Alhambra’s A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline

February 13, 2012
3 mins read
Folio Weekly

The set by Jay Dopke has not changed from the original and consists of a red background for the Grand Ole Opry, with tinsel backdrops used to depict Las Vegas and Carnegie Hall. The band is on stage, with a booth for the radio announcer / disc jockey at stage right. As Patsy Cline, Ms. Bliss gives us a fashion show that ranges from traditional country-western wear to stylish black capris to glittering formal gowns.

The Alhambra under owner Craig Smith is always striving to make visits memorable not only with the shows on stage and the food, but in other unique ways. A nice touch is presenting a lovely rose from Celebrations to ladies celebrating anniversaries and birthdays.

For this show, the Alhambra is offering four special signature cocktails. We know there must be some martini fans among our readers, so the Dual Critics want to share the recipe for one of the specialties called “Grand Ole Optini”. The ingredients are: vanilla vodka, amaretto, and cranberry and pineapple juices, garnished with pineapple, and served with a smile by friendly staff. For the less adventurous, the Alhambra also serves a full line of adult beverages, including a regular martini.

Chef DeJuan Roy has created a country style buffet for Patsy Cline that included Aunt Mae’s Fried Chicken, Smothered Pork Cutlets, and Broiled Haddock, accompanied by braised greens, crowder peas, and steamed rice. Cornbread served in individual skillets with honey butter was a big hit. The wait staff served a choice of soup or salad before the buffet and also served dessert, a choice of house made banana pudding served in a mason jar or a chocolate mousse pie.

The Dual Critics of EU Jacksonville have been reviewing plays together for the past nine years. Dick Kerekes has been a critic since 1980, starting with The First Coast Entertainer and continuing as the paper morphed into EU Jacksonville. Leisla Sansom wrote reviews from time to time in the early 80s, but was otherwise occupied in the business world. As a writing team, they have attended almost thirty Humana Festivals of New America Plays at Actors Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky, and many of the annual conferences sponsored by the American Theatre Critics Association, which are held in cities throughout the country.

They have reviewed plays in Cincinnati, Chicago, Miami, Sarasota, Minneapolis, Orlando, New York, Philadelphia, Sarasota, San Francisco, Shepherdstown, and The Eugene O’Neill Center in Waterford, Massachusetts. They currently review about one hundred plays annually in the North Florida area theaters, which include community, college, university, and professional productions.

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