The Kaatza Lakeside Players will be serving up a tasty treat of community theatre with their latest production of Million Dollar Meatballs that will run from Feb. 8 to 11 at Lake Cowichan’s Centennial Hall.
The Lakeside Players’ second production since COVID is written by Todd Wallinger and directed by Katie Nott. This is Nott’s third time donning the director cap for the players. She directed Little Scrooge in 2019, and was co-director of last year’s production of Honk!
READ MORE: Lakeside Players bring community theatre back to Lake Cowichan for first time since 2019
“We wanted to do a comedy, and this play is full of laughs,” said Nott. “I was inspired when I read the script for the first time, and knew we could do it justice on stage.”
Million Dollar Meatballs has a cast of 11 and follows two bumbling jewel thieves Frankie and Beans played by Graham Fielding, and Hayley Spackman. Frankie and Beans are on the run from the police when they duck inside Chez Monyeu — a restaurant so bad that the mice are their only repeat customers. The plot gets stirring after Chez Monyeu’s chef quits and the city’s most influential restaurant critic is about to arrive. Desperate times in the kitchen calls for desperate measures, and in a panic the owner of Chez Monyeu mistakes Frankie and Beans for famous French chefs, insisting that they make their renowned Million Dollar Meatballs for the tough-minded critic. Insanity ensues as the pair try to keep up the ruse while hunting for the seven priceless diamonds they lost. In this funny farce many questions come to mind like where have the diamonds gone, and why are the meatballs so crunchy?
“My favourite part is always getting to witness the growth of the actors — some of them start out shy and you see them blossom into a confident thespian,” said Nott. “Being involved in theatre as a child truly changed me and I love to provide that experience for adults and children alike.”
Jake’s at the Lake will be catering spaghetti and meatballs for their dinner theatre performance on Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. Patrons can enjoy pasta and a performance for just $40. The meal will be accompanied with Caesar salad and garlic bread. There will be gluten free and vegetarian options available as well, and a cash bar. Tickets for the dinner theatre must be purchased online before Feb.3; all tickets can be purchased through their website thelakesideplayers.ca.
Regular performances will be at 7 p.m. on Feb. 8 and 9 with a 2 p.m. matinee on Feb. 11. General admission is $20, and $10 for seniors, students, and children under 10.
“We used to do dinner theatre all the time,” said Nott. “We thought it would be special to bring it back for one night only, as it fit well with this food-themed play. We hope that our audience will leave the performance with a new or deepened appreciation for the arts and community theatre.”