'50s diner brought to life in musical at senior center

Girls in poodle skirts and pedal-pushers, boys with slicked-back hair and horn-rimmed glasses, hanging out listening to the jukebox, drinking milkshakes and eating burgers: These are the memories of the 1950s that "Uncle Phil's Diner" brings back.

Wood Street Theater Company will offer up this interactive musical "diner" experience at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Palatine Senior Citizen Center, 505 S. Quentin Road. The show is family-friendly and appropriate for all ages.

The musical follows poor Uncle Phil and his waitstaff, who have to pull out all the stops to keep their customers entertained when the guest band runs late. Set in a 1950s diner, it's filled with fun and giggles and features rock 'n' roll hits from the 1950s and the early 1960s.

"We wanted to provide some fun in a show that the whole family could go see," said Susannah Kist, director and founder of Wood Street Theater Company. "Expect the unexpected and a lot of audience participation."

The show features Elly and Frank Rebeka and Marco Braun from Lake Zurich; and Ann Delaney, Margie Dziadzka, Victoria Hesslink, Beth Hollander, Melissa Hollander (yes, that's me), Margaret A. Jackson, Glen D. Jackson, Susannah Kist, Tamara Kist, Jack Kist, Steven Logan, Ryan McCain, Julie Price, Jean Schonta and Jack Williams from Palatine.

There also will be featured performances by The Allegro Choir and The Broadway Basics Acting Class of the Palatine Park District.

Tickets for the meal and show cost $10 for the 10:30 a.m. performance and $15 for the 6:30 p.m. performance. The menu will be a buffet of fried chicken, pasta marinara, potato salad, coleslaw and cookies, with coffee, tea and lemonade to drink.

Call the Palatine Senior Center at (847) 991-1112 to purchase your tickets. Advance reservations are required, so organizers can order the correct amount of food. Kist asks that people make reservations as soon as possible.