Dinner theater performance set to debut in Pahrump

The Shadow Mountain community Players are mixing it up a little in their final dinner theater performance of 2019 with “Sex Please, We’re Sixty,” an American comedy, opening this weekend at Nevada Treasure RV Resort.

Carlton McCaslin, one of the founding members of the company, said the players chose this script because “there are a lot of laughs.” The humor is heavy on innuendo, McCaslin said, but there is no actual sex or nudity in the show.

Especially appealing to seniors, “Sex Please” is set in a bed and breakfast run by Mrs. Stancliffe, a prim older woman. Her next-door neighbor, Bud the Stud, fancies himself a ladies’ man. “Bud believes the women come to stay because of him,” said McCaslin, who plays Bud. Elderly Bud relies on a certain pharmaceutical to enhance his performance.

Meanwhile, another neighbor of Mrs. Stancliffe’s has developed a similar pill for women and wants to test it out on the female guests. When the pills get mixed up, Bud suddenly finds himself experiencing menopause firsthand, hot flashes and all.

“Sex, Please,” was written in 2008 by Michael and Susan Parker for community theater and has played to positive reviews around the U.S. and internationally. Past reviewers called it “fast-paced and hilarious,” as well as “a very funny giggle-fest,” and one described it as “Golden Girls Meets Grumpy Old Men.”

The humor, McCaslin said, is similar to the British style of comedy. “It reminds me of the old Benny Hill show. They really loved it in Australia,” he said.

It was also a good fit for the players, said McCaslin, because their company is small at the moment and the show is complete with six actors. All the actors in “Sex, Please” are company veterans and have been in one or more previous performances, McCaslin said. The cast includes Alyssia McCaslin-Statz, Carlton McCaslin, Pat Bushgens, Kimberli Demonte, Maaike Matheson and Dennis Twitchell, with Gail McCaslin directing, Laurie McCaslin doing scenery, and Michelle Clines working the box office.

The show runs Friday and Saturday nights, Sept. 13-14 and Sept. 20-21, at Nevada Treasures RV Resort, 301 W. Leslie St. The meal is catered by the Treasure Resort restaurant and features lasagna (veggie or meat), salad, garlic bread and sheet cake for dessert with coffee, tea or water. A cash bar is also available.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6, and the show begins at 6:30 and lasts about two hours.

Early bird tickets are available at the Pahrump Community Library for $25 up until noon on the day of the performance, or $30 at the door. For reservations or for more information, call 775-727-6145.

Robin Flinchum is a freelance writer and editor living in Tecopa, California.