Prism Productions

Went to their production of Murder at Café Noir.
One of the actresses was replaced at the last minute, and their replacement, while oft reading from the script, did do a good job filling in. I take it they don’t have the budget for understudies.
Overall the production was OK. It got off to a slightly slow start. Picked up steam as time went on. The problems (feedback, dead zones) and inconsistencies with the microphones, which I recognize were a recent acquisition for the production, were a distraction that should not have survived a rehearsal.
Standout roles were the attorney, the femme fatale (considering the script reading) and the voodoo priestess. The madam and the detective put in average performances – some flubbed lines, and not as much chemistry with the other players. The black marketeer submitted a middling performance for the evening. The actor playing the role of Thursby did a decent job of what was clearly written to be the comic relief to the play – his musical scene was one of the better scenes of the night.
There was some disorganization upon entry, as those who had reserved by credit card in advance were required to run their payment cards again. While not itself a problem, it was executed in a disorganized fashion causing a bottleneck upon entry and generally did not present a good professional first impression to the audience.
Overall the production was what earned this review 3 stars, and I rate this review based on it alone.
The food, catered by Chef Harold Welch, did not fair nearly as well, and would have warranted only a 1– or 2-​star review on its own. Appetizer of dry french bread, a cheese stick (?!) and a deviled egg was only not a complete disaster because of the egg. The salads were not consistently seasoned (mine was dry, my partners swimming). The main course had some highlights (the bone-​in chicken), some low points (the frozen vegetable side dish – again inconsistently served with myself getting a mix of the four veggies and my companion getting only cauliflower) and the dry chicken breast (why serve chicken next to chicken?), and the rest an example of mediocrity in catering. It was somewhat confusing as the show was advertised as not being a buffet, and while the first two courses and dessert were served table side, the main course was nonetheless done from a buffet line with warming trays. The dessert was perhaps the best dish of the meal, a simple lemon bar thankfully without too much sugar. I never have high expectations for catered meals so I rate them considering that they are catered. They nonetheless should still be consistent in presentation and delivery, and appropriately seasoned and with cooked dishes served at the right temperature. I don’t expect fine dining from a catered offering (especially at this price point), but I expect the overall meal to still be better than what I could do myself on a lazy day. This one failed to meet nearly all those expectation.