Dinner Theater

The Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter will present a Murder Mystery Event on Saturday, March 24, at 6 p.m. at Orchard's Restaurant in Chambersburg. Everyone in the audience will get the chance to enjoy a meal and participate in a theatrical production, where they'll help solve a murder. A variety of casino games will be available as a way to gain clues for the case. Dinner options at the event include petite prime rib, grilled chicken breast with marsala or grilled vegetable napoleon.

One Mountain Foundation will host its fifth annual spring dinner theater with a production of “Boeing, Boeing,” a 1960's French farce adapted for the English-speaking stage. The play will be presented by the Blue Ridge Theatre Guild in a dinner theater format to be held at Blue Ridge Summit Pennsylvania Fire Hall on Friday and Saturday evenings, April 13 and April 14, and a show only matinee on April 14. Doors for the evening shows will open at 6 p.m., with dinner served at 7 p.m., and the show starting at 8 p.m. The doors will open for the Saturday matinee at 1:15 p.m. with the show starting at 2 p.m. The evening performance tickets cost $40 per person and include a buffet dinner provided by the Mountain Gate Family Restaurant.

The curtain on the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater in downtown Hagerstown is expected to close in April after 27 seasons, co-owner Jeff Czerbinski said Sunday. Czerbinski said there was “still a glimmer of hope, but maybe not.” The troubled economy and a lack of interest from the public have led to the theater's closing, he said. The dinner theater has a small regular base of customers, but that base is too small to support theater operations, said Czerbinski, who co-owns the theater operation with his wife, Loretta.

There will be a bus trip to Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Md., to see “A Christmas Carol” on Wednesday, Dec. 5. The trip costs $74 per person, which includes round-trip motor coach transportation, buffet lunch, play and driver gratuity. The bus departs at 9 a.m. from the Elks Lodge parking lot at 11063 Robinwood Drive in Hagerstown. The bus returns at 5 p.m.  For more information, call Donna Smith 301-797-8761 or send an email to DSmith7119@aol.com .

The One Mountain Foundation will host its fifth annual fall dinner theater with the production of “A Nice Family Gathering,” by Phil Olson, a modern version of “A Christmas Carol” meets “All in the Family.” The play will be presented by the Blue Ridge Theatre Guild in a dinner theater format  at the Blue Ridge Summit (Pa.) Fire Hall on the evenings of Friday, Sept. 28, and Saturday, Sept. 29, and a show-only matinee on Sept.  29.  Doors for the evening shows will open at 6 p.m., with dinner served at 7 p.m. and the show starting at 8 p.m. The doors will open for the Saturday matinee at 1:15 p.m., with the show starting at 2 p.m. The evening performance tickets cost $40 per person, which includes a buffet dinner provided by Mountain Gate Family Restaurant.  The matinee tickets cost $25 per person.  Tickets are available by calling Alice Humphrey at 717-794-5121 or Nina Rouzer at 717-794-0061.

Hagerstown Community College's Robinwood Players will perform a dinner theater production of "The Mouse that Roared" at Fountain Head Country Club on Saturday, April 8. This zany comedy is about a ruler from a failing country in the Alps who devises a plan to declare war on the United States, lose the war, then reap the benefits of U.S. aid to rebuild. Never did Duchess Gloriana imagine that her country would actually win! It is not necessary to be a member of Fountain Head Country Club to attend.

When the musical-comedy "Pajama Game" hit Broadway in the mid-1950s, it was considered a racy hit. That's what the Doris Day movie version advertised in promoting the 1957 film, along with a picture of Day in what appears to be nothing but a pajama top. The Broadway show also is credited with giving famed choreographer Bob Fosse his first big break. Fosse's choreography brought a sexuality to the musical-comedy with more intense or modern dancing, said Zane Oberholzer Jr., who is directing a local production of the musical-comedy at Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater in downtown Hagerstown.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- Without a stage while Chambersburg Area Senior High School is undergoing renovations, the CASHS Drama Club has converted the school's cafeteria into a dinner theater. The play "Did Someone Say 'Murder'?" will be served up again tonight and Saturday.

Antietam Recreation offers summer camps for youths and Wild West dinner entertainment for all ages at its outdoor facility south of Hagerstown, spokeswoman Susanna Allen said. For 12 weeks each summer, Antietam Recreation opens up its 9745 Garis Shop Road site to campers between the ages of 7 and 13, she said. Rates per week range from $90 to $125, she said. Campers can take advantage of canoeing, kayaking, field sports, games, tennis, horseback riding, archery, forting, cable rides and boat slides, Allen said.

A group of 34 seniors from the Village at Robinwood and Ravenwood Lutheran Village recently went on a mystery trip. They boarded a bus, knowing they were headed to a dinner theater, but didn't realize it would be a murder mystery train ride on the Western Maryland Scenic Railway. The murder mystery, with Ravenwood official Pete McMillin as the murder "victim," unfolded as they enjoyed dinner on the train. Janice and John Porter, above, residents of the Village at Robinwood, prepare to reboard the train for dessert and the rest of the performance after a short stop in Frostburg, Md.

There will be a bus trip to Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Md., to see “A Christmas Carol” on Wednesday, Dec. 5. The trip costs $74 per person, which includes round-trip motor coach transportation, buffet lunch, play and driver gratuity. The bus departs at 9 a.m. from the Elks Lodge parking lot at 11063 Robinwood Drive in Hagerstown. The bus returns at 5 p.m.  For more information, call Donna Smith 301-797-8761 or send an email to DSmith7119@aol.com .

The One Mountain Foundation will host its fifth annual fall dinner theater with the production of “A Nice Family Gathering,” by Phil Olson, a modern version of “A Christmas Carol” meets “All in the Family.” The play will be presented by the Blue Ridge Theatre Guild in a dinner theater format  at the Blue Ridge Summit (Pa.) Fire Hall on the evenings of Friday, Sept. 28, and Saturday, Sept. 29, and a show-only matinee on Sept.  29.  Doors for the evening shows will open at 6 p.m., with dinner served at 7 p.m. and the show starting at 8 p.m. The doors will open for the Saturday matinee at 1:15 p.m., with the show starting at 2 p.m. The evening performance tickets cost $40 per person, which includes a buffet dinner provided by Mountain Gate Family Restaurant.  The matinee tickets cost $25 per person.  Tickets are available by calling Alice Humphrey at 717-794-5121 or Nina Rouzer at 717-794-0061.

Enjoy good entertainment and value at the Playhouse To the editor: Since being honored by Loretta and Jeff Czerbinski by having the stage at The Washington County Playhouse named for me (Donald L. Spickler stage), I have been considering how to adequately thank them for their kind action. Perhaps the best way is to encourage everyone to patronize the Playhouse. We first became involved with the Playhouse when we were bringing the Annual Meeting of the North East Region of the National Association of Conservation Districts to Hagerstown.

The Washington County Playhouse in Hagerstown has dedicated its stage to Donald L. Spickler.  The stage has been formally dedicated, and a plaque bears its new official name, according to the theater owners. On June 23, before the curtain went up on the closing night performance of “Big River,” the cast, crew, and audience at the theater recognized Spickler's longtime support and commitment by officially naming the stage after him. “From now on, it will be known as the Donald L. Spickler Stage at the Washington County Playhouse.

1. Got the 'Lovesick Blues' Robbie Limon will portray Hank Williams Sr. at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 29, at Greencastle-Antrim High School auditorium, 300 S. Ridge Ave., Greencastle, Pa. Tickets cost $20 and are available at the Chamber office, Carl's Drug Store and Studio II in Greencastle, Pa. Following the show a buffet pit-roasted pork dinner will be held. Cost is $10. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Call 717-597-4610, email info@greencastlepachamber.org or go to www.greencastlepachamber.org . 2. For the birds Potomac Valley Audubon Society will sponsor a morning birdwalk led by Jon Boone and Janet Ardam.

One Mountain Foundation will host its fifth annual spring dinner theater with a production of “Boeing, Boeing,” a 1960's French farce adapted for the English-speaking stage. The play will be presented by the Blue Ridge Theatre Guild in a dinner theater format to be held at Blue Ridge Summit Pennsylvania Fire Hall on Friday and Saturday evenings, April 13 and April 14, and a show only matinee on April 14. Doors for the evening shows will open at 6 p.m., with dinner served at 7 p.m., and the show starting at 8 p.m. The doors will open for the Saturday matinee at 1:15 p.m. with the show starting at 2 p.m. The evening performance tickets cost $40 per person and include a buffet dinner provided by the Mountain Gate Family Restaurant.

The Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter will present a Murder Mystery Event on Saturday, March 24, at 6 p.m. at Orchard's Restaurant in Chambersburg. Everyone in the audience will get the chance to enjoy a meal and participate in a theatrical production, where they'll help solve a murder. A variety of casino games will be available as a way to gain clues for the case. Dinner options at the event include petite prime rib, grilled chicken breast with marsala or grilled vegetable napoleon.

The North Hagerstown High School music department will present the musical “The Wizard of Oz.” There will be five evening performances and one afternoon performance. Opening night will be Thursday at 7 p.m. Performances will continue every night through Tuesday, March 13. On Saturday, there will also be a matinee performance at 2 p.m. There will be a concession stand and raffle items.  Tickets cost $10 for adults, and $7 for seniors and students. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling Becky Sottile at 301-491-3713.

The curtain on the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater in downtown Hagerstown is expected to close in April after 27 seasons, co-owner Jeff Czerbinski said Sunday. Czerbinski said there was “still a glimmer of hope, but maybe not.” The troubled economy and a lack of interest from the public have led to the theater's closing, he said. The dinner theater has a small regular base of customers, but that base is too small to support theater operations, said Czerbinski, who co-owns the theater operation with his wife, Loretta.