GARBER—A fashion designer’s life is headed for disaster in Garber Community Theater’s upcoming production “Design for Disaster.”
Kay Arkay, the founder and owner of Arkay Fashions, Inc., finds herself in a whirlwind of wackiness when a group of investors enters the picture. Troubles ensue with these eccentric Corduroy brothers—Smert, Skip, and Ed—who try to gain control of Kay’s company on their path to crime.
Directed by Tammy Craun-Berry with assistance from Vanessa Neuerburg, this side-splitting production written by playwright Fred Gartner is a delightful blend of chaos and comedy that will leave the audience in stitches, which has been the signature of Garber Community Theater’s dinner theater shows for over 25 years.
It began in the late 1990s with then-mayor Linda Beebe who was seeking ways to attract tourists to the rural community 15 miles east of Enid. Back then the melodramas three times a year were performed in Garber Community Building in downtown Garber, but there was limited seating and the condition of the building was poor.
In 2006, Hal Long gave Garber Community Theater the building across the street from its original location that once served as the town’s grocery store. It was soon remodeled and renovated with much of the work done by volunteers aside from the electrical and plumbing repairs and the new roof.
The following year, in November 2007, Mike Letteer, who was president of Garber Theater Board, received a Community Service Award on behalf of the theater board when Gov. Brad Henry presented 20 awards during the Governor’s Arts Awards at the state Capitol.
Letteer and his wife Barbara “did a ton of work on this building,” said fellow Garber resident Kathy Disney, who has been active with the theater since the beginning. Her dad is the one who donated the current performance space too.
Disney along with Linda Severin and Sandy Foraker kept the theater ball rolling, per se, when Beebe stepped away in 2010. Foraker herself a frequent actress in the plays and collector of ticket reservations also recently retired from the stage.
Performances like “Design for Disaster” generally only require a half a dozen thespians and often times not all hail from Garber; some come from Enid or surrounding towns, Disney said. Each play—which is now twice a year rather than three—always has a villain ready to thwart the hero or heroine through hilarious hijinks.
“We don’t take ourselves serious,” Disney said. “We’re more Carol Burnett-style.”
Not to mention, she said, every dinner theater production requires audience participation.
More than 80 seats are available at the five weekend shows this December; “seats fill fast, so reserve now,” Disney cautioned.
Patrons drive in from across the state to attend, and while there is not the option of season tickets like most theater houses, many in the audience have been regulars for years and mark their calendars as soon as the next production is announced.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and everyone who has reservations will be seated and served by the cast a three-course dinner catered by the locally owned café Wick’s, known for its home-cooked meals and delectable desserts. The acting on stage will begin immediately after dinner is finished.
“Design for Disaster” is slated for Dec. 5-6 and Dec. 11-13 at Garber Community Theater, 402 Main, Garber. Reservations to the dinner theater are $35 each and must be purchased in advance by calling (580) 366-9276 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily except Sunday. This production is recommended for children 10 and older, and no childcare will be provided.
Proceeds from all Garber Community Theater shows support Garber Community Improvement Association, which in turn helps fund the community’s annual activities such as Easter egg hunt, Fourth of July celebration, and Christmas parade.