Meat.” There’s a bar, a restaurant and a popular patio that presented cabaret shows for a ready audience.
Co-owners Aimee Beaudoin and Jeff Halaby wanted more.
Both are well known in the local entertainment world. Beaudoin is a writer-actor-stand-up-improvisor-singer-dancer who has nearly 20 years of experience in the entertainment business. She’s part of that hardy award-winning local comedy television series, Caution: May Contain Nuts. Halaby has an equally impressive long-time show-business resume – nominated for AMPIA, Sterling and Gemini Awards. He’s a restaurateur (Louisiana Purchase) and for those who watch the news, a local hero in a recent Old Strathcona scuffle where he was dubbed “2×4 Guy.”
It was Halaby’s idea to take the Cabaret and expand it into an intimate (80 person) theatrical venue with a large kitchen (with new head chef Chanel Larmand) and put on original comedy-music shows. The two would write the shows, be featured in them – and hopefully lots of patrons would show up for a Winter season of dinner theatre on Whyte Avenue.
Opening in early November, the Spotlight Cabaret Dinner Theatre is handsomely set-out, decorated with a 1920s theme, dark walls and tasteful furnishings. Chef Larmand’s fixed plated menu includes a four-course spread which features a daily soup (warm and inviting), a fresh house salad, and a selection of entrees including braised short ribs (tender and meaty) with truffle garlic mashed potatoes; a stuffed roasted red pepper dish with “beautifully done” Fall vegetables; and a chicken dish and a seafood linguini. To finish off, is the choice of two desserts – we chose the thick lemon meringue pie, a fitting finish to a very satisfying meal.
Servers are in full character – which leads to a bit of audience improv from Halaby (as a character named Delorian) and Beaudoin (Penelope). Then it’s on with the show!
(After soup and salad, the show is presented in one 35 minute segment, followed by an intermission for the main course, and then a 30 minute Act II.)
Their first production here is called Legends of Music – playing through Jan. 18th – and you don’t have to work too hard to figure out what it’s about. The plot features two brash adventurers from the 1920s who embark on a time travel jaunt. Penelope feels like she’s been “dropped, dumped and humiliated” and needs to be cheered up. So Delorian takes her on an “excellent adventure” to meet some of the great entertainers of the 20th Century. They travel not by hot tub, Back to the Future Delorian, or an old-fashioned phone booth, but with a most wondrous device – a chair that smokes and clanks and features a large clock that frantically tries to keep track of time.
Along the way they meet … well, the legends. All your favourites are there: Buddy Holly, Elvis, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Prince, Missy Elliott, Mick Jagger (and Keith Richards), Mariah Carey and Beyonce. The big hits are delivered with astonishing skill by a huge cast – consisting of two performers. Matt Andre is a multi-talented, rubber-faced, elastic-bodied shapeshifter; and Karella Cummings delivers remarkable re-animations to Ella, Aretha, Whitney, Mariah and Missy Elliott.
There are some effectively-staged dancing inserts (choreography by Ainsley Hillyard) including a hilarious mix of ‘20s and ’80s moves. All of this is performed on a postage stamp stage.
Arranger-composer-sound designer-technician Aaron Macri is a big help, particularly in his alacrity at hitting an impressive succession of sound cues. Every time there’s a joke – and there are a lot of them – he’s there with a vaudevillian rim shot.
The show is strung together by an Edmonton director who is a past master of this sort of knockabout entertainment, Trevor Schmidt (moonlighting from his role as artistic director of Northern Light Theatre).
There is nothing tacky about the evening. The food is good and plentiful, and the people on stage are pros with long experience in “putting on a show.”
The price is a sensible $48.95 during the week and $69.99 (plus GST) on the weekends. Shows are already selling out during the Christmas Season. Click HERE for details.
On other nights the venue will also feature duelling pianos, a night of improv (with Edmonton comic God Donovan Workun), karaoke, burlesque and a whole program of other activities. The Spotlight is a welcome addition to the Edmonton live entertainment scene.
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