The Weiser Review: Pump Boys & Dinettes at Yerington Theatre for the Arts on April 19, 2025

Need gas or repairs on your Winnebago? Or maybe you need a break from the road through the southeast in the Carolinas and Georgia on Highway 57 and you see a sign for the Two Cupp Diner? You decide that a cup of coffee would be just the thing since the offer says the second one is free! Well, ya’ll come on in and sit a spell; Rhetta will pour you a cup and  Prudie will bring ya’ll a real nice piece of peach pie while the Pump Boys gas up your car, yessirree! What’s not to like?!

Yep, that’s what the folks who came out to the Jeanne Dini Theater were treated to April 19 when they attended the performance of the musical “Pump Boys and Dinettes” by seven members of the Churchill Players of the Performing Arts of Churchill County out of Fallon. While the coffee offer and the gas pumps were only images and stage props, and despite difficulties with the sound system, the songs on the playlist were original, authentic and delivered with a unique southern style.

Directed by Thomas Fleming, who as Eddie played drums and guitar, other instruments to deliver this unique format included harmonica and tambourine by Mike Penick as Mickey, keyboard by the amazing Byron Sorensen as LM, and the father/son electric guitar and standup duet  of Jake Coval as Jim and Kenneth Coval as Jackson, the performance by the Pump Boys included numbers like the provocative “The Night Dolly Parton Was Almost Mine” and the relaxed “Takin’ It Slow” and  “Fisherman’s Prayer”.

But the bright lights of the show were the duets and twirlings of Dinettes Rhetta Cupp by Summer Stanton and Prudie Cupp by Adia Sommer Finch featured in the numbers “Be Good or Be Gone”, “Tips” accompanied by a ‘compliant’ member of the audience, and the suggestive cavorting in “Farmer Tan” accompanied by the 70ish LM of the Pump Boys.

Altogether a delightful presentation of this group’s musical and acting abilities, one that delights the senses and lightens the heart for adult and family entertainment. Kudos to the PACC, Performing Arts of Churchill County, for their efforts in promoting artisanry of this genre in the region.

Kudos to the Jeanne Dini Center Board of Directors for utilizing the Center for this type of entertainment that is a compliment to their ability to sense what this community enjoys. Let’s hope it stimulates attendance and donations for improving the sound system!

Bob Weiser is a native of Texas and grew up on a farm near Giddings. Bob attended universities in Austin, Texas; Chicago, Illinois and Reno, Nevada, graduating with a Masters of Science degree in Secondary Education from University of Nevada, Reno while raising a family with his wife Betty and working in construction as a mason.

Mr. Weiser taught at UNR, TMCC (Truckee Meadows Community College), Galena High School and The Regional Technical Institute, retiring from teaching in 2003. He was a state licensed specialty contractor in masonry, completing many projects in Northern Nevada including Yerington after moving here from Sparks in 2004.

“Pastor Bob” was also a certified minister in the Methodist church, serving congregations in Yerington and Smith Valley until his retirement in 2019.

Other than writing as an art form, Bob enjoys singing with the Mason Valley Singers and has performed roles in “The Sound of Music” and “The Nutcracker” at the Jeanne Dini Theater.

Bob and Betty reside south of Yerington near the East Walker River on their micro farm of three acres, raising beef and veggies and keeping bees for honey while enjoying the peace and quiet in that area of Mason Valley.