Mad Capp dinner theater is deliciously entertaining

Who says nothing new ever happens in Machias?

Danny Hatt, owner of the year-old Mad Capp Cafe on Lower Court Street in Machias, served up a fresh pot of musical and culinary treats Monday, by opening his doors to the area’s first Cabaret Dinner Theatre.

The 50-seat establishment was sold-out well in advance of the cabaret’s reservations-only, Valentine’s Day premiere.

Live entertainment at the Mad Capp is nothing new. Since its opening, The Mad Capp has regularly featured live bands from throughout the state on weekends. But Monday’s production was decidedly different.

Hatt, who directed five succesful summer seasons of the Marshfield-based Downriver Theatre Company, has wedded his love of theater with a top-quality dinner menu to offer the area a truly unique and entertaining experience — The Mad Capp Cabaret Dinner Theatre.

If Monday’s premiere is any indication, it should be a success.

Clayton W. Smith, a keyboardist who frequently performed the music for Downriver’s summer productions, played favorites throughout the 3 1/2-hour supper show.

And what a show it was, with local stage favorites Peter Morse, Sylvia Dalrymple, Ben Layman, Sandra Sinford and Heather Macleod-Moore — each familiar to area theater patrons from past appearances with Downriver Theatre Company and on stage at the University of Maine at Machias — serving up a spicy mix of song and dance in between delivering soups, salads and other meal courses to hungry patrons.

Dalrymple, in a role hearkening memories of the late Sophie “Last of the Red Hot Mamas” Tucker, turned up the heat with a steamy version of “Hey Big Spender,” teasing the men in the audience with a long, red boa. Each member of the cast, however, had their moment in the spotlight, leading diners through a night of clean, entertaining fun.

The Mad Capp’s Cabaret Dinner Theatre is just the medicine to cure the mid-winter blues. It is fresh, different and deliciously entertaining. Diners are not given a musical program adding a sense of mystery and spontaneity to the evening’s offerings.

The culinary fare is also worthy of note, with Mad Capp’s entrees of prime rib au-jus, halibut and dijon chicken worth the wait. A word to the wise however: save room and budget a few calories for one of Mad Capp’s sinfully tempting deserts, which are a must.

The Cabaret Dinner Theatre will continue 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16, Feb. 28 and March 2. For more information, call 255-4820.