Instead of dinner and a movie, you really ought to consider dinner and a show. The Orpheum has a great series of shows throughout the year. It's a local and national treasure. Have a great time and take advantage of what we have here.
My wife and I did that Tuesday night. We did dinner and a show - having dinner at Itta Bena and seeing Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Orpheum. More about Itta Bena in a minute.
You absolutely have to see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. This is a really funny, bawdy, entertaining, laugh out loud, sexy, fun musical. Guys, you'll have a good time. You won't lose "man points" by seeing this show. In fact, I promise that you'll like this one. Ladies, get your man off the couch. Tivo American Idol or Lost and get out to see this. If your man won't go see it with you and you're about to become a basketball widow (the NCAA tournament is this weekend) then get a group of your girlfriends together and make it a girls night out.
The only downside to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is that it's only here in town through March 24. So don't wait!
This musical is an adaptation of the movie by the same name that starred Michael Cane and Steve Martin. That ought to be credentials enough to show how funny this show is. It's the story of two con artists who get conned themselves.
The older more suave con artist is played by Jamie Jackson. He's fairly tall and bald. Maybe because of that, his performance kind of reminded me of Jim Carey in the Mask when Jim Carey turns into the green night club singer. I hope Mr. Jackson would take that as a compliment because it's meant in that light. He did a great job of being smooth and suave and funny and intelligent.
The younger con artist is played by Doug Thompson. His performance reminded me of Jack Black. Again, I hope that comes across as a compliment because it's certainly meant that way. He did a great job of being a physical comedian while still projecting that con artist front. He had some of the funniest lines in the show.
Jenny Gulley played the role of Christine Colgate. I won't ruin the ending for you by explaining her role but let's just say that she did a masterful job of pulling off her really important role in the show.
Jeff Essex played the police chief. His role was as the straight man and he pulled it off beautifully. He too had a bunch of funny lines because he was the straight man.
Suzanne Sole and Jen Jenkins played love interests and were really funny throughout the show.
The ensemble was excellent. The singing was clear and on pitch. The cast as whole did a really great job. This is one very entertaining show. Make a point of trying to catch this before they sail out of town next week.
Back to dinner . . . we ate at Itta Bena. Itta Bena is above BB Kings. The entrance is on Second. There's a blue awning and stairs that go up. That's the entrance. You can valet. The interior is funky cool. The windows are covered in blue shades and the rest of the interior is kind of rustic with a refined touch. The menu gives you plenty of great choices. We had the wedge salad. I'm a big snob when it comes to the wedge. Itta Bena did it right with lots of chunk blue cheese, crisp lettuce and bacon. My wife had the fillet and I had the jumbo scallops. Fantastic meal. Itta Bena is named after the town in Mississippi where BB King was born. If you haven't eaten there yet, you need to do so.
Image a Tuesday night in Memphis where you can have a great meal and catch an extremely entertaining show. Now that's just one of the many reasons it's great to live here. I highly encourage you to check out Itta Bena and to make sure you see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels!
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