Civic Auditorium gets ready to boogie to ‘The Last Dance of Dr. Disco’

A “wacky, zany spoof,” the play, written by Eileen Moushey, is “James Bond, meets Saturday Night Fever with the little Austin Powers thrown in.”

It's a play that can appeal to even “not your typical theater people,” said Farris, and along with dinner and a no-host open bar, the audience will also have the opportunity to join in on the action, with dancing, trivia and a clue hunt to help the zany cast of characters figure out whodunit.

Audience members are encouraged (but not required) to attend the play decked out in their best 70’s/disco attire. Awards will be given out for categories including best costume, dancer, trivia winner and top detective.

“We want them (the audience) … to break loose and have a good time and laugh,” said Farris.

With eight cast members, ‘Dr. Disco’ marks the third murder mystery dinner theater the Civic has staged, following their 2020 production of “The Fatal Fifties,” and last year’s staging of of “Eclipsed!” According to everyone involved in the production, participating in a dinner theater versus traditional on-stage production was a change that took some getting used to, one significant difference being the space they have to work with.

“My actors have to work the room,” said Farris, “We really try to kick down that fourth wall.”

While theater actors will typically play off their audience during a performance, cast member James Beedie commented on the higher stakes audience participation has in dinner theater acting, “We go around and we interact with the people that are here, we don’t really know who is going to allow themselves to be picked on a little bit,” said Beedie, “so it is a little more challenging because you have to kind of get to know … people that are here.”

“It’s a lot more improv than I’m used to,” said cast member Lucas Broehl, commenting on how the experience is bringing him out of his comfort zone.

Cast member Greg LeBlanc shared his enjoyment for the contrasting acting styles, “The full blown, you’re doing exactly what it says in the the script stuff – well you got a lot of stuff to just interpret, your way and the director's way,” said LeBlanc, “And this kind of thing, it’s like every once in a while you get to just create it out of thin air.”

A fundraiser for The Dalles Civic Auditorium, tickets for “The Last Dance of Dr. Disco,’ can be found at thedallescivic.com. Tickets are $65 per person, or $60 dollars apiece for a table of eight. Tickets must be bought in advance, with Oct. 21 being the last day to purchase them. Doors will open at 6:30, with dinner being served at 7:00 p.m.

For more information on future events, such as the Civic’s 100th Anniversary celebration, and the upcoming auditions for The Civic Kids Children’s Theater production of “Wizard of Oz jr.” go to thedallescivic.com.