Iron Springs Chateau — Attraction in Manitou Springs

If you don’t have time to read my entire review, here is a quick summary as to why I am only giving this experience 2 stars.

Nasty old carpet throughout dining area. Appears unclean. TERRIBLE choice of actor for role of Hero!! Very uncomfortable & hard to watch. (Biggest reason for two stars) Intermission vocalist really struggled Pianist was really talented! Yay!

We did not eat at the restaurant so I cannot speak to the quality of the food, but peeking in the door of the restaurant, I would definitely say that I would not want to eat in there until they remove all that nasty brown carpet from the 1980s. That just looked dirty and unsanitary. I was glad I did not eat there when I saw that. As to the show, I can honestly say that I have seen better shows in my children’s middle schools for free. We all cheered and booed and tried to get into the spirit of the show, but it was difficult to enjoy and get past one of the main actors, who played the hero. He was really creepy and awkward on stage, had trouble delivering his lines, and his movements seemed extremely calculated and unnatural. He honestly had zero stage performance skills. As a side note, on his first entrance he Has is was wearing bright red lipstick and along with his long curly hair, my entire family thought he was a woman playing the role until he spoke. He was an extremely heavy and very strange young man and was playing the role of the hero/love interest. It would have been ok if he could act or sing or dance at all, or was really funny but he could not do any of those. It was so hard to get past his portrayal of the role to enjoy the other talent in the show. I hate to say it, but the casting of that particular character really destroyed the entire experience for me. His eye movements, vacant (yet intense)staring/eye contact, facial expressions and stage presence all came across as just plain creepy and weird. Not exactly what you want in your hero/love interest. I really felt like they would have been better off plucking a random tourist off the street and throwing him in the role if there were no other choices in town! He will sink that theatre financially if they continue to cast him. He is really awkward and uncomfortable to watch. Now, about the intermission entertainment ....The young lady singing was ok at first, but she could barely make it through her set of songs as she became very winded after singing just a couple. It was also hard to sit and enjoy her singing because she was gasping for air between phrases and songs and could barely speak! As she struggled to breath her singing became more and more strident and labored. Eventually she was just yelling the big moments in the songs as she fought to get through them. She definitely crossed over that line of beautiful or healthy singing. However, the talent of the pianist definitely saved this show! He was amazing! It is a very good thing they have him! If not for him, the whole show would collapse! For whatever my opinion is worth, I would not waste your money on this show. Some of the actors/actresses were good, but a couple of the choices they made in casting or hiring just about ruined the entire show and just made the whole thing a weird and uncomfortable experience. I wanted to leave at intermission but stayed for the second half. Second half was a bit better-just quick little comedic acts and one-liner Hee-Haw style jokes. Advice to the Iron Springs Chateau Melodrama..... Be more careful with your casting of actors and hiring of vocalists! One (or two) bad Apples CAN spoil the whole barrel! Community theaters struggle to keep their door open as it is, if this was someone’s first experience, they would probably never go to any melodramas or community theatre productions ever again. You are going to loose customers with your casting choices. There has GOT to be some better talent in your beautiful community than this! I love the performing arts and I CAN NOT...

I give this five stars. I was pleasantly surprised at not only the size of the portion but the taste of the food as well. Everything is pretty much homemade and is served what they call “family style.” The main course comes on your plate, but the sides come to your table in bowls, so you dish up how much mashed potatoes and gravy, rice pilaf and green beans you want. Dessert was a cherry cobbler. The wait-staff, who are also actors in the play, are friendly and attentive and kept our coffee and water topped off the whole time. I judge places by how they take care of my coffee cup and these guys were top-notch. We didn’t use the bar.

We were seated by some of the characters, our seats being in the very center of the very front row. The “rules” are simple enough, when the villain comes onstage, you boo and hiss loudly. When the hero comes on, you cheer. When the heroine comes on you say, “oooooh-aaaah” and when the softhearted vamp comes out you say, “hubba-hubba.” You also interject “aw” at appropriate moments and other things that might fit. These were talented people who could sing and dance as well as act and most importantly, have fun with it.

The melodrama is only the first half of the show, however. During the intermission we were treated to singing by a lounge-style singer who also led a sing-along of some old ragtime melodies, such as Shine on Harvest Moon and Let Me Call You Sweetheart along with others, including Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary. Not only were we celebrating our 35th but there was a young couple there who were celebrating their 10th. This all segued nicely into a 1980’s style olio. They entertained us with a selection of songs from the eighties and timeless old jokes. It was a rather jarring fact to realize that music from the eighties is qualifies as Oldies. I really enjoyed this part a lot. The cast had been watching me all evening and I am a good sport so at one point the girls in the cast brought me onstage, sat me in a chair, put Mickey Mouse ears on my head and sang “Oh Mickey you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind…” etc, to me. I was laughing and enjoying myself. I mean, what’s not to enjoy with three beautiful girls singing...

What a fun place! They offer dinner & a show or just the show. In the past it was family style and you didn't get a choice of food. We weren't crazy about it so this time we only did the show. However, that was many years ago and the dining room looks really different now. Rather than the long wooden tables of the past, there are smaller tables with white tables clothes and I believe we saw menus but you should call to be sure. I miss the old wooden tables & I didn't mind the family style serving bowls but the food wasn't great. Maybe it's better now. The show was great. The actors were funny and spoke clearly. The downside was that the makeup on the old lady character was funnnkkky and a little distracting. The story line was cute and easy to understand, making it enjoyable for all ages. We had a group of 7 ranging in age from 11 years old to 79 years old. The intermission lady was awesome. Her voice was amazing. This show is broken into 3 parts. First is the actual show, broad ville style. Next is the intermission (singing act) and last is an old style olio. I highly recommend you stay for all three parts. We saw a lot of people leave during intermission and they missed the last part. It's like an episode of HeeHaw. This would be a great place to take people visiting our mountain city but don't discount celebrating a birthday here either. Now, the only real constructive criticism I can give to the director is to go back to the old ways of interacting with the audience. There is some interaction with Oouhhs & awes but years ago the characters used to make jokes when someone left to use the restroom, the stopped the show to pose if an audience member was taking a photo and reacted more to the audience actions. Overall, I recommend this place for locals & visitors alike. There's even a cute little bar to hang out in while you're waiting for the...