New Plainfield Dinner Theater to Debut in October with Broadway Music Revue

Come October, a chance to experience dinner theater won’t involve a trek into Chicago but a short drive to Route 59 and Fraser Road.

Construction is under way on the Encore Dinner Playhouse, a 100-seat venue that will fill a 5,000-square-foot, second-floor space above the Hometown Fitness health club. Its first production, “Hits of Broadway: A Musical Revue,” opens Oct. 6.

“It will be very comfortable, very intimate. A little jewel box of a theater,” said Jenny Giocomo, who co-owns the business with husband Gary.

The couple, who have lived in Crest Hill for six years, both have long resumes that include acting, directing, singing, choreography and theater ownership.

Gary Giocomo’s career rundown, in fact, includes stints as the director of several casino-based theaters in Las Vegas, including Bally’s, MGM Grand and the Paris Hotel, the director of theater productions starring Margaret O’Brien, Nanette Fabray and Lee Meriwether, and a Joseph Jefferson Award for choreographing a version of “West Side Story” in 1975.

Jenny Giocomo has performed in theaters around California, including eight years as a singer/dancer at the theater at Knott’s Berry Farm, opened her own theater in Fort Collins, Colo., and later moved to Las Vegas, where she did trade shows and performed in productions at the Venetian and the Flamingo hotels.

Jenny Giocomo said she and her husband returned to the Chicago area 10 years ago and then relocated to this area in 2005 so their daughter could attend to Plainfield School District 202 schools. She’s currently a student at Plainfield Central High School.

“We thought, now that we’re retired, why not open a theater?” Jenny Giocomo said with a laugh. “We were looking for a location for a long time.”

Their goal is to provide a less-expensive entertainment option for people who want live entertainment but don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on tickets for dinner and a show or to go through the hassle of going into Chicago, she said.

Their theater will present only musicals, musical revues and comedies, and tickets for their first production are only $36.

The benefit of the Encore site, property broker Theresa Schultz said, is not only can the Giocomos build in a location that’s not had a previous use, there’s an underground parking garage that will make it easy for patrons to park out of the elements and take an elevator directly to the theater.

That may be especially appealing given that the strip mall in which the theater is located also includes Live 59, the popular young adult nightclub, and the new Gratto Trattoria & Tapas, an upscale Italian restaurant that’s to open in July.

Giocomo said they are currently interviewing restaurants and catering companies to provide the buffet-style dinners, and they will be applying to the village for a full liquor license.

The “Hits of Broadway” production will run through Nov. 13, followed by “The Christmas Show” from Nov. 17 to Dec. 31 and “Hello Dolly” from Jan. 5 to Feb. 12. Each show will have five performances weekly -- 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday.