Ed Fletcher's
   
Early Bird Dinner Theatre
Clearwater, Florida
$29.90 (plus tax)   Per Person

Phone for Reservations:
(727) -  446-5898
(Leave name, number)
Welcome!

    This live professional theatre and buffet dinner in Florida is easily reached from Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tampa, and Sarasota.

    We are the best dinner show value in the Tampa Bay area and Florida. You will find great dinner music, great food, great theatre, friendly atmosphere, and excellent service!

Turn on your speakers! This 60-second video comes with sound:

       Entertaining Clearwater since 1987, we moved to McMullen Booth Road from Ft. Harrison Street in 2006. In 2013 we moved to???  

On this web site you will find:
 
  • Synopsis of the current play
  • Show Times; Seating
  • Buffet and Menu
  • 2013-2014 Schedule
  • Previous Presentations
  • 2013-2014 Schedule
  • EBDT Local Reviews
  • Email Mailing List
  • Directions (w/photos)
        Google Maps (Link)**
        Yahoo Maps (Link)**
        MapQuest (Link)**
  •  
  • The Origins Of Our Theatre
  • Contact Information
  • **(All Internet Maps Links will open in a new window.)


    Ed Fletcher
    1938-2012

        Tickets:   Phone 446-5898 to make reservations or to check on seating for a particular date. Leave your name and phone number, and we will return your call as soon as possible. Performances are on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings of each week, plus matinees on Thursday and Saturday.
          All tickets are only $29.90+tax per person.

          So, get a table of your friends together, it's BYO so you can bring your favorite wine, and enjoy the entire package of dinner, dinner music, and show!

          Visit us on Facebook.com: Early Bird Dinner Theatre

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              April 30th ~ The Early Bird Dinner Theatre is moving to a new location. Our opening for Over The River and Through The Woods will be delayed. Subscribe now to our Email Mailing List and you'll be among the first to hear about our new location!
    Showing May ??something through...
         ... June 16th  2013

    An Ed Fletcher Production

    Over The River and Through The Woods

    Written by  Joe DiPietro

    Directed by  Toby Manion
    and Tracy Borgatti

    Produced by special Arrangement with Dramatists Play Service.


    Cast: Over the River
    And Through The Woods

    May 3 - June 16,  2013
              Nick is a single, Italian-American guy from New Jersey. His parents retired and moved to Florida. That doesn't mean his family isn't still in Jersey.

              In fact, he sees both sets of his grandparents every Sunday for dinner. This is routine until he has to tell them that he's been offered a dream job. The job he's been waiting for--marketing executive--would take him away from his beloved, but annoying, grandparents. He tells them. The news doesn't sit so well.

              Thus begins a series of schemes to keep Nick around. How could he betray his family's love to move to Seattle, for a job, wonder his grandparents? Well, Frank, Aida, Nunzio and Emma do their level best, and that includes bringing to dinner the lovely--and single--Caitlin O’Hare as bait...
    __________
        "Loaded with laughs every step of the way." -- Star-Ledger
        "This hilarious comedy will have you laughing the whole night." -- Broadway Theatre
        "An endearing family comedy filled with love, laughter and lasagna." -- Examiner.com
        "A hilarious family comedy that is even funnier than DiPietro's long-running musical revue I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change." -- BackStage


    Cast: Over the River And Through The Woods
    May 3 - June 16,  2013

    Ian MacCallum
    as
    Nick Cristano

    Toby Manion
    as
    Frank Gianelli

    Barbara Anthony
    as
    Aida Gianelli

    Bill Henricks
    as
    Nunzio Cristano

    Deb Bircher
    as
    Emma Cristano

    Nichole Smith
    as
    Caitlin O'Hare

    Produced by ~ Susan Fletcher Lyons
    Directed by ~ Toby Manion and Tracy Borgatti
    Costumes ~ Barbara Anthony
    General Manager ~ Susan Fletcher Lyons
    Set Design ~ Toby Manion and Barbara Anthony

    Toby Manion
    Director

    Tracy Borgatti
    Assistant Director
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    Show Times

         Performances are Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings of each week, plus matinees on Thursday and Saturday. All seats are only $29.90+tax each.
    Mon
     
    Tue
     
    Wed
     
    Thursday
    Matinee
    Evening Show
    Friday
     
    Evening Show
    Saturday
    Matinee
    Evening Show
    Sunday
     
    Evening Show
    Seating at 11am for Matinees - - Seating at 4pm for Evening Shows - - Menu
    Salad bar opens during seating, performance begins after dessert is served
    Matinees end approximately 3pm - - Evening Shows end approximately 8pm.

           Price is "per person," whether it's one person, one table or a bus load. Our policy on complimentary tickets for groups is "one free" for every twenty (20) paid. Your bus driver is automatically our guest. In order to keep our prices affordable, we must keep our operating costs down.  Therefore, we cannot accept credit cards and we use a 24-hour telephone answering service. Be sure to leave your name and telephone number.

    Top | Menu
     
    2013 - 2014 Schedule

    Gift
    Certificates

              Call Susan Fletcher Lyons at (727) 446-5898 to purchase a gift certificate. (That phone is also the theatre reservation line.)
    Tickets are valid for any production during the year.



     
    Over The River And Through The Woods
    By Joe DiPietro

    May ?? - June 16, 2013
              When two sets of doting Italian-American grandparents and their grandson, Nick, all get together every Sunday for dinner, there's plenty of food and, of course, advice.
              It's 1972, the year of VCRs, answering machines, Trivial Pursuit and problems. Nick has to announce that after 29 years of Sunday dinners, he's received a promotion and is moving across the country to Seattle.
              Hilarity ensues when his loving grandparents devise a plan to keep him from moving.
              This is a poignant and heartwarming tale of family love and relationships that everyone can relate to.

              You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll appreciate your family!


    Cookin' With Gus
    By Jim Brochu
    June 22 - July 28, 2013
    Note: This opening may also be delayed.
              Gussie Richardson is a famous food columnist and cookbook author. Her agent comes to tell her she's been offered her own daily network television show.
              She wants to do it, but her husband Walter is dead set against it and Gussie discovers she has stage fright and can't open her mouth in front of a camera.
              Everybody tries to help her get over it ... Walter through hypnotism, Bernie her agent by threats; and even wacky Gypsy Carmen from next door casts spells.
              Just when she thinks she's cured, the taping turns into a comic nightmare concluding in an all out food fight that almost ends the show and her marriage.

    Summer Intermission  July 29 - September 4, 2013
    This is our short annual summer break.

    Murder at the
    Howard Johnson's

    By Sam Bobrick
    September 5 - October 27, 2013
              All is fair in love? Even murder? That's the question posed by this light and funny suspense comedy about a love triangle in a Howard Johnson Motor Inn.
              A three scene love triangle involving a woman, her lover, and her husband.
  • In the first scene the wife and her lover plot to murder the husband.
  • In the second scene the wife and her husband are plotting to murder the lover.
  • The third scene has the husband and the lover plotting to murder the wife - but this attempt, like the others, fails.
    ______
    "Enough laugh lines, mirth provoking situations and extravagant sight gags to outfit two rapid fire farces of the absurd." -Variety
    "A holiday of laughter... Beautifully polished, very funny very American comedy." - WNBC TV

  • Boeing Boeing
    By Marc Camoletti
              Translated by Beverly Cross
              Revised by Francis Evans
    November 2 - December 22, 2013
              This 1960's French farce adapted for the English-speaking stage features self-styled Parisian lothario Bernard, who has Italian, German, and American fiancees, each beautiful airline hostesses with frequent "layovers".
              He keeps "one up, one down and one pending" until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris and Bernard's apartment at the same time.
    ______
    "This latest edition of a play named for an aircraft soars right out of its time zone and into some unpolluted stratosphere of classic physical comedy. Propelled by the same gusty spirit that animated Commedia dell'Arte and the silent films of Keaton, Chaplin and Lloyd, {this} may be earthy, but it's seldom earthbound."
    ~~The New York Times

    Happy New Year 2014!  Change your calendars
               from 2013 to 2014.
              Enjoy your New Year's eve celebration, then plan to join us again in 2014.
    Lend Me a Tenor
    By Ken Ludwig
    January 10 - March 9, 2014
              Set in 1934, Il Stupendo, the greatest tenor of his generation, is supposed to appear for one night only.
              The star arrives late, and through a series of hilarious mishaps, is given a double dose of tranquilizers and passes out.
              In a frantic attempt to salvage the evening, the general manager persuades Max to get into his costume and fool the audience into thinking he’s the world famous star.
    ______
    "A remarkable piece of theatre... a masterpiece"
    ~~The New York Times

     
    Seating

    Views of Stage (above)  and  Buffet (below)

     
    (Seating assignment is by table number.)

    Top

     
    Catering by Banquet Masters
    in the Early Bird Newsletter
    Buffet Menu

    Full Salad Bar
    Tossed Salad
    Pasta Salad
    Three-Potato Potato Salad
    Carrot Salad, Tomato Wedges
    Sliced Black Olives, Green Olives
    Cucumber Rings, Sliced Red Onions
    Sliced Beets, Assorted Sliced Pickles
    Italian Dressing, Ranch Dressing
    Jello
    Entrees

    Virginia Baked Ham

    Carved Top Round Roast Beef
    with Au Jus and Horseradish

    Salmon Almandine

    Chicken Marsala

    Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
     


    Sides

    Long Grain Wild Rice

    Mashed Potatoes

    Vegetables


    Assorted Rolls and Butter
    Coffee and Ice Tea
    Dessert
    Chocolate Cake
    or Dessert DuJour

    Menu Subject to Change
    When you make your reservations, ask us about other beverages you can bring.

    No smoking in the dining/seating areas.
    A gratuity for the wait staff is appreciated and not included in the admission.

    Dinner music performed by
    Mark Atcher

    Click on Mark's photo to read about him in the EBDT newsletter.

     
    Music, Dinner
    and Show

    $29.90 Plus Tax

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    Call (727) 446-5898 to make reservations for the
    Early Bird Dinner Theatre

        Top

    Previous Presentations



    Set: Move Over Mrs. Markham
    January 10 - March 3, 2013

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    Cast: Murder Among Friends
    March 7 - April 28,  2013
    Reservations:
    (727) 446‑5898

    Cast: Move Over Mrs. Markham
    January 10 - March 3,  2013

    Cast: Moon Over Buffalo
    September 8 - October 27,  2012

    Cast: Separate Beds
    April 26 - June 3,  2012

    Cast: Lie, Cheat, and Genuflect
    January 5 - February 26,  2012
     

    Cast: A Bedfull of Foreigners
    November 1 - December 23,  2012


    Cast: Nobody's Perfect
    June 14 - July 29,  2012

    Cast: What Is Susan's Secret
    March 1 - April 22,  2012
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    Cast: Leading Ladies
    September 8 - October 30,  2011
    Cast: Don't Dress for Dinner
    April 28 - June 19, 2011
    Click for bigger picture.
    Cast: The Dixie Swim Club
    January 6 - February 27, 2011
    Click for larger picture

    Cast: The Sensuous Senator
    November 3 - December 23,  2011

    Cast: Last of the Red Hot Lovers
    July 14 - September 4,  2011
    Click for bigger picture.
    Cast: Sex Please, We're Sixty!
    March 3 - April 24, 2011
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    Cast: How the Other Half Loves
    November 4 - December 26, 2010


    Cast: There's a Burglar In My Bed
    January 7 - February 28, 2010
     
    (Click for larger picture)

    Cast: The Kitchen Witches
    July 15 - September 5, 2010
    [ click for larger picture ]

    Cast: Funny Money
    April 29 - June 20, 2010

    [ click for larger picture ]
    Cast: Death by Chocolate
    March 4 - April 25, 2010
     

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    Cast & Crew: Bermuda Avenue Triangle
    January 2 - February 22, 2009
     
     

     

    Cast: Natalie Needs a Nightie
    February 25 - April 19, 2009

     

    Cast: Private Lives
    April 23 - June 14, 2009

     

    Cast: Anybody For Murder?
    November 5 - December 20, 2009
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    Cast: Out of Order
    January 3 - February 24, 2008

     

     
    Cast: Run For Your Wife
    February 28 - April 20, 2008

     
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    An Early Bird Special Presentation:

     

    World Premier


    Never Kiss A Naughty Nanny
    November 3 - December 23, 2007

     

    (Right: Fox 13 Charley's World, archived on YouTube.com: Never Kiss a Naughty Nanny )

         This section contains a link to youtube.com, and contains a 2-1/2 minutes of a TV News special report. We hope your computer is configured so you can see the video clip. It has sound, so remember to turn on your speakers! Drop us a note and let us know what you think: Webmaster.2012@EarlyBirdDinnerTheatre.com
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    Cast: Never Kiss A Naughty Nanny
    Pictured with playwright Michael Parker (L)

     

    Cast: Steel Magnolias
    February 22 - April 14, 2007

     
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    Cast: Sin, Sex, and The CIA
    November 2 - December 26, 2006
    --
    Cast: Deathtrap
    April 27 - June 18, 2006

     

    Top

    Cast: Hotbed Hotel
    September 15 - November 6, 2005

    Cast: A Bedfull of Foreigners
    January 6 - February 27, 2005

     

     
    Reservations:
    (727) 446‑5898
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    Reviews

    Moon Over Buffalo Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - September 24, 2012
    The Sensuous Senator Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - November 28, 2011
    Leading Ladies Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - October 3, 2011
    Last of the Red Hot Lovers Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - August 1, 2011
    Don't Dress for Dinner Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - May 23, 2011
    Best Dinner Theaters on Florida's Gulf Coast AssociatedContent (Yahoo!) - January 31, 2011
    The Dixie Swim Club Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - January 22, 2011
    How the Other Half Loves Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - November 22, 2010
    Lovers and Other Strangers Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - October 4, 2010
    Kitchen Witches
    Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - July 19, 2010
    Funny Money Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - May 10, 2010
    There's a Burglar in my Bed Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - January 11, 2010
    Anybody for Murder? Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - November 10, 2009
    Squabbles Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - September 7, 2009
    Private Lives Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - May 26, 2009
    Bermuda Avenue Triangle tickles opening night audience. St Petersburg Times - January 9, 2009
    Run For Your Wife Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - March 17, 2008
    Out of Order Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - January 19, 2008
    About.com:Tampa Bay Lee Zumpe article about Ed Fletcher and the Theatre
    Never Kiss a Naughty Nanny Fox 13 Charley's World archived, on YouTube.com
    Never Kiss a Naughty Nanny Review Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - December 4, 2007
    Never Kiss a Naughty Nanny Review Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - October 30, 2007
    Angel Street Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - September 5, 2007
    Pajama Tops Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - July 2, 2007
    Who's In Bed with the Butler Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - September 21, 2006
    Death Trap Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - May 4, 2006
    Whose Wives Are They Anyway? Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - Mar 16, 2006
    Crimes of the Heart Tampa Bay Newspapers (Online) - January 13, 2006

         Did you find a links to a reviews of any production at the Early Bird Dinner Theatre? Please send the address to the Webmaster.
    Epilogue
    Chris Tracey (1957-2008) St. Pete Times - June 14, 2008
    Early Bird Theatre remembers Chris Tracey Clearwater Citizen - July 9, 2008

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    Top
    This is reprinted from our February 2011 Newsletter:

    The Origins of the
    Early Bird Dinner Theatre
      

    Ed Fletcher
     
    1938-2012

              In our very first issue of the Early Bird Newsletter, we wrote about the origins of our theatre and how Founder and Producer, Ed Fletcher, had been at the helm all along.
              Now that we have had so many new patrons coming to the theatre, we thought that the story was worth repeating!
              Ed Fletcher first retired at the age of forty. But a born entrepreneur like Ed does not go quietly into the world of retirement. Fletcher opened a successful Art Gallery business in the Tampa Bay area that flourished for years.
              In the mid-1980's, he sold the Art Galleries and decided to write and produce his own screenplay. It was during that production that he began to discover how many talented actors there were in the Clearwater area.
              After the film was produced, Ed decided that these actors needed a theatre, and another career was born. He began his search and found a man who owned three restaurants. Fletcher jumped in and opened three dinner theatres in Seminole, Dunedin and New Port Richey. Now, local actors had three venues in which to work!
              When the restaurant owner retired in 1990, Ed quickly found a new venue at a banquet hall on Fort Harrison Street in downtown Clearwater. He built a stage and the theatre opened that same year. In fact, the very first production was the ever-successful show Social Security.


              The concept behind Early Bird Dinner Theatre is a simple one that meets the needs of the patrons. Ed knew that there were a lot of people who loved getting out for dinner and seeing a show, but still wanted to get home at an early hour.
              Thus, Early Bird Dinner Theatre was born.
              The formula behind this simple yet very effective idea was a smash hit, and the theatre remained at the Fort Harrison location for sixteen successful years.

              When the owner of that banquet hall retired, the theatre moved to its next location on McMullen Booth Road. Once again, Ed set to work to expand the stage and make improvements that would enhance productions.
              Early Bird is now in its fifth successful season in our new venue.
              "There's no doubt about it," said Mr. Fletcher, "if you're looking for excellent dining and exciting professional entertainment, the Early Bird Dinner Theatre is the best in the area."
              After almost twenty-five years of successful productions that bring great pleasure to both patrons and local actors, Ed Fletcher should know!
              Those of us who love theatre are very grateful to Ed for all his efforts to keep theatre alive and well in Tampa Bay.
             
    ~~ Jennifer Sloan Early Bird Dinner Theatre Newsletter, February 2011 (Page 2)


    In 2012, the Early Bird Dinner Theatre celebrated its 25th year of productions!
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    Contact us:
  • If you have suggestions/questions/comments about Public Relations,
             write to Theatre Liaison Susan.Lyons@EarlyBirdDinnerTheatre.com
  • If you have suggestions/questions/comments about the Newsletter,
             write to ListMaster.2012@EarlyBirdDinnerTheatre.com
  • If you have comments about the website,
             write the Webmaster.2012@EarlyBirdDinnerTheatre.com  
  • Visit us on Facebook.com: Early Bird Dinner Theatre
  •      For all other questions/comments about the Theatre, please call the Theatre at (727) 446-5898. The answering machine is available 24 hours a day.  However, we return calls only at reasonable hours. When you call, please leave your name, phone number, and a brief summary of your question or statement.
    Call to inquire about:
    Gift Certificates  -  Upcoming performances
    Arrangements for tour buses  -  Make or change reservations
    Dinner or beverage questions  -  Auditions
    You may also write to us:
    Early Bird Dinner Theatre
    C/O A Better Computer, Inc.
    Post Office Box 8
    Safety Harbor, Florida 33759-0008
    Visit us on Facebook.com: Early Bird Dinner Theatre
    The YouTube video at top of our web page was written, created & edited by Jennifer Sloane.
    Copyright 2004-2012 Ed Fletcher Productions.  All rights Reserved.
    Website opened July 31st 2004
    This page updated on .. April  30th  2012

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