TURNERS FALLS — Did you ever go to a folk club in the 1960s, or a dance club and bar in the 1980s? Did you ever dream about what it would have been like to go to a speakeasy in 1925?
Shea Theater Arts Center and Eggtooth Productions will take you back in time with an immersive club experience called Sam’s Place on three consecutive nights starting Thursday.
Sam’s will offer a cash bar featuring local beer, wine and custom champagne cocktails, as well as live music.
“You can sit back and just observe,” Eggtooth Artistic Director Linda McInerney said. “You can sip a champagne cocktail and watch. Or, you can join in on the journey. It’s all up to the individual. No one will be forced to join or be embarrassed in any way.”
“It can be weird for people at first, but then, once in the door, people say they loved the experience,” McInerney said.
This is the third time McInerney has been involved in this type of performance.
Each night, ticket holders will be invited into a secret club where everyone gets to be an insider, McInerney said.
“We’ll have three nights, three eras with the same cast,” she explained.
On Thursday, they will enter a speakeasy club. On Friday, it will be a folk club, and on Saturday, a dance club and bar. All shows start at 8 p.m.
Each evening, audience members will arrive at the Shea with a not-so-secret password, “Rosebud.” After giving the doorman the password, they will be escorted into the building through a special route that will transport them to Sam’s.
McInerney said the immersive evenings are both plays and musicals. She said Sam will keep audiences caught up in live music all night, with many theatrical ventures at the edges of the show.
Characters from Sam’s will interact with those who wish throughout the night. Audience members are encouraged to dress the part for the appropriate era of the night they attend.
The cost is $12 in advance and $15 at the door. For more information, contact Emma Ayres, Shea program coordinator, at 413-992-7936 or email her at: gettotheshea@gmail.com.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-0261, ext. 269 or afritz@recorder.com.