This is a paid piece from The Premiere Playhouse.
Simplified: A new series from The Premiere Playhouse is bringing bold, edgy and immersive theatre to the Sioux Falls scene. Here's what you need to know about the Underground Series before its first show debuts later this month.
Why it matters
- Community theatre in Sioux Falls has seen some big shifts in recent years in an ongoing effort to innovate, continuously develop artists and reach new audiences. Sioux Empire Community Theatre rebranded to The Premiere Playhouse in 2021, and earlier this year, the organization announced a new location downtown and an expanded mission.
- As part of those changes, the Playhouse is moving from primarily mainstage shows at the Orpheum to include more immersive, experiential, dinner theater performances in partnership with Icon Lounge. The first of the shows in the Underground Series, "American Idiot" is taking place Nov. 21-23.
- The Underground Series is bringing shows with more edge, more risk-taking and that are meant to make the audience think. Executive Artistic Director Oliver Mayes described it as "an artists laboratory" for performers to test their talents in new ways, too.
"Theatre is such a fun way to express yourself, and I think people forget that anger and angst and sadness are emotions that people need to feel," performer Casey Schultz said. "And we can show it on stage."
Tell me more
Each of the Underground Series performances include a full-service dinner at Dada Gastropub with a chef-curated menu including a starter, entree, sides and a house beverage.
After the meal, guests are escorted down the hall to the Icon Lounge event space, which will be transformed into the world of the show.
- For "American Idiot," for example, the stage is set up with audience members on two sides and performers in the middle.
It's not a traditional dinner theater, Mayes said. Rather, it's a way to take the extra planning out of a night downtown. One ticket includes your meal and entertainment all in one location.
"It’s like when people go out to dinner and see a show," Mayes said. "We're putting it in the same building, but we're not merging the experience."
For performers, the Underground Series is also creating opportunities to test their skills with shows that are more gritty and challenging.
"As a performer, I thoroughly enjoy all of the more edgier shows and things that will push buttons because that's kind of what theatre is for," performer Devin Basart said.
How can I get tickets?
Tickets for "American Idiot" are available on The Premiere Playhouse website. The $75 ticket price includes both the full-service meal and the show itself.
The Underground Series will continue later in the season with three more shows:
- "I And You," a play running Jan. 23-25 about two teenagers that explores themes of life, death and the mysterious connections that bind us,
- "Head Over Heels," a jukebox musical featuring music from The Go-Go's running March 13-15,
- And the season rounds out with "Death of a Salesman" running May 15-17.
