Howard Pechet the executive producer of Stage West has died

Howard Pechet, who brought dinner theatre to Canada, passed away Aug. 2. He was 76.

Pechet, who was the executive producer of Stage West Calgary, opened Stage West Edmonton in 1974 as a major attraction in the Mayfield Inn. Professional dinner theatre was already a popular concept in the United States, but it was Pechet who tested the waters in Canada.

He opened Stage West Calgary in 1982, and then expanded the concept to Vancouver, Winnipeg, Regina and Mississauga. The Calgary Stage West is the only dinner theatre he still managed. The others have closed over the years, and he sold the rights to the Edmonton flagship, which is now called the Mayfield Dinner Theatre, in 1993.

Pechet’s original concept was to bring in a headliner for each show, usually a star from a television series. O