Get your kicks on Route 66! America’s most famous highway is the backdrop for this sweet comedy set in an Arizona diner in 1955. Performance dates: March 14-16 and 22-23, 2025. Tickets will be available soon via portlandcivicplayers.com

Show synopsis: Sally, a young, celebrity-obsessed waitress, can’t wait for the wedding that day between glamorous movie star Lovey Lamour and crooner Johnny Jerome. So you can imagine Sally’s surprise when a mysterious customer turns out to be Lovey herself!

Lovey tells Sally that she fled the ceremony and was heading east on Route 66 when her Ferrari broke down. With the press hot on her trail, Lovey is forced to hide out at the diner until her car is fixed. But how can she possibly keep her identity a secret? Simple, Sally answers. Pose as a waitress!

Sally teaches the movie star everything she knows about waitressing, but their entire scheme threatens to unravel when a nosy news photographer discovers Lovey’s identity and tips Johnny off as to her location.

With a cast of hilarious characters including a short-tempered cook, Sally’s geeky boyfriend, an ever-hungry customer, the world’s worst auto mechanic, and even Elvis Presley before he was famous, this affectionate tribute to the golden age of diners is guaranteed to warm your heart as it tickles your funny bone.

Cast:
Cookie – Lydia Bowling
Freda – Tiffany Barron
Sally – Haven Miller
Lovey Lamour – Amber Miller
Roscoe – Emerson Dibean
Babs – Rana Tekinel
Earl – Leon Miller
Gladys – Pam Robinson
Violet – Kiara Campbell
Twyla – Amy Sperry
Delores – Debbie Lundeen
Judy – Ella Hanses
Max – Dan Breaker
Johnny Jerome – Aaron Swan
Otis – Matthew Thelen
Elvis – Nathaniel Barron

Production directed by Erin Hoard, with assistant director Antonius Watkins. It Happened on Route 66 is written by Todd Wallinger and presented by arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service [pioneerdrama.com]