REVIEW OF QUEEN MARY CAST

August 18th, 2008
If the prospect of talented performers singing for your supper whets your appetite, then gorge yourself on "Let's Go to the Movies," produced by Todd and Jennifer Vigiletti for Tibbies at the Queen Mary.

It's a dinner theater cabaret show that pays homage to the movies. It's pure spectacle, urbane and elegant, from the spotlight that creates moons on the wall and reflects sequined gowns, to the intimate dining area/stage bedecked in black, white and red, to the costumes that range from tuxedoes to cowgirl get-ups to Dorothy Gale of Kansas’s gingham dress.

The music sets the rambunctious tone for the evening. It's live (the Tibbies Trio) and it covers standards from the early days of Fred and Ginger all the way to, yes, disco (in fact the evening's best song was from "Footloose"). It sets the performers dancing everything from the Continental to barn dances, tap dancing to elegant waltzes, John Travolta gyrations to some hilarious ballet.

The uniqueness factor resides in the setting.

It's the Queen Mary, so things are glamorous, not glitter-glam.

It's like a self-enclosed world - no windows, so it's easy to forget that you’re dry-docked. The whole thing radiates with nostalgia: the songs, of course, and the costumes. Even the very idea of variety shows, those things we used to watch on TV when we were kids, harkens back to an earlier time. Now we have amateurs getting past judges to score recording contracts or, if that fails, becoming infamous on YouTube.

The production glimmers with a patina of stateliness and class. It's not overdone (neither was the salmon), it's just right. There's a sense of synergy. Servers become performers, the audience sings and claps along. Birthdays and anniversaries are commemorated. There are a couple of movie trivial pursuit sessions.

The servers/performers interact with the audience, constantly. They actually beam at you, with enthusiasm. The connection makes you giddy. You feel like you're lifted up on a wave in the middle of the ocean and then, at the end, the finale brings you back to earth. Talk about round-trip voyages.

You already know the songs (including "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious;" there, I've always wanted to write that word): "Over the Rainbow," "Where Do I Begin," the potato/tomato song that caused a Vice President such fits. You know the movies of origin. You know the original performers. And yet, there's something enchanting about seeing them performed before you, live, by the person who just brought you your ice cream and coffee.

With the songs, the setting, the costumes, the urbane club atmosphere, and the spotlights, the evening smacks of romance. But man and woman do not live by romance alone. There are some very funny moments to undercut the mood, lest we all head off to Las Vegas to elope. There's a humorous un-campy (miraculously) rendition of Manly Ballerinas of the Prairie.

The first course song exhorts us to eat our salad. The magisterial first act-closing concession song that concludes movie-trailers features performers dressed as a hot dog, a pizza, a bag of Sugar Daddies and an ice cream cone. Dorothy has trouble with a yodeling Toto in tow and schnozolaed Jimmy Durante sings "Inka Dinka Doo."

All this makes for one enchanted evening, not in the South Pacific but on the dock of little old Long Beach. This is prom night without the big hair, hormonal frenzies and curfews.

The show runs until Nov. 23. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $61.95, dinner inclusive. The theater is aboard the Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway.

For details, call 499-1757 or visit www.tibbiescabaret.com

Center Stage, Fontana--Opening July 25, 2008!

      The Center Stage Theater in Fontana is Stargazer Productions' (the parent company of TIBBIES Great American Cabaret) newest permanent venue.  This state-of-the-art theater and conference space will serve the inland empire and beyond.  The latest in Audio/Visual, projector, and Broadband Technologies will all be installed at this historic location, and Stargazer's team of professionals will manage all aspects of the faculty on behalf of the City of Fontana.  From expert catering and amazing dinner theater productions, to executive conferences and touring concerts, Stargazer will provide the solutions for this mulit-use facility.  

TIBBIES opening show at this NEW location will be “Best of Broadway”,
playing Weekends July 25 – Sept 14, 2008. 

TIBBIES KICKS OFF the 4th of July SPECTACULAR!

For the 5,000+ attendees at the City of Fontana's Patriotic Spectacular Show, it was truly a fantastic experience. TIBBIES was invited to entertain the masses on July 4th, and they delivered in spades! Crowds enthusiastically applauded the TIBBIES cast members and their incredible voices as they presented a half hour tribute to our nation: its past, its present, and its glorious future.

Let’s Go to the Movies!

 Our new show is new show opening July 11 and is playing until November 23, 2008.

Call:

1-562-499-1757

READ letters from our guests

… more»

"They sing, they dance, they freshen your drink..."

A.K. Whitney of LA.com reviews DANCING QUEEN...

check it out !

Kayte Deioma of About.com calls DANCING QUEEN a "dazzling, high energy production" ...check out her

online REVIEW!

TIBBIES was voted "BEST DINNER THEATER!"
by the Orange County Register - Readers' Poll

OC METRO MAGAZINE
•Review •

--by Steve Thomas

"Superb Song and Dance--TIBBIES Great American Cabaret is putting on the Ritz in downtown Santa Ana."

Run, don't walk, dash, don't dally, to catch one of the remaining performances of TIBBIES "Silver Screen Spectacular," playing through the end of April. The song and dance review of music from classic Hollywood movies is great entertainment - a delight overall… more »

• REVIEW •
(TIBBIES at the Queen Mary, Long Beach)

"Classy Setting for Feel-Good Show!"

Well, it’s true the Queen Mary no longer cruises. It’s also true that the new TIBBIES At The Queen Mary is a mix of dinner theater and lounge act, with the entertainers serving the salad. But you get the picture. TIBBIES has been a part of the entertainment scene in the Southland for a decade. Creators Todd and Jennifer Vigiletti took the time-honored dinner theater format and twisted it to fit into performances of musical reviews… more »

•REVIEW•
(for our Santa Ana location) in
"Fun Places In Southern California" Guide Book

"More than just dinner, and more than just a show -- TIBBIES in Santa Ana is a wonderful three-hour, dinner, musical song and dance revue in an upscale atmostphere. The show's high energy, beautiful voices, numerous costume changes, and well-choreographed dance moves make any show here a delight!"
- Susan Peterson -
(Former columnist for the L.A.Times &
Author of "Fun Places in Southern California")