Story: Broadway at the Beach

They sing. They dance. They serve ice cream. At the Show Place Ice Cream Parlour the chant “I scream. You scream, We all scream for ice cream” has a new melody and words. Ask “What kind of ice cream do you have?” and one of the waitstaff melodically shouts. “What kind of ice cream do we have?” and the entire troop belts out all 12 flavors to the tune of Handel's ''Hallelujah Chorus” - or is it the “Peanut Butter Chorus?” “We have Butter Pecan, Chocolate Chip Mint, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Orange Sorbet, Raspberry sorbet, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Banana, Coffee, Cherry Vanilla, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peach, Chocolate Chip, Vanilla Fudge.

The Show Place Ice Cream Parlour, a collaborative effort of Joe Hayes, the founder of the adjacent Surflight Theatre, and Scott Henderson, a local banker, was an immediate hit since opening night in 1975. Located in Beach Haven, Long Beach Island, New Jersey, Show Place has entertained ice cream lovers with song, dance, and vaudeville comedy. The waitri are professional entertainers and any excuse is a good excuse for a cabaret performance. Order “Anything Goes,” twelve flavors of Ice Cream, two Sorbets, seven toppings, Banana Wheels, Wet Walnuts, Whipped Cream, and Cherries. It is definitely “something shocking” as it can serve 10 people and cost $60, and, of course, it is delivered by an entertainer singing “Anything Goes.”

And it isn’t just the entertaining waitstaff that perform, customer participation is part of the show. Order a “Wizard of Oz,” a rainbow of sprinkles over emeraldy mint chocolate chip ice cream, hot fudge, banana wheels, wet walnuts, animal cookies, whipped cream, and a cherry, and you will be asked to skip down the Yellow Brick Road while singing “Off to see the Wizard.” Not up for a sundae with all the toppings then opt for a Gypsy Rose Lee Stripper. Not a thing on it. But, you will have to dance to the stripper tune.

The zaniness knows no bounds. There are jokes, some so duddish that the other waitri in their red and white strip vests camouflage themselves against the walls of the same pattern to avoid being associated with the jokes. When the hat box comes out each ice cream lovers gets a hat and a new personality. Sometimes the music takes on sentimental turn when someone orders “My Fair Lady,” a loverly Hot Fudge Sundae with Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Banana Wheels, Wet Walnuts, Whipped Cream, and a Cherry. Expect the crooner, on bent knee, to sing “On the Street Where You Live” to a fair lady.

Each night, during the summer season, the revue-style parlor performs about five shows, packing in 150 customers for each 60-minute seating. Some of the entertainers also perform at the Surflight Theater where all the seats are “Isle” seats. For more information on the Show Place Ice Cream Parlour and Surflight Theater check www.surflight.org or call 609-492-9477.