THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 24, 1995 TAG: 9505230128
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES FRASCA, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
For 10 years George Hasenstab spent most of his life on the road, appearing on stage and screen while living out of a suitcase. When the 42-year-old professional actor decided to spend more time at home, he found a way to do it without giving up his career.
Two years ago, Hasenstab leased a portion of the Sandcastle Oceanfront Motel, 14th Street and Atlantic Avenue, and transformed it into a medieval pub known as Rosie Rumpe's Regal Dumpe, where singing waitresses, wandering minstrels and magicians perform during a three-hour dinner show set in 16th century London.
``I had to find a way to stay close to my home in Virginia Beach and still earn a living,'' Hasenstab said. ``Plus it had to be fun.''
Hasenstab describes his resulting stagechild as ``an audience participation musical comedy, not for the timid or socially challenged.''
With a list of acting credits ranging from ``Matlock'' and ``Young Indiana Jones'' to a tour with an opera company whose presentation of ``Man of LaMancha'' spanned five years and several continents, Hasenstab is well qualified to put on a show for Virginia Beach.
The cast of the ``participatory theater'' at Rosie Rumpe's Regal Dumpe performs interactive music and comedy that Hasenstab calls ``a different animal altogether, because the audience has to partake with the actors. The more they participate, the more fun they have.''
Patrons are greeted at the door by Rosie Rumpe, played by local actress Alyx Vetter. Rosie berates latecomers in a loud cockney voice and threatens to ``throw the shy ones out by the scruff of the neck.''
Diners who step out of line are apt to find themselves pilloried or begging for salt on bended knee. Tight-corseted wenches dispense ale and ladle soup from wooden buckets as they sing bawdy tunes of yore. The audience is enlisted to help with everything from magic tricks to menial tasks.
``You never know what to expect from the audience, so it's a different show every night,'' Hasenstab said. ``Their involvement makes this the most fun an actor can have on stage.''
The entertainment comes with a choice of meat, along with salad, soup, side vegetables and dessert.
Patchpiece the court jester is played by Virginia Beach comedian Mike Dimirsky, who bills himself as ``the funniest man in Virginia Beach.'' Patchpiece demonstrates how to make a scarf disappear (successfully) and how to levitate a waitress (unsuccessfully).
Hasenstab plays the lovable and funny King Henry VIII, a role he describes as ``a three-hour vacation.'' King Henry spends his time at Rosie's tipping the grog with patrons and sizing up the lasses as he struts about in regal garb.
And when he's not at Rosie's, Hasenstab is filming ``The Shadow Conspiracy'' with Charlie Sheen.
``We're filming in Richmond,'' Hasenstab explained. ``So I can commute.'' MEMO: TO SEE A SHOW
Tickets to Rosie Rumpe's Regal Dumpe, 1307 Atlantic Ave., cost
$29.95, including dinner. Performances are scheduled at 8 p.m. Fridays
and Saturdays (Tuesday and Thursday shows will be added this summer).
Shows are usually sold out in advance, and reservations are necessary.
For tickets, call 428-5858.
ILLUSTRATION: Photos by NANCY LEWIS
Among the cast of characters at Rosie Rumpe's Regal Dumpe are Sheree
Stevens, the female soloist, and Mike Dimirsky, who plays Patchpiece
the court jester. Dimirsky, a comedian who bills himself as ``the
funniest man in Virginia Beach,'' demonstrates how to make a scarf
disappear (successfully) and how to levitate a waitress
(unsuccessfully).
by CNB