I checked out the Janesville Armory to see the dinner musical, "Cabaret" (my favorite). For those who don't know, the Armory was built in the 1930s and was used as a World War II training site for the Janesville 99. A few years ago, it was converted into a restaurant, lounge and theater.
Located in downtown Janesville, Wis., the Armory has plenty of parking with a lot across the street (plus some street parking), all for free. Plus, next to the Armory is a residential neighborhood, so the parking lot isn't competing with many other businesses.
When you walk to the main entrance from the parking lot, you pass the outdoor patio, which seems like it would be a great place to have a drink in the summer. Once inside, you see the dining room and a big bar. Although I didn't eat in them, the more-upscale Lieutenant's Restaurant serves American and French cuisine, while the Bunker & Patio serves "regular" restaurant food and offers live entertainment every Friday in the summer.
The theater is not large, but it's big enough so you don't feel like you're in a second-rate room, and it's small enough that there's really not a bad seat in the house. Ticket prices include a prix-fixe menu; you select an appetizer and entree (plus you get dessert) when you arrive. You can also upgrade the appetizers, entrees and desserts for a small cost. Soda and alcohol are not included.
Thus, for the ticket price of about $70, you get a full meal plus a musical. The food was good, and I thought this was a pretty reasonable price for everything. It was a little annoying that they ask you to arrive 1.5-2.5 hours in advance. It certainly didn't take more than one hour to eat, so the rest of the time you're just sitting and waiting.
A few notes:
--The stage is tiny, without much room for set changes, so don't expect lavish productions.
--The sound quality is excellent, esp. since it's not a large theater as mentioned.
--In this particular production, some of the actors, in character, talked to the audience before the show began. I thought that was neat.
--The bathrooms are a bit of a hike (near the main entrance, then downstairs). However, they are big and clean.
--The dessert is served at intermission. I thought it was weird that the bill (only for add-ons and tips) was given out before the show began. What if I wanted to order a drink at intermission?
--If you're just a table of two, you and your guest's table will be about one foot away from an adjacent table for two. It reminds me of being in France, where all tables are this close.
More info at www.janesvillearmory.com
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Prom Recap
It was a stressful three months, but in the end, it was worth it to see everyone have a lot of fun (some had too much fun) at prom.
THE BEGINNING
In February, I got to thinking how nice it would be to have a chance to go to prom with my wife. Being a highly motivated person, I decided to throw one. The initial surveys of whether anyone would even go were encouraging; all thought it would be a good idea.
In March, I began calling hotels for pricing. I chose only downtown hotels--Doubletree, Edgewater, Concourse, Hilton and the Inn on the Park--for their proximity to bars and where many of the guests were coming from. The Edgewater was the priciest and had the smallest space. The Doubletree, despite me knowing their banquet manager, was still pricey, and they required hiring security (further driving the price up).
At the end, it boiled down to Inn on the Park and the Concourse. The problem with the latter was the lack of knowledge by their staff. I must've talked to someone who just got hired, because she did not know anything (room availabilities, price, bar setup ... seriously, NOTHING), and took forever to look it all up and get back to me. They were only in the running because they were the cheapest room, but I had a lot of apprehension with them and didn't want to work with someone so inexperienced. That leads me to Inn on the Park. I got to work with their banquet manager, who was extremely knowledgeable of their policies, and after seeing the room, I was hooked.
I put a tentative hold on Friday, April 6, then I sent out an interest e-mail. The responses were bad--I forgot to take into account that was Easter weekend, so most people were going to be out of town. So then I got the only other available date, Friday, April 27, and sent out another e-mail. This drew a much better response, so it became official ... well, almost. I had about 10 days to make sure enough people would come, since I had to pay the entire room fee upfront. Eventually, I got the feeling that I could draw at least 40 people, so I booked the room. Now, it was time for the invites.
THE MIDDLE
I set up a Web site (www.geocities.com/nightshade23/prom07.html), so people could get up-to-date info, submit song requests, submit photos for the slide show and vote on the candidates for prom. But as I came to discover, PEOPLE ARE LAZY! (I will reference that point again later.)
--No photos were submitted in two months, so I canned the slide show portion.
--Despite much interest in being on prom court, no one submitted their entry, so I just elected everyone myself.
--Except for one person, no one sent song requests until the day before I had to submit them to the DJ, and only after I personally contacted people.
I thought it would be cool to have tickets for prom. They would also make my job of collecting money from people easier if I could give them something in exchange. When I was creating the ticket's design, I realized that prom needed a title. Since my hold on the banquet room at Inn on the Park was "Brian Lee's Prom," I decided right then and there that "Brian Lee's Prom" would be the official name. It's boastful, I know, but what other name could I have called it?
Inviting people was the biggest pain in the ass. I literally spent two or more hours every night calling people (this was because no one ever got back to me on e-mail). Why every night? Because no one called me back. I think most people viewed prom as just any old party, something that they didn't need to decide on until much later. This is why I sent an e-mail in early April warning people that there's a lot to do to prepare for prom (renting a tux, buying a dress, ordering flowers, making dinner reservations, etc.). This helped some people get the point, but I was still waiting to hear back from people even during the week of prom!
The next problem was collecting money. Even after people said yes, it took forever to get money from them. I tried to make it as easy as possible for them; I offered to drive out to wherever people lived and deliver the tickets in person. Surprisingly, this didn't help that much.
I should probably mention that around early April, I had a minor panic attack because I honestly didn't think I could get more than 40 people to come to prom. Not only would I lose a lot of money, but also, who would want to come to a half-empty room to party?
On the issue of money, I decided to try to get nearby bars to advertise at prom for a fee. In return, we would visit their establishment afterward. I wrote letters to each bar and gave demographic information, then I made follow-up calls. The no's: Bar #1 said they have so much business that they usually have a line out the door (I have NEVER seen that there--keep dreaming!); Bar #2's owner is very spacey (for lack of a better adjective) and said something to the effect of having trouble understanding things on paper, thus needing an oral explanation, then forgetting everything that was told to him, and so on; Bar #3 spent all of its ad budget already (but the owner was super nice in telling me this); and a local newspaper really only does trade advertising. Fortunately, I had takers in Genna's and the Opus.
The DJ was another major concern. I had so many leads, and most fell through. One guy offered to do it for a certain price, which I thought was very high, until after more investigation I found his price was very fair. Ultimately, I went with the same DJ that did my wedding.
My next problem was finding an arch. Menards and Home Depot sold them, but they cost more than $100, and I didn't want to spend that. Meanwhile, A to Z Rent All had them for $50, which was a joke. Fortunately, a friend suggested the Hobby Lobby, and I found an arch there for a reasonable price (though that increased significantly to buy all the decorations for it).
The last item on my to-do list was to hire a photographer. Luckily, one of the guests is an excellent photographer, so I asked her to shoot for half-an-hour at prom, with the promise that people could order photos directly from her.
By the way, during all of this I also bought a tux, helped my wife find a dress, ordered our flowers, made hotel reservations and made dinner reservations for my group.
THE END
I was told the banquet room (named the Madison Room) would be unused Thursday night and all day Friday, so I could set up Thursday night. Unfortunately, there actually was something for Friday morning (a conference), so when my wife and I arrived Thursday night to set up the arch and balloons, we discovered we couldn't. As a Plan B, we set up the arch in a utility hallway adjacent to the room. The only thing we couldn't do was decorate the tables (since they weren't even in the room yet).
Before my wife and I left, we saw the bulletin board in the lobby that listed all of the events, and it read, "Brian Lee's Prom." That made us excited!
On Friday, I got out of work early and checked into the hotel at 2:30. After dumping my bags in my room, I headed to the Madison Room's side hallway only to discover all the helium balloons sank. I was promised by Hallmark's staff that the balloons would last 48 hours, but they obviously died after less than one day. So I called Hallmark and explained the situation, and they made new balloons for free. The only snag was that it added another errand for my wife to take care of after she got out of work.
While I was waiting for her, I moved some of the tables around and moved the arch to its place. I also put out all of the 50 or so ads from Genna's and the Opus. When my wife came, we put up the balloons, and then we were done on our end with setup.
My wife took a one-hour nap. I tried to take a 20-minute power nap, but two phone calls messed that up. One of those calls was from a friend that was helping to supply the booze for the post prom party. I was expecting a lot of people; I think everyone naturally assumed I would have an a-bar, and it didn't appear that anyone else was going to have one.
When I ran outside to get the beer from my friend, the traffic to get in the parking ramp was a nightmare. Not only were people trying to check in, but people were also trying to park for a talent show taking place at 7 p.m. on the eighth floor of the hotel. One of those cars trying to park was my DJ; it was good to see him early.
Back in the room, getting dressed, I found out that the flower shop didn't include a pin for my boutonniere. Are you fucking kidding me? Fuck you, George's Flowers.
We had dinner reservations at 7 p.m. at the Tornado Steak House. It was crowded and it was good that they could accomodate two late add-ons to our dinner party. A few people were late due to the parking. Consequently, we didn't order until 7:25 p.m. Then it took a full 30 min. for our salads and soups to be served. Our entrees didn't arrive until 8:25 p.m., a full hour after ordering. I took a few bites of my steak and then left to do last-minute prep for prom. Everyone else stayed to eat. My wife's steak was raw and uncooked, so she had to send it back. This happened to me the last time we were there. As a result of two uncooked steaks in a row, and absurdly slow service, we will never go back to the Tornado Steak House, and I recommend you do the same.
At the Madison Room, everything looked great. The DJs (three of them) had set up and they had a great display. I met the bartender and warned him he was going to be busy. I asked the banquet manager for a pin, and she found one for me. One of the DJs also had a pin, and so finally I was able to wear my boutonniere.
Slowly but surely, people started trickling in. I got a call from one of the members of prom court, who said he thought prom started at 10 p.m. but realized his error and was on his way. He made it about 10 min. before we introduced the court (at 10:45 p.m.).
I was impressed not everyone felt they had to come fashionably late (though many still did). The room looked pretty crowded by 10 p.m.
It was hard to enjoy prom fully and be the host at the same time. There were many walk-ups, so I had to keep collecting money. Also, I had to kick out some party crashers.
I was extremely flattered when one of my friends toasted me for throwing a prom. I think a lot of people then realized how much effort it took to throw a party of that magnitude.
A lot of people told me they saw "Brian Lee's Prom" on the marquee outside. I saw some of the pictures, and I thought it was totally cool!
THE END, PART 2
After prom, we took some pictures in front of the marquee. I just thought it was the neatest thing to see that!
Many guests were too drunk and/or tired to even make it to the bars. We had about 15 people go to the Opus, with another 15 going to Genna's. Just six from the Opus group made it to Genna's later. Still, we spent a shitload of money at both bars, much more than they paid for advertising.
My post-prom party went from 20 people to just four. Maybe that was a good thing, but we had a lot of leftover booze.
The next morning, I couldn't believe it was all over! I managed to get out of bed by 10 a.m. to watch the start of CrazyLegs from my window, then sat in the hot tub for 10 min., then went eat at a sidewalk cafe near the Capitol, then went to Farmer's Market, then took a big nap.
On Sunday, I wrote thank-you cards to the banquet manager, the DJ, Genna's and the Opus.
FINAL THOUGHT
Will I ever do this again? Never say never, but I can't imagine going through this hassle again!
THE BEGINNING
In February, I got to thinking how nice it would be to have a chance to go to prom with my wife. Being a highly motivated person, I decided to throw one. The initial surveys of whether anyone would even go were encouraging; all thought it would be a good idea.
In March, I began calling hotels for pricing. I chose only downtown hotels--Doubletree, Edgewater, Concourse, Hilton and the Inn on the Park--for their proximity to bars and where many of the guests were coming from. The Edgewater was the priciest and had the smallest space. The Doubletree, despite me knowing their banquet manager, was still pricey, and they required hiring security (further driving the price up).
At the end, it boiled down to Inn on the Park and the Concourse. The problem with the latter was the lack of knowledge by their staff. I must've talked to someone who just got hired, because she did not know anything (room availabilities, price, bar setup ... seriously, NOTHING), and took forever to look it all up and get back to me. They were only in the running because they were the cheapest room, but I had a lot of apprehension with them and didn't want to work with someone so inexperienced. That leads me to Inn on the Park. I got to work with their banquet manager, who was extremely knowledgeable of their policies, and after seeing the room, I was hooked.
I put a tentative hold on Friday, April 6, then I sent out an interest e-mail. The responses were bad--I forgot to take into account that was Easter weekend, so most people were going to be out of town. So then I got the only other available date, Friday, April 27, and sent out another e-mail. This drew a much better response, so it became official ... well, almost. I had about 10 days to make sure enough people would come, since I had to pay the entire room fee upfront. Eventually, I got the feeling that I could draw at least 40 people, so I booked the room. Now, it was time for the invites.
THE MIDDLE
I set up a Web site (www.geocities.com/nightshade23/prom07.html), so people could get up-to-date info, submit song requests, submit photos for the slide show and vote on the candidates for prom. But as I came to discover, PEOPLE ARE LAZY! (I will reference that point again later.)
--No photos were submitted in two months, so I canned the slide show portion.
--Despite much interest in being on prom court, no one submitted their entry, so I just elected everyone myself.
--Except for one person, no one sent song requests until the day before I had to submit them to the DJ, and only after I personally contacted people.
I thought it would be cool to have tickets for prom. They would also make my job of collecting money from people easier if I could give them something in exchange. When I was creating the ticket's design, I realized that prom needed a title. Since my hold on the banquet room at Inn on the Park was "Brian Lee's Prom," I decided right then and there that "Brian Lee's Prom" would be the official name. It's boastful, I know, but what other name could I have called it?
Inviting people was the biggest pain in the ass. I literally spent two or more hours every night calling people (this was because no one ever got back to me on e-mail). Why every night? Because no one called me back. I think most people viewed prom as just any old party, something that they didn't need to decide on until much later. This is why I sent an e-mail in early April warning people that there's a lot to do to prepare for prom (renting a tux, buying a dress, ordering flowers, making dinner reservations, etc.). This helped some people get the point, but I was still waiting to hear back from people even during the week of prom!
The next problem was collecting money. Even after people said yes, it took forever to get money from them. I tried to make it as easy as possible for them; I offered to drive out to wherever people lived and deliver the tickets in person. Surprisingly, this didn't help that much.
I should probably mention that around early April, I had a minor panic attack because I honestly didn't think I could get more than 40 people to come to prom. Not only would I lose a lot of money, but also, who would want to come to a half-empty room to party?
On the issue of money, I decided to try to get nearby bars to advertise at prom for a fee. In return, we would visit their establishment afterward. I wrote letters to each bar and gave demographic information, then I made follow-up calls. The no's: Bar #1 said they have so much business that they usually have a line out the door (I have NEVER seen that there--keep dreaming!); Bar #2's owner is very spacey (for lack of a better adjective) and said something to the effect of having trouble understanding things on paper, thus needing an oral explanation, then forgetting everything that was told to him, and so on; Bar #3 spent all of its ad budget already (but the owner was super nice in telling me this); and a local newspaper really only does trade advertising. Fortunately, I had takers in Genna's and the Opus.
The DJ was another major concern. I had so many leads, and most fell through. One guy offered to do it for a certain price, which I thought was very high, until after more investigation I found his price was very fair. Ultimately, I went with the same DJ that did my wedding.
My next problem was finding an arch. Menards and Home Depot sold them, but they cost more than $100, and I didn't want to spend that. Meanwhile, A to Z Rent All had them for $50, which was a joke. Fortunately, a friend suggested the Hobby Lobby, and I found an arch there for a reasonable price (though that increased significantly to buy all the decorations for it).
The last item on my to-do list was to hire a photographer. Luckily, one of the guests is an excellent photographer, so I asked her to shoot for half-an-hour at prom, with the promise that people could order photos directly from her.
By the way, during all of this I also bought a tux, helped my wife find a dress, ordered our flowers, made hotel reservations and made dinner reservations for my group.
THE END
I was told the banquet room (named the Madison Room) would be unused Thursday night and all day Friday, so I could set up Thursday night. Unfortunately, there actually was something for Friday morning (a conference), so when my wife and I arrived Thursday night to set up the arch and balloons, we discovered we couldn't. As a Plan B, we set up the arch in a utility hallway adjacent to the room. The only thing we couldn't do was decorate the tables (since they weren't even in the room yet).
Before my wife and I left, we saw the bulletin board in the lobby that listed all of the events, and it read, "Brian Lee's Prom." That made us excited!
On Friday, I got out of work early and checked into the hotel at 2:30. After dumping my bags in my room, I headed to the Madison Room's side hallway only to discover all the helium balloons sank. I was promised by Hallmark's staff that the balloons would last 48 hours, but they obviously died after less than one day. So I called Hallmark and explained the situation, and they made new balloons for free. The only snag was that it added another errand for my wife to take care of after she got out of work.
While I was waiting for her, I moved some of the tables around and moved the arch to its place. I also put out all of the 50 or so ads from Genna's and the Opus. When my wife came, we put up the balloons, and then we were done on our end with setup.
My wife took a one-hour nap. I tried to take a 20-minute power nap, but two phone calls messed that up. One of those calls was from a friend that was helping to supply the booze for the post prom party. I was expecting a lot of people; I think everyone naturally assumed I would have an a-bar, and it didn't appear that anyone else was going to have one.
When I ran outside to get the beer from my friend, the traffic to get in the parking ramp was a nightmare. Not only were people trying to check in, but people were also trying to park for a talent show taking place at 7 p.m. on the eighth floor of the hotel. One of those cars trying to park was my DJ; it was good to see him early.
Back in the room, getting dressed, I found out that the flower shop didn't include a pin for my boutonniere. Are you fucking kidding me? Fuck you, George's Flowers.
We had dinner reservations at 7 p.m. at the Tornado Steak House. It was crowded and it was good that they could accomodate two late add-ons to our dinner party. A few people were late due to the parking. Consequently, we didn't order until 7:25 p.m. Then it took a full 30 min. for our salads and soups to be served. Our entrees didn't arrive until 8:25 p.m., a full hour after ordering. I took a few bites of my steak and then left to do last-minute prep for prom. Everyone else stayed to eat. My wife's steak was raw and uncooked, so she had to send it back. This happened to me the last time we were there. As a result of two uncooked steaks in a row, and absurdly slow service, we will never go back to the Tornado Steak House, and I recommend you do the same.
At the Madison Room, everything looked great. The DJs (three of them) had set up and they had a great display. I met the bartender and warned him he was going to be busy. I asked the banquet manager for a pin, and she found one for me. One of the DJs also had a pin, and so finally I was able to wear my boutonniere.
Slowly but surely, people started trickling in. I got a call from one of the members of prom court, who said he thought prom started at 10 p.m. but realized his error and was on his way. He made it about 10 min. before we introduced the court (at 10:45 p.m.).
I was impressed not everyone felt they had to come fashionably late (though many still did). The room looked pretty crowded by 10 p.m.
It was hard to enjoy prom fully and be the host at the same time. There were many walk-ups, so I had to keep collecting money. Also, I had to kick out some party crashers.
I was extremely flattered when one of my friends toasted me for throwing a prom. I think a lot of people then realized how much effort it took to throw a party of that magnitude.
A lot of people told me they saw "Brian Lee's Prom" on the marquee outside. I saw some of the pictures, and I thought it was totally cool!
THE END, PART 2
After prom, we took some pictures in front of the marquee. I just thought it was the neatest thing to see that!
Many guests were too drunk and/or tired to even make it to the bars. We had about 15 people go to the Opus, with another 15 going to Genna's. Just six from the Opus group made it to Genna's later. Still, we spent a shitload of money at both bars, much more than they paid for advertising.
My post-prom party went from 20 people to just four. Maybe that was a good thing, but we had a lot of leftover booze.
The next morning, I couldn't believe it was all over! I managed to get out of bed by 10 a.m. to watch the start of CrazyLegs from my window, then sat in the hot tub for 10 min., then went eat at a sidewalk cafe near the Capitol, then went to Farmer's Market, then took a big nap.
On Sunday, I wrote thank-you cards to the banquet manager, the DJ, Genna's and the Opus.
FINAL THOUGHT
Will I ever do this again? Never say never, but I can't imagine going through this hassle again!
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