Laugh ‘til it hearse: Mobile ‘Wacky Wake’ serves up hijinks at Gold Coast

Wednesday, July 9, 2003 | 8:16 a.m.

A Meals on Wheels dinner theater?

It's possible, if Larry Taylor's interactive dinner theater catches on. Taylor is the creator and director of "A Wacky Wake," a fanciful musical production that takes place at an Irish wake.

"We bought a trailer to haul around all of our props," Taylor said. "We are completely mobile. We can go wherever we get a venue."

His goal, he said, is to find a permanent location and at the same time to be available to take the show on the road, to local conventions or to out-of-town venues.

"We will have a traveling wake," Taylor said. "It can come to you."

Thursday, Friday and Saturday the "Wake" will be showcased at the Gold Coast's second-floor California Ballroom. Thursday's performance is an invitation-only affair. Tickets for Friday and Saturday are still available through the Gold Coast ticket office.

Interactive dinner theater is nothing new to Las Vegas.

"Tony & Tina's Wedding," an off-Broadway sensation for more than 15 years, has been at The Rio for 18 months. "Ba-Da-Bing," which started at Alexis Park two years ago, has been at The Orleans for several months. At the Excalibur is "Tournament of Kings," where you can watch jousting matches, invading armies and dragons while dining on Cornish hen, soup and potato wedges. And "Marriage Can Be Murder," a murder mystery, is at the Egg and I restaurant on West Sahara Avenue.

Taylor, who has a DJ business, says he got the idea for turning an Irish wake into an entertaining evening about 18 months ago while driving back from a gig in Laughlin.

"After I finished doing a Valentine's Day dance in Laughlin I stayed around and saw 'Joey & Maria's Wedding,' a takeoff on 'Tony & Tina's Wedding,' " Taylor said. "On the way home it struck me that I could do something like that, only at a funeral."

It's not as macabre as it may sound.

Taylor, who wrote the script, says he has made every effort to avoid the morbid side of the funeral, even to the point of not using the word "death" but for a couple of occasions.

"The working title was 'A Death in Dublin,' " he said. "But this is a comedy. I didn't want that kind of title, so I came up with 'A Wacky Wake,' about a bunch of wacky people who are attending a funeral for Dan Sweeney."

Among the zany characters are Sweeney's pregnant girlfriend, Lotta Miles, portrayed by Executive Producer Linda Kristy-Smith. Also in the cast is leprechaun Dennis McMenace (former professional wrestler Jimmy Georgs).

There is Rev. Abbot, a drunk minister portrayed by Christ Talbot, who operated a professional theater in Reno before settling in Las Vegas a couple of years ago. Chuck Vecchi plays Margarita Lime in drag.

Ventriloquist Marty O'Roark is in the show with her puppet, Shamus.

Stand-up comic and magician Jac Hayden is the undertaker. Coincidentally, Hayden is a licensed mortician in New York, although he has not practiced for many years.

"I embalmed Fay Wray's husband, Robert Riskin," said Hayden, who is a co-director of the play.

Wray was the actress most noted for being the female lead in the 1933 film, "King Kong." Her husband was a movie producer.

Hayden said he was a mortician for almost five years, but gave up the practice when he turned to comedy. He has opened for such entertainers as Rosemary Clooney, Ann Miller, Rita Hayworth, June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey and Tiny Tim.

Hayden appears at the Saddle West casino in Pahrump through the week and at Whiskey Pete's in Primm on weekends.

There are a dozen cast members and a technical crew of six for the show.

"We're looking at possibly adding another character to the cast," Taylor said, "An Irish cop."

In addition to the regular cast, Taylor said there will be special guest appearances by local entertainers.

This week's guests are Carme, a singer and comedian who performs in local lounges and on cruise ships, and Fay McKay, a singer/comedian most noted for her song parody, "The 12 Daze of Christmas."

Music will be provided by Irish Stew, a band better known as the Dummkopfs, which has performed around Las Vegas for almost 20 years.

Taylor says all of the music in the production will be song parodies.

"We aren't going to be doing 'Danny Boy,' " he said.

Taylor says one of the things that separates his production from others is that all of the characters are equipped with microphones so there won't be any problem in hearing the dialogue.

He said the show is reminiscent of the old film and the television series, "Topper," a comedy about a man and wife who are killed in an auto accident.

In "Wake," the ghost of Sweeney will walk among the guests at the funeral making comments.

Taylor says the two-hour production actually begins while guests are in line, waiting to be seated, with characters from the show intermingling with patrons.

The menu includes a choice of corned beef and cabbage or chicken, salads, potatoes and dessert.

Taylor said there are a variety of discounts for the show, including discounts Nevada residents, and for mentioning McMullins, an Irish pub across the street from The Orleans.

"This show will be affordable for everyone," Taylor said.

Music to the ears of any Irishman.