New Dinner Theatre in Red River is a Smashing Success with its First Show
By STAFF
There’s a new Dinner Theatre venue in Red River called The Rail Haus. It opened June 15th and was a rousing success in presenting from the Pavement Ends Studios its inaugural youth theater tour of the Mischief Theatre Company’s “The One-Act Play that Goes Wrong,” that played at the Alpine Lodge Rail Haus in Red River, this past June 15th-19th.
The production began as Cherokee High School’s 2021 class 4A state championship play directed by Jason Paris.
“This is really a dream come true,” Paris said, “I’ve visited Red River a lot over the years, and I’ve always wondered why there’s no live theater there. It seemed like an opportunity, so I reached out to people, kind of randomly, and ended up finding some really great partners with the Alpine Lodge. I couldn’t be more excited about doing this show there.”
“The One-Act Play that Goes Wrong” by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields is the original hour-long version of Mischief Theatre Company’s West End and Broadway hit show “The Play that Goes Wrong.” A fast-paced slapstick comedy in which a well-meaning but ultimately incompetent troupe of actors attempts to put on the exciting whodunit, the play has spawned numerous professional productions, other Goes Wrong plays, and a BBC television series, “The Goes Wrong Show.”
“I was lucky to see the original cast in New York in 2017,” Paris said, “I’ve never laughed that much in my life. It was good, and I knew I’d be directing it someday.”
That day was delayed, however, by Covid-19. Originally set to produce the show in the fall of 2020 at Cherokee High School,
Paris backed out when it became clear that the state one-act festival would be virtual, citing his view that the show requires a live audience to work. Paris was able to direct the show during the 2021-2022 school year, though, garnering the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association’s class 4A state championship, the technical theatre award, and four All-State cast positions. In addition to winning the past three state one-act play contests, the cast boasts a combined 18 All-State awards for theatre, speech and debate.
“I know this seems crazy,” Paris explained, “Like why would anyone do this? It’s a significant expense, and I’m sure Pavement Ends Studios will take a little bit of a financial hit, but I also feel compelled to put my money where my mouth is in terms of the importance of the arts. I think the arts are the most important things we do, and I want my students to understand that theatre, or really any of the arts, aren’t just things we do in school. They’re life-long pursuits, and you can engage with them at any level. The other impetus, really, is that I think we’re just beginning to understand the damage the pandemic did to our kids’ psyches. They’re resilient, and we’ll all be fine, but I do think that it took a little magic out of the world for a lot of kids, so this is, hopefully, an opportunity to bring a little magic back for people. And this group of kids is certainly capable of doing that.”
The theatre in itself is trendy and beautiful, with plenty of room, elegantly filled with comfortable seats, divine appetizers and wines from the Sheehan Winery.
I forsee this as a huge succes and very welcome treat to us here in the Enchanted Circle.
We can hardly wait for the next show! The team at the Rail Haus is sure to impress, you don’t want to miss this!