Revisiting Beef & Boards
3/8/2010
There is something
different to do in Indianapolis (that’s not new but may be forgotten)
called Beef & Boards. I had gone there years and years ago (as a
child) with my parents and remembered having a good time.
When
my girlfriend, Kelly, asked if Bryan and I would like to go see The
Foreigner at Beef & Boards, we jumped at the chance. Bryan said his
parents would drive up from Columbus, IN, to see a show and have dinner
with friends. He remembered them enjoying it.
Kelly, Stephen
(her hubbie), Bryan and I were off on a “new” adventure. We arrived at
our table of 4 (which was fairly small and smashed into all the other
tables) with a good view of Stage Right. They have two identical
buffets set up in the center of what will soon become the stage. You
serve yourself and eat. As soon as the Host from B & B gives you
the warning, they start to clear the buffet, your plates, and drinks.
They offer to bring any additional drinks to you, and then the stage
comes out. Though they have a decent amount of theater seating, it is a
very intimate location. You can see the actors’ faces very clearly and
hear just as well.
The Foreigner was different than, I think,
any of us were expecting. It was a play about an Englishman who visits
Georgia with his friend (who is in the service) to get over his
depression over finding that his wife of many years has been unfaithful
to him. As a shy man, he and his friend concoct a way to avoid having
him speak with anyone else staying at the bed and breakfast. His friend
tells them he is “foreign” and does not speak English. The story goes
on from there, and it was pretty entertaining.
The English
accents weren’t the best I’d heard, and the Georgian accents ranged
from someone from Santa Claus, Indiana, to Mobile Alabama, but we got
the idea. They were supposed to be hicks from the hills of GA. The
funny part about the English accents is that Kelly’s aforementioned
husband, Stephen, is from England. Thus, he could really tell where the
accents were missing. I’m sure the Indiana actors weren’t planning on
having a person with such a background (an actual “foreigner”) in the
audience.
Still, even with the lackluster accents and somewhat
adult (the Klu Klux Klan made an appearance) underlying theme of The
Foreigner, I think we all had a good time going to Beef & Boards.
It was something different in a river of weekends that bleed into one,
and I would defiantly go back again!
Suzanne
Flynn hails from Noblesville, IN, and has resided in Indianapolis since
graduating from Indiana University. Her unique view of the world stems
from the combination of life experience and a strangeness she has
possessed since birth. By day, Suzanne is an account manager and a
board member for the Heritage Place of Indianapolis who prides herself
on a good hug or a truly tasty grilled cheese. She is one of four
daughters, the aunt to 9 beautiful children, and the happy wife of
Bryan Flynn. If you see Suzanne on the street please avoid poking her
with sticks or other sharp objects-- this just angers her. If you have
a topic you'd like covered, please send her an e-mail to:
suzanne.flynn@live.com.