LET'S PUT ON A SHOW

caption: Doug Stark’s favorite role is Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof,” which he has played five times. Stark (right) and Daniel Scharbrough were in the 2004 production.
Photo: Eddie Curry

By Christine Bavender
Current in Carmel
You could say the 35th anniversary season of Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre is a family affair — owner Doug Stark now has some help from his daughter and one of his sons.

Stark has owned and operated the dinner theater since 1980 at its location right off Michigan Road near the Pyramids.

“What makes Beef & Boards unique, I think, is that we offer a nice friendly place to be entertained,” Stark said. “But in a one-stop shopping kind of environment. It’s still such a favorite thing to do when people talk about going to dinner and a show, and we just combine the two.”

And now as the theater starts its latest production – “Showboat” – Stark has daughter, Elizabeth, 28, and son, Nicholas, 29, at his side to help make sure the show goes on.

Elizabeth – who serves as stage manager, among other duties – received a degree in theater from Colorado State University. Nicholas, who is married with a new son, just moved back to the area from Colorado and is helping out in any area he can.

“It makes me feel pretty good,” Stark said. “But they certainly weren’t forced into it. I always tried to get them involved in other things and find where their heart was.”

And according to Elizabeth, for her there is no doubt she is where she wants to be. She said she always knew she’d move back to Indiana to be close to her family.

And it is the variety of the theater that keeps it fresh for her.

“It keeps me busy but that is what I like. It is a different job every day,” Elizabeth explained. “There is always something new for you to do, especially with our theater compared to others in that we have such a quick turnaround – it’s not just one show for four months. Once in the run of one show we start getting ready for another so there is always something new.”

For Nicholas and wife, Alex, the decision to come back also had to do with family – their 15-month-old son, Jack.

“We just knew that when it came down to it is grandparents might get to see him maybe four times a year and that wasn’t enough,” he said. “We miss Colorado but are glad to be back home closer to family.”

Nicholas, who worked construction the past 10 years, hasn’t had any trouble finding his role at Beef & Boards. During high school he worked there as part of the service staff and found the majority of those people are still there.

“I’m kind of just helping out with a little of everything,” Nicholas said. “Maintenance issues with the facility and the storage building and the actor housing, building sets and I continue to be involved in the front of the house.”

For Doug having family involved is a good feeling – one he’s happy to share with his children. (He also has another son, Joshua, who is 22.)

“The theater has always been a labor of love for me,” Stark said. “And what better job to have than to play all day. It’s difficult work, don’t get me wrong, and has never gotten easier, but for the most part when we open a show and find our groove – there’s a lot of play going on – and not just on stage.”

So what’s on tap for the theatre’s 35th anniversary season?

“We will be the first Indianapolis theater to do ‘The Producers,’ ” Stark said. “The touring company has been through but this will be the first Indiana grown production and that happens in the fall – it’s a good feeling!”

The 450-seat Beef & Boards is still dark on Mondays (meaning there are no shows) and has its regular schedule Tuesday through Sundays with matinee performances on Wednesdays and Sundays as well.

The paid actors come from a professional theater union with auditions held four to five times a year – twice in Indianapolis and New York City and then one in Chicago. And he makes sure to try and mix the local talent in when he can – if they fit the part.

“You have to have acting chops to be able to perform,” he explained. “But we just had auditions for the children for ‘Peter Pan’ the Lost Boys and for the Von Trapp children for the ‘Sound of Music,’ which we are doing this year, and I think we had close to 130 Indy kids audition for those roles.”

Tickets run between $25 to a little more than $50 depending on the night and the show. The price includes parking.

“We try and keep everything as convenient as possible for the audience because we obviously want them coming back,” Stark said. “We just want to make it an enjoyable experience.”

Doug Stark at a glance:

Age: 58

Residence: Carmel

Born: Fort Wayne

Undergraduate: Ball State University

Graduate School: Wayne State University in Detroit in theater

Favorite Book: “Tevya and his Daughters” (the book the play “Fiddler on the Roof” is based on)

Favorite Quote: “All of the world’s a stage”

Favorite Role: Tevya – in “Fiddler on the Roof”

Divorced with three children: Nicholas, 29; Elizabeth, 28 and Joshua, 22


Beef & Boards timeline

1973: Built by J. Scott Talbott, a Louisville contractor.

1980: Bought by Doug Stark and Robert Zehr, longtime business partners.

1998: Following the 25th Anniversary Season, Stark became the sole owner of the theater, buying out Zehr.

2004: “Cats” sells 27,000 tickets. Attendance at the theater hits 4 million.

2008: Theater celebrates its 35th season, which continues with these shows:
“Showboat” (through May 11)
“Peter Pan” (May 15 – June 29)
“Smoke on the Mountain: Homecoming” (July 5 – Aug. 3)
“The Producers” (Aug. 7 – Sept. 28)
“The Sound of Music” (Oct. 2 – Nov. 23)
“A Beef & Boards Christmas” 2008 (Nov. 28 – Dec. 31)

Contact the theater at (317) 872-9664 or www.beefandboards.com.