Well, I hope you enjoyed the World Premier of Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime. If you’ve not seen it yet…what are you waiting for?! ‘Buddy’ will only play through Aug. 10, so call today! Did you know that The Copperstate Dinner Theater has presented more World and Arizona Premiers than any other theater in the valley? It’s true. We keep trying to bring you the freshest and brightest new plays and musicals that Broadway and Off-Broadway have to offer.

Now we’re bringing back an old favorite. Hardly a week goes by that an audience member doesn’t ask Noel or me ’When are you bringing back ’Run For Your Wife’? I never laughed so hard in all my life!” Well, here it is! Since I was unable to cast the previously announced show ’Not Now, Darling’ to my satisfaction, we’ve decided to bring back this incredibly popular show! Those of you who’ve seen it know how funny it is and, by your requests, can‘t wait to see it again. For those of you who haven’t seen it — boy are you in for a treat! This is as close to guaranteed laughs as any play can get! I’ve even considered offering a money back guarantee if this play fails to make you bust a gut! Okay, I said considered it. But you are gonna love this comedy!
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So, here’s all the details: Run For Your Wife will play Aug. 29 - Nov. 16 at the Copperstate Dinner Theater, 3801 E. Washington inside the Phoenix Greyhound Park. Performances are Friday & Saturday evenings dinner 6:30, curtain 8:00.

And, in response to the many, many people who’ve been asking for daytime matinees, we’re happy to say that beginning Aug. 31st we will now present our Sunday shows as a matinee. So now on Sundays dinner service will begin at 12:30pm and the curtain will rise at 2:00pm.

The ticket price for all performances is still only $39.95 per person which includes dinner and the show as well as tax and gratuity. Dinner is a sit-down service, not buffet. With a choice of four delicious entrees: prime rib, grilled salmon filet, teriyaki chicken breast, and vegetable lasagna. Meals come with side dishes, salad with choice of dressing, rolls and butter. Appetizers, desserts and beverages are extra. A full bar is available.

Reservations can be made at (602) 279-3129. Stop by our website at http://www.copperstatedinnertheater.com for more details and photos of the show!

Run For Your Wife is a Classic Copperstate Farce by the master himself Ray Cooney!! (Funny Money, Tom Dick and Harry and Caught in the Net) John Smith is back! The hapless cab driver with two wives has returned to Copperstate. The single most requested show in the dinner theater’s 25 year history is a classic farce that finds a London cabby juggling two wives, but when an accident causes a mix up in his perfectly timed schedule all heck breaks loose! This is perhaps the funniest farce ever written.

The Copperstate Dinner Theater production of Run For Your Wife is written by Ray Cooney and directed by me, Copperstate’s Producing Director Peter J. Hill.. It stars the hysterical Ross Collins returning for the fourth time to the role of John Smith, Noel Irick also reprising her role as Mary Smith. The cast also includes Copperstate favorites Katrina Reyes (Tom, Dick and Harry, Cabaret) as Barbara Smith, Scott Connelly (No Sex Please, We’re British, Run For Your Wife) is back too as Det. Sgt. Troughton, Norman Sheriff (No Sex Please, We’re British, Tom Dick and Harry) as Det. Sgt. Porterhouse and newcomer Marcos Rutt as Bobby and me too, once again taking on the role of the hapless neighbor Stanley Gardener.

Run For Your Wife will open Aug. 29th and play though Nov. 16th .

Mention this notice and receive nearly $5.00 off per person. Instead of $39.95, you can purchase tickets for only $35.00 That’s right - only $35.00 for dinner and the show! Other valley dinner theaters charge as much as $54.00 per ticket. And they charge an additional $12.00 if you want Prime Rib. And their price does not include a gratuity. (15% gratuity adds another $9.90.) That’s $75.90 per person! At less than half their price, we really are the very best entertainment value around.

Make your reservations for Run For Your Wife today. Noel is waiting to hear from you. 602-279-3129.

See you at the theater!
Peter Hill

But it was the play and cast that truly impressed. As I sat down and saw how small the venue was, I was expecting nothing better than collage troup of actors, but everyone in this production had his or her marks of the professional.

Noel Irick plays the “Evil Step-Mother” as if Walt Disney had hand picked her for the roll.

Amy Powers and Kathy Donald are the quintessential step-sisters whos talents are diverse and showcased in a manner that allows them to shine. They nail their characters spot on!

Handsome and talented Alex Gonzales absorbs the character of Rudolph G. Fairbanks (and brillient cameos) such that if your a fan of the silent pictures, your sure to recognize his graceful strength and charm.

Charlotte Strayhorne adds some comic relief to an astoundingly powerful voice. (watch for the umm, umm, umm’s)!

The award winning actor who plays Buddy, Jason McDonald, provides a dynamic twist to the classic tale (but I’m not a spoiler. You’ll have to see to appreciate his well acted performance for yourself)!

But even with all that talent onstage, Jessica Godber in the lead role as Cindy Ellen Ellerby will inspire you to write a review too! A stunningly beautiful young lady who has a voice that will melt your heart and sooth your soul. She is destined for greatness! It is vary rare indeed to see an actress of this caliber outside the finest venues of New York.

Go see it! All in all, you won’t get a better value for all you get. And who knows?…you might even make a few bucks on the dogs afterwards…I did!

Well, I hope you enjoyed the Arizona Premier of Tom, Dick and Harry. Did you know that The Copperstate Dinner Theater has presented more Arizona Premiers than any other theater in the valley? It’s true. We keep trying to bring you the freshest and brightest new plays and musicals that Broadway and Off-Broadway have to offer. Well, this time we’re going even further. We’re bringing you the World Premier of a brand new musical!

That‘s right. The World Premier!!

We’re very pleased to present the brand new musical Buddy, Can You Spare A Dime?

A brand new musical is making its debut at The Copperstate Dinner Theater. Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime? is set to some of the toe-tapping-est music of the century and tells the depression-era story of a put upon girl who dreams of stardom on the silent screen. When a young man, down on his luck, comes into her life, he works his magic to make her dreams come true!

I created the show and I think it’s going to be lots of fun, You may not know that I am the author of several popular plays, musicals and revues including Ashes to Ashes, The Big Radio Broadcast of 1941, Could You Repeat the Question?, The Three Musketeers, Broadway By the Decade and Broadway Jukebox - all of which have won the AriZoni Award of Theatrical Excellence for Best Original Musical.

Beginning with the classic tale of Cinderella, I set the action in California in 1929. The stock market has crashed and Cindy lives a put upon existence with her step-mother and step-sisters. Instead of the Prince having a grand ball, it is the handsome and charismatic silent film star Rudolph Gilbert Fairbanks who is holding nation-wide auditions for his new leading lady. And instead of a magical fairy godmother, I have introduced Buddy, the down on his luck former millionaire, who, smitten with Cindy, pulls strings from his past to send her to the auditions.

The musical is packed with fabulous depression-era music including We’re in the Money, Pennies From Heaven, They Can’t Take That Away From Me. and Brother (Buddy), Can You Spare a Dime?

The Copperstate Dinner Theater production of Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime? is written and directed by me, Copperstate’s Producing Director Peter J. Hill.. The production is choreographed by multiple awarding winning choreographer Noel Irick with musical supervision and direction by the AriZoni Award winning musical director Judi Holmberg. It stars Jessica Godber (Cabaret) as Cindy and Jason Lee McDonald (Fiddler on the Roof) as Buddy. The cast also includes Noel and I as well as, Amy Powers, Charlotte Strayhorn, and Alex Gonzales as Rudolph Gilbert Fairbanks

Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime? will open June 6th and play though August 10th .

Mention this post and receive nearly $5.00 off per person. Instead of $39.95, you can purchase tickets for only $35.00 That’s right - only $35.00 for dinner and the show! Noel is waiting to hear from you. 602-279-3129.

See you at the theater!
Peter Hill

Guess what? Ray Cooney is back! Yep, the author of Copperstate favorites like ‘Run For Your Wife‘ and ‘Caught in the Net‘ has written another of his hilarious farces and Copperstate has the Arizona Premier! This time he‘s teamed with his son, Michael to create another wild farce - Tom, Dick and Harry.

Yep, it’s another Arizona Premier! We hope that you’ve come to count on The Copperstate Dinner Theater as your home for the newest Broadway and Off-Broadway comedies and musicals. Over the years we’ve brought you 6 world premier musicals as well as more than a dozen Arizona Premiers! No other valley dinner theater can make that claim! And we’re at it again.

We’re very pleased to present for the first time in Arizona, the newest farce by Copperstate‘s favorite playwright Ray Cooney - writing with his son Michael - Tom, Dick and Harry. Tom, Dick and Harry is a hilarious story about Tom and his wife who are adopting a baby. It should be the happiest day of their lives! If only Tom‘s slacker brothers, Dick and Harry hadn‘t ‘helped‘! The result of their assistance produces a van load of contraband cigarettes and booze, a dead body and two illegal immigrants! And today is the day that Mrs. Potter from the adoption agency is arriving for their final evaluation! Let the lies begin! This is classic British farce by the same man who created the Copperstate hits ‘Run For Your Wife‘, Caught in the Net‘ and ‘Funny Money‘.

I’ll be directing this wild farce. I’m also in the cast playing Harry. My brother Tom is played by Jack Dwyer, who you’ll remember as my partner in Greater Tuna and Tuna Christmas. My brother Dick is played by Ross Collins. You’ll remember Ross as John Smith, the harried taxi drive with two wives from Run For Your Wife. I played the neighbor in that one, so this is ‘old home week’ for the three of us to be playing brothers! Also in the cast are Marty Berger, Susie Dwyer, Sandy Gibbons, Jamie Novotny, Katrina Reyes and Norman Sheriff.

See you at the theater!
Peter Hill

Well, I hope you, your families and friends have had a delightful Holiday season! I also hope you got to see the Arizona Premier of Plaid Tidings, the long-awaited Forever Plaid Christmas show!

Of course, we have a brand new show opening the New Year! It’s another Arizona Premier! We hope that you’ve come to count on The Copperstate Dinner Theater as your home for the newest Broadway and Off-Broadway comedies and musicals. Over the years we’ve brought you 6 world premier musicals as well as more than a dozen Arizona Premiers! No other valley dinner theater can make that claim! And we’re at it again. 2008 opens with yet another musical you can only see here for the very first time at Copperstate.

Let this be our prayer
As we go our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your Grace
To a place where we’ll be safe

I pray we’ll find your light
And hold it in our hearts
When stars go out each night
Let this be our prayer
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe.

We ask that life be kind
And watch us from above
We hope each soul will find
Another soul to love

Let this be our prayer
Just like every child
Needs to find a place,
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe

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Sleep well my love

Published in the Arizona Republic Guest Book on 3/6/2004 by Cate Chamberlain.