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* * *PLAYBILL* * *
Freedom of Choice
“Our story of Riches to Rags”
Live at Mike’s Uptown Liquor, Inc Playhouse!
4 P.M., Saturday, February 16
A Theatrical Performance Satire Regarding the Minnesota Legislature and the Freedom to Breathe Act
Note: There will be some smoking
during tonight’s performance.
Friends, tonight YOU get to participate in the first “Theatre Night” at Mike’s Uptown Liquor. In addition to our Troupe (Lisa Anderson, Jeremy Finke, Ginny Dorn, Jaime Ryan, Jamie Harcey, Melaine Stevenson, Ricky Keegan) YOU will get a chance to perform in our play.
Look around you. You are already on the stage. If you want to be part of the play tonight, check in with Lisa Anderson for a casting call. If you make the cut, please pay for your “Act Now” button and wear it proudly. As a performer, you will be allowed to smoke on stage. That’s right – indoors! Again, look around you – you are already on stage and in the play.
Our play starts at 4:00 p.m. and goes until closing. If you want other bars in your neighborhood to put on “Theatre Night” please have them contact: MarkBenjamin@msn.com
Mike’s Uptown Liquor, Inc
proudly presents:
FREEDOM OF CHOICE
“Our story of Riches to Rags”
A Theatrical Performance and Satire Regarding the
Minnesota Legislature and the Freedom to Breathe Act
4 P.M., Saturday, February 16
140 Lake Ave West
Hill City, MN 55748
Note: There will be some smoking during
tonight’s performance.
Last spring, the Minnesota Legislature passed the Freedom to Breathe Act which prohibits cigarette smoking in bars and restaurants.
However, our legislators made an exception for actors and actresses-allowing them to smoke during theatrical productions. So tonight, Mike’s Uptown Liquor, Inc is putting on just such a theatrical production-and we need actors and actresses.
Come join us, our loyal patrons, in celebrating the artistic freedom conferred upon us by our Legislature. Join us in our raucous festivity of liberty. There will be dance. There will be drink. And, best of all, there will be smoke-indoors!
If you wish to act, please check in with Lisa, our owner/director. Thank you and God bless America.
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2 comments:
We had our first theatre night on Feb 9, 2008. It was a huge success. Since the smoking ban went into effect, our business has dropped significantly. Our busiest month of the year is January and we were down 26% in liquor sales. We have only owned the resort for a little over 2 years. We had to do some creative financing but after about the 3rd time trying we were sucessful. Owning and operating this resort has always been my husband's dream. Unfortunatley, this smoking ban is turning my husband's dream into a nightmare. We need to speak up and let our elected officials know the financial hardships we are experiencing before it is too late.
Sheila Kromer
Barnacles Resort
Aitkin MN
Below is an comment that was just posted on the yahoo smokers forum.
Dan said:
And by the way, if I had one wish it would be that more bars do what Barnacle's did last weekend. But I know they won't. Most bar owners were falling over each other to compromise with the anti-smoker gestapo when the statewide ban was being debated. "Please kick me in the nuts, but not too hard." So I don't imagine many others will have the guts that Sheila has. I just hope she keeps it up. Good for you, Sheila, and yes, the rest of the state noticed what you did and hopes you keep doing it.
I've been lurking on this list for a while now. My intention has been to seek ways to help my in-laws keep their rural bar afloat after the ban, and I hoped to find out what other bar owners are doing. And so I have.
Frank's Place is a small, 1-bartender bar that sits in the heart of Hampton, MN. For those of you who have never been to Hampton, there's another small bar nearby, The Roundup, and another slightly larger that sits on Hwy 52, The Black Stallion. The Stallion, as we call it, is home to the "youngins" 21-30 yrs. old during its weekend Karoke and their restaurant is patronized by all in the area and catches a lot of highway visitors. The Roundup's regulars consist of a lot of the older folks and they often host family parties, and they also sell meats and various emergency-type groceries.
Frank's Place has its daily change-over with most of its regulars being the retired during early hours until the working crowd arrives; then evening dart or pool leagues take over or a friendly game of Texas Hold 'em begins, and in summer the farmers come in from the fields around 10, and on weekends the sports lovers gather after the local baseball game or just to catch a pro game on TV. Frank's serves a limited amount of food like pizza and deep fried items and microwave sandwiches, so it's also the place where families walk to for a snack or a summer meal when it's too hot to cook. Now and then, they have parties where folks bring pot luck and my mother-in-law always serves free chili, ham sandwiches or other meal during Viking games. It's the place where kids buy their pop and candy bars so they're not tempted to cross the highway to reach The Pump gas station, and on Halloween there's a trail of children who pop in to get their treats. It's not your everyday bar -- it's more the friendly neighbor, the place where people in the community can leave messages for others or find someone to catch a ride or help move a refridgerator, or find a baby-sitter, or grab some of the fresh vegetables in the fall that patrons bring in from their overgrown gardens -- much like a center hub. Of course, there's liquor, but many patrons choose pop, water or juice just to sit a while and chat. Even the knitting grannies bring in handmade items to sell. For you metro people, let's just say it's a typical Mayberry atmosphere -- a rare treasure in today's world.
And because Frank's is in walking distance with homes all around it, it's also the place where those go who prefer not to smoke at home because of young children or for whatever reason. We've missed those folks. My point is that it's more than just a bar. It's something that the surrounding community has depended on as a meeting place. It's also kept at least 3 full-time bartenders employed with 1-2 part time. Unfortunately, since the ban, tips have decreased to at least half or less. It's just not enough for someone who doesn't have another source of income, but the 3 full-timers stay on out of dedication to the community, I suppose. My in-laws aren't able to take on the bartender role and although they listed the bar for sale a few years ago, I doubt there's much hope for selling it for other than property value now.
The only other businesses in the city of Hampton are a bank, 1-chair beauty salon, 1 dentist and the Post Office. Most of the tax dollars for the city come from the 3 bars -- which in Hampton, are much more than drinking establishments. When I asked the Mayor if there were any ordinances that might deny a "Theatre Night" similar to the Kromers, he said there wasn't anything standing in the way and he encouraged the idea. His exact words were, "That would be so awesome!"
Many thanks to Sheila for the idea and who gave me Attorney Benjamin's phone number, whom I've called, and I am a'waiting his return call. I'm in the process of gathering information to produce a Theatre Night at "Frank's Playhouse" by the law. I know the Hampton community will love it! The biggest hurdle might be to convince the in-laws, who are tired of law enforcement badgering Hampton bars. (It's the "donut stop" for the Dakota County patrol, being close to the highway, close to Hastings Sheriff Dept., and so it presents a great possibility of getting their quota of .08 breathalizer tests.) I'm not sure how they'll decide, but I'm determined to convince them.
Hoped that helps you get your wish Dan. I don't feel so doubtful. I believe others will jump on the Theatre Night wagon when they find out how it's done -- at least until legislature finangles a way to put a stop to it. Till then I think we all should try -- get the word out, because many may not believe it can be done. Just make sure they know it needs to be done to the letter of the law -- which doesn't seem terribly tough to accomplish. And, truthfully, even without the smoking ban issue, this sort of event sounds like it could be a whole lot of fun!
Thanks to the Kromers for taking the first step! And good luck on your 2nd Theatre Night! Wish me luck for getting the first at Frank's Place -- and maybe more!
Bonnie Landsberger
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