PLANS ANNOUNCED FOR DINNER THEATER HERE

The owner of a dinner theater in Hannibal announced plans Tuesday to open a year-round similar operation in Cape Girardeau next year.

Dick McHargue said he will open The Mark Twain Dinner Theater next April. He is the owner of the Molly Brown Dinner Theater in Hannibal, which has operated for six years.

Cape Girardeau was one of three Missouri and one Illinois site under consideration for the theater. He said Cape Girardeau appears to offer "all the right ingredients" for the theater.

He said the city's location on the Mississippi River played a major part in its selection, and just as important, "I like the town."

The theater will operate year-round, though during some months fewer shows will be produced. McHargue said the theater will feature musicals and comedies and an occasional melodrama. A Christmas show will also be produced.

McHargue said he plans to hire a manager and cooking staff. Performers, who also will be waitresses and waiters, will likely come from across the country. But local talent will be considered, he said.

"I'm not quite sure what Cape has to offer in regard to the performing arts. Generally the singers, dancers and performers come from all across the United States," he said.

A site for the theater has not been determined. McHargue said he is looking at the downtown area along with other sites, and will likely lease an existing building. But he said he does not rule out constructing a theater.

McHargue said the Cape Girardeau theater will operate in a similar way to his Hannibal theater in that the main audience for the shows are tourists traveling to the city by motorcoach.

He said the motorcoach business has grown each year at Hannibal and he expects it to do the same in Cape Girardeau.

He said his operation will boost Cape Girardeau's tourism industry.

"The best part about tourism is they're here, then they're gone and they leave their money," he said. A large portion of the audience in Hannibal is made up of senior citizens, he said.

"They relate to the music and they grew up with the music," he said.

The Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau and Chamber of Commerce has helped promote the city to McHargue, who produced "test" shows from the Molly Brown Theater in Cape Girardeau last month.

He announced plans for the Mark Twain Theater at an afternoon news conference at the historic Glenn House.

McHargue said he is able to draw tourists from across the U.S. because he offers a show that can't be seen anywhere else.

"Our show will be unique to Cape," he said. "You can't expect to compete for an audience if you offer the same shows that people can see in Branson."

He said the theater will be open five nights a week, but, "We will put a show in front of a motorcoach any day they want."

Shows will change about every four weeks, enough so that local residents will also be enticed to visit the theater, McHargue said.

The shows are about 90 minutes in length. Dinner will begin at 7 p.m. in most cases, he said. The cost of a dinner and show will be about $20 per person. A limited menu will offer beef, fish and ham.

He said although his theater in Hannibal, which is in the building formerly occupied by a grocery store, seats about 150. He wants to be able to seat more than that in his theater in Cape Girardeau.

Bob Hendrix, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, said the Mark Twain Theater is "one of the things Cape Girardeau has needed for a long time."

He said it will stir the economy through creation of jobs and growth of tourism.