After 11 years of making the rounds at a number of venues, Theatre-Go-Round, Vero’s only professional dinner theater, has settled into new digs in the Crystal Room of the Costa d’Este Beach Resort & Spa.
“It’s ironic,” says Jon Putzke, founder and artistic director. “I moved to Vero Beach more than 30 years ago to manage Musicana, a dinner theater at the old Sheraton, where the cast performed and waited on the tables.”
When that hotel was sold, the new management closed down the show. But Putzke continued to make music for Vero Beach audiences wherever he could stage a show. He rented space at Riverside Theatre and at one point set up shop at the Vero Beach Book Center building, which he affectionately referred to as “Encore Alley.” Yet always at the back of his mind was the idea for a professional dinner theater.
“My wife, Marg, and I spent a lot of time in Chicago seeing all different types of theater in our younger married life. One of them was in a cocktail lounge where the wait staff did Broadway show numbers,” says Putzke, still able to describe the setting in great detail.
“The cocktail tables would light up and the servers would jump up on them and perform Broadway numbers. It was the coolest thing in the world.”
The couple has staged shows together since high school and a little over a decade ago decided it was time to debut their own version.
“Vero Beach was really ripe for dinner theater. There was no specific place and no real funding. I remembered the Chicago cocktail lounge concept and I remembered the impression it made on me about performing at people’s tables. And so that was it. I started Theatre-Go-Round to do exactly that.”
The idea behind the name was being able to “go around to any dining room that would have us and around to the tables in the dining room.”
Over the years, the troupe has dazzled audiences all around town, operating out of seven locations and adapting to each before finally ending up in the ultimate venue, Costa d’Este.
Putzke’s tenacity gives new meaning to the “show must go on” mentality. No matter the address, their band of entertainers has provided quality entertainment that speaks to the confirmed habitués of nearly 3,000 return patrons.
“That’s a lot of people who have followed us from one dining room to the next,” says Putzke with a chuckle.
The troupe also includes choreographer Beth McKenzie-Shestak and vocal director Gregory Harris, along with Caitlin Harris and Brendan Wenger.
“We are a professional company and we’re fortunate to have such talented people here in Vero Beach,” says Putzke.
Shestak, also the cantor at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church, has been with Theatre-Go-Round since its early days. She studied at the Burt Reynolds Institute in her teens, taking Master Classes with theater greats Dom DeLuise and Charles Nelson Reilly. Later, she majored in musical theater at University of the Arts in Philadelphia before moving to New York. where she was the lead in “Agrippina,” an Off-Broadway show at Studio 54.
“I love dinner theater. The audiences are very receptive. It doesn’t matter how they come in, they always leave happy. So that, in turn, makes you happy,” says Shestak.
“What I like about Theatre-Go-Round is the inter-activeness between the cast and the audience,” adds Marg Putzke, the troupe’s costume designer and the organist at Holy Cross Catholic Church. “The cast is so good about getting into the audiences’ faces, singing right to them and making them a part of the show.”
To make things interesting, Putzke chooses a different theme for each show, based on a timeframe, decade, performer or composer, says Shestak.
“Jon casts very well,” says Marg Putzke. “He really sees the strengths in everybody. He throws them a curveball and shows them what they are really made of.”
“Part of our success, I think, is knowing the cast so well that I write the shows for them. They can’t go wrong. I bring out the best of their talents in each show,” adds Jon Putzke.
Gregory and Caitlin Harris met in a high school chorus class. He went on to earn a degree in music in Music Theater from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Following his high school sweetheart to Florida, he landed a spot with the Walt Disney Company before settling in Vero Beach.
They both teach at Storm Grove Middle School – he teaches choral and drama and she sixth grade – and initially met Putzke through the Vero Beach Theatre Guild.
“Working with these wonderful people in a town that really supports the arts – everything from high school plays to community theater to professional theater over at Riverside – it’s not surprising that our audience is attracted to the idea of dinner and a show,” says Gregory Harris. “When you take your own instrument with you everywhere, you really can perform anywhere. In the words of Shakespeare, ‘All the world’s a stage.’ We just need a venue.”
Brendan Wenger, an accountant by day, began his musical career at the children’s theater at Indian River State College, where he later received a theater scholarship. After performing at numerous community theaters, Wenger discovered Theatre-Go-Round.
“Dinner theater is more immersive than other types of theater,” says Wenger. “The audience plays a much bigger part in the show than a regular stage play. Actors feed off the audience, but at dinner theater, everything is amplified. The audience has a lot more influence on bringing their energy to the show and feel like they’re adding to the performance.”
The troupe kicked off their first performance at their new home Feb. 10 with “True Colors of the ’80s,” featuring 1980s hits “Karma Chameleon,” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “True Colors.” The show runs through March 17. “The Best of ABBA” opens on March 24 and runs through May 5.
The Costa d’Este family has welcomed Theatre-Go-Round with open arms, says Putzke.
“They have been wonderful about us coming in; working with us on the menu and listening to what has always worked for us in the past. We are so excited to be back in an intimate situation with a stage and with lights. What a great meshing of two organizations.”
So far, he says, all signs point to a successful season. “We’re already close to eight sellouts out of the 12 that we announced. If that continues, then we’re going to make the productions bigger and better.”
Putzke’s secret to success? While the audience may enjoy a spectacular three-course gourmet dinner, the performers always leave them hungry for more.
Performances take place each Sunday with dinner at 4 p.m. and the show at 6 p.m. Tickets are $65 per person and include tax and gratuity. For reservations, call 772-252-9341. For more information and the menu, visit theatregorounddinnertheatre.com.
