last-minute theatre

I got a little culture today, sorta. With 30 minutes before the show, my phone rings. Judy-Bob wants to know if I can meet her at the WaterTowerTheatre (at the Addison Theatre Centre) for a play.

"Oh, is that today?", I whimper.

(frosty) "Yes. Now get over here!".

Thus began my journey to see

Dishing it Out .. written and performed by Paul J. Williams

One actor playing six characters in a cafeteria. Starting with a food server who seems to know everybody who comes through her line, each of these people inevitably become the other characters in the show, as we get a glimpse into the daily goings on of the lunchtime patrons of this Southern gathering place.

This cast of characters (in a one-man show) was all about Luby's, which is as pure a Texas tradition as there is, if'n you ain't gonna count Whataburger. Okay, okay .. so I was mildly entertained. Anyone who can perform a one-act, one-man, one-hour play in front of 75 people on a Sunday afternoon gets my approval. You could tell that several audience members had seen Paul J. Williams' work before, and were comfortable as he turned to the crowd for some ad-lib action.

While I had an immediate hankerin' for a real visit to Luby's (a place I have yet to visit, along with it's competitor Furr's), The Rest of The Gang wanted Mongolian BBQ, so we moseyed over to Genghis Grill and relaxed in the near-emptiness of a 4pm Sunday tea-fest. There are worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon, I reckon.