Transcendence has got a secret

Transcendence new mystery show is all about the secrets|

Psst! Here’s the lowdown on Wine Country Speakeasy

What: Wine Country Speakeasy.

When: Wednesday Aug. 17 and Thursday Aug. 18.

What time: The action begins at 6 p.m.

Where: That’s a secret. To find out, you have to buy a ticket.

Tickets: $225 each, or $1800 for a table of eight

Reserve a place: Call (877) 424-1414 or visit winecountryspeakeasy.com

“I am authorized to give a lot of information, but only up to a point,” laughs Roy Lightner, associate artistic director of Transcendence Theater Company. Lightner, recently of Ithaca, New York, is the choreographer and director of last year’s Broadway Under the Stars show “Music of the Night,” and is the director of the company’s upcoming, mysteriously top-secret, two-night-only spinoff known by the name “Wine Country Speakeasy.”

“Have you ever done one of those murder mystery dinners?” Lightner asks. “Well, ‘Speakeasy’ is not like that. Though it’s sort of like that. But not really.”

The Aug. 17 and 18 production – if “production” is even the right word for whatever this is – was announced earlier this year. For months, though, much has been speculated, little has been known about “Speakeasy,” aside from the tantalizing fact that advanced ticket-buyers would not be informed of the event’s location until 24-hours before. Furthermore, attendees will not be allowed to enter unless they can give the password. Beside those facts, all else that has been known is that the event is a bit on the pricey side – $225 per person, and $1,800 for a table of eight – and that a full gourmet dinner and “prohibition inspired cocktails” will be served as part of the package.

Fortunately, Lightner is prepared to divulge more information, if not the actual address, or specific details about what’s going to actually happen.

“I can tell you it’s an immersive theatrical event,” he says, “and people are encouraged to arrive in their best 1920s outfits. The event is built around the idea of a secret 1920s-era speakeasy and dinner club. It takes place on an undisclosed property somewhere in Wine Country. There will be music, and dancing and surprises.

“And,” he adds, “it moves around the property.”

So, “Speakeasy” takes place … on a bus?

“No,” Lightner laughs. “When we say that it moves around the property, that’s to say it takes place in more than one sit-down location. There are essentially three different phases, or events, that occur one after another during the course of the evening. Each phase takes place at a different area or performance space within the secret location.”

According to Lightner, the first phase allows the audience to “roam a bit,” interacting with costumed characters while enjoying the aforementioned “prohibition” cocktails and wines, and phase two will allow guests to experience an authentic Rudolph Valentino-style “tango tea,” a reference to a kind of private underground dance party once popular in New York, Hollywood and beyond.

“And the third phase will be an immersive theatrical dinner experience,” he says, “which is where the meal will take place, and then there will be a surprise at the end of that.”

After a bit more prodding, Lightner eventually reveals that there will be a musical stage show, presumably during dinner, featuring a number of popular modern songs reverse-produced in the style of 1920s cabarets. A live band will be involved, and someone, possibly several someones, will do a bit of dancing.

Somewhere.

And that brings us to the end of what Lightner is willing or allowed to reveal. In other words, “Speakeasy” is pretty much still a mystery.

“That’s because mysteries,” he remarks, “are a whole lot of fun.”

Lightner has choreographed shows for New York City Opera, the Lincoln Center, the Sondheim Center, and dozens of other venues, mostly on the East Coast. He was brought to Sonoma last year to oversee the third of TTC’s four summertime shows, and earlier this year accepted the position of associate artistic director.

“What’s exciting about this,” he says, “is that there’s really never been anything quite like this in the area. It’s truly environmental theater, though unlike most theater, there’s not exactly a plot. But there are storylines that some characters will carry on throughout the evening. Though there’s not actually a story.”

And the mystery continues.

“We do think there will be a lot of enthusiasm for what we’ve created,” Lightner concludes. “And if this turns out to be as popular as we think it will, we’d love to do a lot more events like this one in the future.”

Whether such events will continue as secret Prohibition-era extravaganzas, or will employ some other theme, Lightner does not, at this point, know. Or perhaps, like everything else about Transcendence Theater’s bold new musical-theatrical enterprise, he’s simply sworn to secrecy.

Email David at david.templeton@sonomanews.com.

Psst! Here’s the lowdown on Wine Country Speakeasy

What: Wine Country Speakeasy.

When: Wednesday Aug. 17 and Thursday Aug. 18.

What time: The action begins at 6 p.m.

Where: That’s a secret. To find out, you have to buy a ticket.

Tickets: $225 each, or $1800 for a table of eight

Reserve a place: Call (877) 424-1414 or visit winecountryspeakeasy.com

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