Last night my wife and I caught one of the last performances of Stage West Dinner Theatre's current production of "Dream Girls". This was our second time at this venue, and last night's production was even better than the one before.

Part of the fun is that this Tony-award winning musical is a pretty thin riff on the rise of Diana Ross & The Supremes. It also doesn't hurt that for a dinner theatre production, the professionalism was unbelievable. Indicated by a note at the entry, playing the lead role of discarded Dreamette Effie for our showing was the understudy, and she made you wonder how good the other actress had to be, if this one hadn't been the frontrunner. She was a freakin' powerhouse!!

Considering this production is just about done, the place was packed to the rafters. I'm serious - we actually saw people in the rafters.

Maybe it was a mezzanine, they do keep that area fairly dark...

The only downside of this venue is the buffet that's part of your admission. Picture to the contrary, I eat like a bird. A small, cute bird - too polite to ask for seconds at a family barbecue.

However, at a buffet, especially a terrific one like we visited last night, I swell to more...well. ostrich-like proportions regarding my appetite, and even eat stuff I wouldn't touch on a dare here at home. Drives the missus crazy...

Chow for now!!