Dinner theatre

Dinner theater (sometimes called dinner and a show) is a form of entertainment that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play or musical. Sometimes the play is incidental entertainment, secondary to the meal, in the style of a sophisticated night club, or the play may be a major production with dinner less important, or in some cases, optional. Dinner theater requires the management of three distinct entities: a live theater, a restaurant, and usually, a bar.

The Madrigal dinner in the Middle Ages might be considered the earliest dinner theater. The earliest dinner theaters served dinner in one room, and staged the play in another. Those are now known as theatre restaurants, a dinner theater subclassification.

Barksdale Theatre in Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1953 by David and Nancy Kilgore at the historic Hanover Tavern, was the first formal dinner theater in the United States. After the theatre was established, an adjoining room in the theatre was changed to accommodate a buffet dinner for groups attending the performance, eventually becoming available to all patrons. However, "Barksdale prefers to be known as a theatre that happens to have a restaurant, and dinner is optional," their brochure states. They are a professional, non-profit theatre.

Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana opened in March 1973, and was one of a chain of dinner theatres founded by J. Scott Talbott. It has a 450-seat house and features Broadway shows and concerts preceded by a buffet dinner. It also offers a Live Theatre for Kids series each season. It is a professional theatre and member of Actors' Equity Association.

Cedar Grove, New Jersey, located half an hour from Manhattan, was the location of the second dinner theater, the Meadowbrook Theatre Restaurant, which opened in 1960. It lasted only 13 years, in part due to 700+ seats of table service, nearby competition from Broadway, and Actors' Equity Association requirements that the facility follow the rules that applied to Broadway Theatres, including pay scales and other restrictions.

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