Alhambra Dinner Theatre closes

[Doctor_K]

Begin to reclaim the lost Great White Way.  Re-open Alhambra downtown on Forsyth.

[Deuce]

I find this one incredibly depressing.

Me too. With the closing of Bo Concept, I'm beginning to wonder if Jacksonville will get to the point that there is nothing decent to do or places to shop at. I know there's plenty else still around, but these were too big losses for me and my gf. This left me to inquire, why stay in Jacksonville.

The one thing that kept us from going more though was the seating. Unless you go in a group of four or more, you usually would be seated with strangers.

I always thought that was kind of fun, but both my gf and I are really social people.

There are several reasons why I didn't go, but top on the list is that it looked like a run down topless bar in Casselberry.

Agreed. They definitely could have used a facelift and a better location, but I don't think that's what sunk them. I think it was their patrons. I noticed a lot of people with kids and older couples every time we went. Those are the folks who are hit hard by the recession and needed to cut costs. Plus the demos of their audiences seemed to be middle class (not knocking that), it's just that they are much harder squeezed than the upper middle class when times are bad. Hell, it seems the middle class is always getting screwed, even when times are good.

[mtraininjax]

Damn, there's another landmark going down.

Landmark? Please....The building was run down, you'd think Booth could have spent a few more bucks on the food, which was not very good. I've had better meals at Golden Corral, which is not saying much.

Location bad? Its not as if it was next to Plush or the Gold Club in Arlington. A good dinner theatre is close to its market, and that does not appear to be the best location. Either move to the beach area or move to Mandarin, but you have to be close to your patrons, and to drive out there was a bit far from downtown.

Now if Ock could build a commuter rail system, I would have attended more often. :-)

[stjr]

...move to the beach area or move to Mandarin, but you have to be close to your patrons, and to drive out there was a bit far from downtown.

Look, good location can be subjective.  At the Beach, Downtown, Mandarin....  Hey, ever notice where it is now is in the middle of all these places.

This is a destination attraction, not a drive by.  It's only a few blocks east of 9A and Beach.  How much easier could it be to access.  It's actually easier with 9A today than it was 40 years ago when it was built literally in the middle of a pine forest.  And, hardly anyone lived at the Beaches or Mandarin then.  So, the location today is a big improvement.

Also, this is a special purpose building that seats 400.  If it's already tough to make the concept work, spending millions on a new building and land aren't going to help things.

I think a fresh facilities makeover, some new marketing and food concepts, and continued great Todd Booth produced shows could do the trick.  Let's hope the Alhambra rises from the ashes.  Jax needs places like this to enrich our community.

[ProjectMaximus]

The one thing that kept us from going more though was the seating. Unless you go in a group of four or more, you usually would be seated with strangers.

I always thought that was kind of fun, but both my gf and I are really social people.

I have a feeling that Ken and Deuce sat at a table together...

[gmpalmer]

Okay, first we can hope that Chris Brown (? who is he? mentioned in the TU article though as a possible buyer) can salvage us a dinner theatre.

Second, where is Steven in this discussion?

Third, I don't care too much about the location (though there was nothing else to draw anyone there) but the building itself was total crap.  The sound and lighting were both inadequate and awful and the tables cramped and rickety.  It felt like a ghost of what ought-to-be.

Fourth the food was awful.  There was no reason to spend money on food there -- AND THAT'S WHERE A DINNER THEATRE HAS TO MAKE MONEY.  Skimp on the damn acting before you skimp on the food.  Seriously.

Fifth the acting was cheesy.  Musicals are by nature cheesy but because of the incestuous "feel" of the casting practices, the actors were far more pally-pally buddy-buddy in their acting than ever was called for.  This is not to say that the work can't be done by a company of actors BUT that the company better act, not play.

If you can fix these problems (and you can), you can have great dinner theatre.  Booth wasn't willing to. 

Hopefully someone is.

[DavidWilliams]

I would like to see the Alhambra reopen, but some where closer to the core. I think a venue like that would be better suited under the lights of the city, rather than the side of a major road in line with strip malls.

I agree. A different venue (downtown, Riverside, San Marco or Springfield) and some new attention paid to food cost may just work. That Beach Blvd. location looks quite dated and the road construction hasn't helped.

[Ocklawaha]

This is a diagram of the "Grand Union of JTCO Streetcars" at Forsyth and Main, the Great White Way.

Begin to reclaim the lost Great White Way.  Re-open Alhambra downtown on Forsyth.

Ya know Doctor K, THAT might be a geat idea! Forsyth, was the city's "White Way," back when Oliver (Babe) Hardy was sent flying down the street in a giant baby buggy. The streetlights, and the double tracked Jacksonville Traction Companys, Forsyth Street loops, made the corner of Main Street, the largest streetcar junction in the city. It was crawling with people.

The way I see it, if we rebuild Laura Street to make it pedestrian friendly, I wonder if Forsyth could be a cross street, likewise rebuilt? Lakelander? Any buildings down there that a dinner theater would work in? Stephendare? Anybody home?

OCKLAWAHA

[DavidWilliams]

Ock,

I walk down Laura and Forsyth daily. What isn't pedestrian friendly? It is a tremendous combination of nice looking women who work downtown and derilicts who pee and poop downtown. Who could ask for more? 

Ok, I need to get back to football games. 

[KenFSU]

I actually thought the old place had a certain charm to it. The exterior was pretty dingy, and it was somewhat off-putting to pay $100 for a pair of tickets, get all dressed up, and then have to park in a dirt field and trudge through the gravel. The inside was pretty cool though. Felt like a place with a bit of history.

Here are some pictures I found on my computer from when Beauty and the Beast was playing:

[gmpalmer]

Stephen,

You can blame TB for the problems -- wanting to move or not, letting the facilities rot was a poor decision (to put it mildly).  The importance of an equity house is nontrivial but the money had to come from somewhere and the shoddy appearance of, well, everything didn't help ticket sales which, stupidly, were the main source of income (which as I said, should have been the food -- AND BOOZE).

What's going on with the building?  Is anyone going to buy/renovate?  Do we know anything about the fellow mentioned in the TU who is interested in revitalizing?

[gmpalmer]

The road to hell is proverbially paved with Alhambras.  "Good" doesn't mean much in the face of incorrect.  Life isn't school.

[gmpalmer]

What I meant was screwups in life aren't "good decisions" that go wrong.  Your heart can be in the right place without your brain being there.

Anyway, they should have seen the writing on the wall, as it was in about 400-point print with flashing neon backgrounds.

What theatre options exist now?

[mtraininjax]

Jax needs places like this to enrich our community.

Theatre Jacksonville in San Marco does and continues to do well. No meals served, but a fine show. The arts at the TU Center and FL Theatre still continue without meals served. This model works.

But if an outfit wants to serve "DINNER AND a SHOW", I would want to make sure that the Dinner part is worthy of a dinner and not a trough, which is what the buffet turned into at the ADT.

I liked the shows, and the excitement, but the food was horrible after I had a season of tickets, and we stopped going.

[Burn to Shine]

Oh no, I pass by there all the time and always wanted to give it a try.  I agree - in this economy - I don't have the money for too much extra entertainment.