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| "It's the world's first late night hoosier fest," boasts Kevin O'Brien, author and producer of I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE CASTLE. | |
| O'Brien, who runs Upstage Productions from his basement office in Affton, has been producing dinner theater for thirteen years. He is also an accomplished comedian who performs many of his two-person shows to loyal fans on a recurring basis at wineries in rural communities across the Mid-West. "I am arguably the most famous person in Sesser, Illinois," he notes, referring to the town where O'Brien performs at Pheasant Hollow Winery every month. |
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| O'Brien's illustrious but unusual career accomplishments include performing at the Missouri Governor's Mansion for both Governor Carnahan and Governor Holden, performing for HBO in New York, winning the NPR Young People's Radio Festival back when he was a Young Person, and performing outdoors at Eckert's Family Fun Farm in Millstadt, Illinois, "often with common barnyard animals." | |
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O'Brien's idea for the White Castle Dinner Theater was simple: patrons enjoy an inter-active satire on life in South St. Louis while feasting on White Castles, fries, and Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill Wine. "I approached the White Castle corporate headquarters with this idea," he says, "and, much to my surprise, they loved it. And so we were given a license to use their trademark and logo, sell their product, and start what we hope will be something White Castle will run with in all of their major markets." |
| The storyline to I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE CASTLE runs as follows: Professor Henry Higgins of Ladue meets Eliza Doolittle, a waitress from Jefferson County who works at Lemmon's. He decides that by changing the way she speaks he can pass her off as a debutante at the Veiled Prophet Ball, and thereby cure her of her unsavory addiction to belly bombers and fries. Eliza, meanwhile, has her eyes set on "The Golden Castle" - the one White Castle box that, once discovered, solves all of your problems and makes your dreams come true. Higgins, a culinary snob, sings "Why Can't the Hoosiers Teach their Children How to Eat," while Eliza sings: | |
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"I'm dreaming of a White Castle
Just like the ones I used to know 'Cause they can't be beaten, And after they're eaten You'll hear noises down below." |
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| "By the end of the show, true love triumphs and Higgins is brutally murdered. Also, we have an Act One finally with a chorus dressed in oversized White Castle boxes," notes O'Brien. | |
| For "a show you're bound to crave", theatre-goers will have to don their Southside best and come to the premier performance on Dec. 28 at 7:00 pm upstairs at Lemmons. Tickets include dinner and show; drinks are extra. | |
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Visit Us at: www.upstageproductions.com
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