A Winning Combination

With over 1,200 performances, CACTUS FLOWER ranks as one of the longest running Broadway comedies of all time. In fact, the show was so popular that it was moved from Broadway’s Royale Theatre, when its lease expired there, to the Longacre Theatre, also on Broadway, because tickets were in such high demand. The comedy was adapted from the original French farce by Abe Burrows, who also authored BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S, GUYS AND DOLLS, CAN-CAN and with his collaborator Frank Loesser, won a Pulitzer Prize for HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING.

The success of the play almost guaranteed interest from Hollywood and director Gene Saks was hired to bring the comedy to the silver screen. Gene had scored big box office two years prior with another stage-to-screen success BAREFOOT IN THE PARK starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford and again the previous year with THE ODD COUPLE starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Saks had enjoyed working with Matthau and immediately cast him to play the dentist, Dr. Julian Winston. He brought Ingrid Bergman aboard to play Dr. Winston’s assistant Stephanie Dickinson and cast a young actress from the ensemble of the popular TV show LAUGH-IN named Goldie Hawn. It was her very first major film role and it won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Upon its release, CACTUS FLOWER was an immediate hit with both critics and the general public and it became one of the biggest grossing films of the `69/`70 season.

Within two years, television introduced one of the most acclaimed series ever aired, M*A*S*H. It featured a young stage veteran named Loretta Swit. Loretta had started her professional stage career at the age of seven and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before touring nationally. Loretta’s role on M*A*S*H as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan garnered her ten Emmy Award nominations and two wins.

There are not very many theatres outside of New York City where you can see the winning combination of a legendary actress in a classic Broadway comedy. New Theatre is very proud to be one. Enjoy the show.

Rob McGraw - Vice President of Sales and Marketing

____________________________________________________________________________________

There are only two kinds of food

There are only two kinds of food, good and bad. It really is that simple. Large amounts of money thrown at the plate never trump the skill and love of food you find with the true culinary devotee. 

I always tell people that I would rather have an well-prepared piece of fried chicken than a poorly prepared lobster tail any day of the week.

Speaking of fried chicken, and yes, as it turns out that is what this article is all about. I always knew we did a great fried chicken here at the theatre. We learned of a way to make it better a year or so ago and moved quickly to do so.

We purchased vacuum tumblers for use with all of our meat products but have learned that the chicken benefits most from this technology. A vacuum tumbler is nothing more than a large stainless steel cylinder that holds the chicken and marinade in an airtight environment under a vacuum as it tumbles. The action of tumbling combined with the vacuum tenderizes the chicken. With no pressure on the meats they actually swell and break down the connective tissue making it more tender. The best part of this process is that all of the marinade placed in the tumbler gets completely absorbed by the meat.

The marinade is the key here, especially for our fried chicken. We use a buttermilk based marinade which already has tenderizing properties all its own. We add kosher salt, white pepper, fresh horseradish, onions and a touch of garlic. When our chicken is breaded and hits the fryer it is already is loaded with flavor that gets locked in with proper frying without becoming greasy or less healthy than other preparations.

So our fried chicken is even better than before. The moral to the story is we love food. We love cooking and we love preparing it for you, our friends, to enjoy. We shortcut no item we make because the best we can make it is the only way we know how to do it.

Try the chicken, I think you’ll agree with us, it’s good.

Mark Rohman - Vice President Culinary & Restaurant Services