Ball State's Department of Theatre and Dance will present "Smokey Joe's Café" June 15-18, June 22-25 and June 29-July1 at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts, 520 E. Main St. in downtown Muncie.

"Smokey Joe's Café" is set in an idealized 1950s where the classic themes of love won, lost and imagined are leavened by the lighthearted determination to never take anything too seriously. The production features rock 'n' roll standards such as "Hound Dog," "Stand By Me," "Spanish Harlem," "Jailhouse Rock" and many more.

The production is directed and choreographed by Michael Worcel, assistant professor of dance, with musical direction by Ball State graduate student Brian Nabors.

Dinner service begins at 6 p.m. for evening shows and 1 p.m. for Sunday matinees. Meals will be catered by Johnny Carino's County Italian and will include a house salad and bread served at the table. Buffet selections include chicken parmigiana, meat lasagna and spaghetti marinara. Chocolate cake will be served at intermission. Beverages are included.

A cash bar opens at 5:30 p.m. for evening shows and 12:30 p.m. for Sunday matinees. Selections include Italian wines, Italian and domestic beers and soft drinks.

Three rows of seating are available:

• Row 1 (tables of four): $35 per person
• Row 2 (tables of eight): $32.50 per person
• Row 3 (tables of six): $30 per person

Tickets for children 12 and under are $20. Theater-only tickets are $15. Tickets can be purchased at the Ball State's University Theatre Box Office from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Payments must be made by cash or check only. Make checks payable to BSU Dinner Theatre. Contact the box office at (765) 285-8749.

The production of "Smokey Joe's Café" is the end result of a Business Fellows project involving the College of Fine Arts, the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Miller College of Business. The production also received support from the Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County.

Business Fellows, coordinated by Ball State's Career Center and funded by a $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., gives Ball State students the opportunity to turn academic knowledge into business solutions through intense, semester-long applied work experiences that will benefit an Indiana business, industry or organization. The program works in concert with Ball State's Building Better Communities initiative.

Building Better Communities is a university-wide initiative designed to spur economic development and quality-of-life advancement in Indiana by extending Ball State's strengths in applied research and hands-on learning to community projects across the state. Building Better Communities works to match the university's expertise and resources to the varied needs of Indiana communities.

(Note to editors: For more information, contact Harold Mortimer, executive director of the Ball State Dinner Theatre, at (765) 285-0974 or hrmortimer@bsu.edu. For a print-quality downloadable photo, visit  www.bsu.edu/photoservices and search under "Upcoming Events.")