A moment in history: July 24, 1979

On this day in 1979, Edmonton's successful dinner theatre was putting on a production by a celebrated local playwright.

Stage West would eventually become an entertainment empire and leave a significant impact on the theatre community not only in Edmonton, but all of Western Canada. But the company got its start because of a nice bathroom.

Eugene Pechet moved to Edmonton in 1928. As a travelling salesman, he spent a lot of time staying in hotels across the west. Apparently, Pechet was so impressed with the private bathrooms at North Battleford's Auditorium Hotel (a rare luxury in 1942), that he bought the entire business. That was his first hotel. Twenty-four more would follow, including several in Edmonton.

In 1974, Pechet picked out a plot of land on the western outskirts of Edmonton for his newest project, the lavish Mayfield Inn. The hotel contained a disco, high-end restaurants, and a number of buffets. It also held an amenity that had been gaining popularity in the United States but was still unknown in Canada — a dinner theatre.

Pechet brought his son Howard into the business, taking him away from his PhD studies in English literature. The younger Pechet founded Stage West in 1975, establishing Canada's first dinner theatre. The company had a rocky start, with its first three productions failing to wow audiences. Soon, however, Stage West began to see success with a bold model: attracting stars from cancelled popular TV shows to headline its productions. Eventually, almost the entire cast of M*A*S*H had performed in some show at Stage West, in addition to faces from Three's Company and The Jeffersons, plus comic actors such as Victor Buono. By the time the theatre staged Mors Draculae by celebrated local playwright Warren Graves in 1979, Stage West was a firm success.

Success led to expansion. Stage West opened similar dinner theatres in Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg and Mississauga, in addition to hotels and a casino elsewhere in Alberta. Howard Pechet produced and wrote many of Stage West's productions, as well as other shows that toured around Canada and the U.S. In 2008, he was awarded a world record as the most prolific theatre producer, credited with 485 productions at the time.

In 1987, a fire broke out at Edmonton's Stage West during a sold-out show. The blaze completely levelled the building, doing $2 million in damage.

However, it was not the final act for the dinner theatre. The company rebuilt and returned to the stage, putting on shows until the Edmonton location was sold off to new owners and renamed the Mayfield Dinner Theatre in 1993.

Howard Pechet continued to write and produce plays for several years. He passed away in 2025 at the age of 76. Stage West still survives, although only its Calgary dinner theatre remains. The company's legacy in Edmonton continues through the Mayfield Dinner Theatre, which is closing out its 2025-2026 season this weekend with the final performances of Hurry Hard, a comedy about curling.

This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist Rev Recluse of Vintage Edmonton.