Dinner Theatre Explained: How a Dinner-and-a-Show Evening Works
Dinner theatre combines two of the most popular nights out: a good meal and a live show. For many audiences it turns a play into a special occasion, whether for an anniversary, a birthday or a group outing. The format varies from venue to venue, so it helps to know how it works before you book. This guide explains the main types of dinner theatre, what a package usually includes and how to plan the evening, drawing on the long-running partnership between Apple Hill Playhouse and The Lamplighter Restaurant in Delmont, Pennsylvania.
What is dinner theatre?
At its simplest, dinner theatre means a meal and a performance sold together, usually at a combined price. The idea became popular in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century, when many venues offered buffets or set menus followed by a comedy or musical. Today you will find it at purpose-built dinner theatres, hotels, community theatres and restaurants that partner with a nearby stage.
The two main formats
1. Dinner in the theatre
In the classic format, the meal is served in the same room as the performance. Guests sit at tables, eat before the show and sometimes during intermission, then watch the performance from their seats. This makes for a relaxed, all-in-one evening but usually means a more limited menu and table seating that may not give every guest a perfect view.
2. Restaurant-and-theatre packages
In the second format, a theatre partners with a local restaurant. Guests eat at the restaurant first and then travel a short distance to the theatre. Apple Hill used this model for many years. Its packages were offered with The Lamplighter, a long-established Delmont restaurant on Route 22, about a two-minute drive from the playhouse. The advantage is a full restaurant kitchen and proper theatre seating; the trade-off is timing the move between the two.
How Apple Hill's dinner theatre packages worked
The archived pages on our dinner theater page show a simple system that many partner-restaurant packages still follow:
- Book the package. Reservations could be made through the restaurant or through the theatre's box office.
- Arrive at the restaurant early. The suggested arrival time was around noon for lunch before a matinee and between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. for dinner (earlier listings suggested 6:00 to 6:30 p.m.).
- Pay at the restaurant. Patrons paid for the package at The Lamplighter and received a voucher. Prices included food, tax and tip.
- Exchange the voucher. At the playhouse box office the voucher was exchanged for seat tickets.
The theatre also sold prepaid vouchers as gifts, a popular choice for birthdays and holidays. Packages were not available on every date; the pages note, for example, that dinner theatre was not offered on the Fourth of July.
What was on the menu?
Menus at dinner theatres are usually shorter than a normal restaurant's, so the kitchen can serve everyone on time. The archived Lamplighter menus, playfully headed "Cast of Entrees", included dishes such as chicken marsala, broiled scrod, roast sirloin with mushroom sauce, pork chops and pasta, with premium choices like prime rib or stuffed salmon for a small surcharge. Dinners came with home-baked bread, salad, a vegetable, potato, dessert such as coconut or apple pie, and coffee or tea. The lunch menu offered lighter plates, salads and sandwiches.
How much does dinner theatre cost?
Prices depend on the venue, the show and the day. As a historical example, Apple Hill's 2014 packages ranged from about $29 for lunch and a play to $39 for a Friday or Saturday dinner and a musical, with group rates for parties of 20 or more and a cheaper Thrifty Thursday option. In 2003, a preview-night dinner and musical cost around $21. Musicals generally cost more than plays because of the extra rights and production costs.
When comparing packages today, check whether the price includes tax, tip, drinks and dessert, and whether group or midweek discounts apply.
Planning your evening
Leave enough time
The biggest risk with restaurant-and-theatre packages is running late. Aim to finish your meal at least 20 to 30 minutes before curtain, allowing for paying the bill, travelling, parking and collecting tickets. Many theatres will not seat latecomers until a suitable break.
Mention dietary needs early
Set menus can be restrictive. Tell the restaurant about allergies, vegetarian diets or other requirements when you book, not when you sit down.
Choose the right show
Comedies and musicals are the traditional dinner-theatre fare because they suit a relaxed, sociable evening. Check the show description and any content advisories if you are bringing older relatives or teenagers.
Consider a matinee
Lunch-and-matinee packages are often cheaper and avoid night driving, which makes them popular with seniors and groups travelling by bus.
Dinner theatre for groups
Dinner theatre is ideal for clubs, church groups, reunions and office outings. Apple Hill's group rates started at 20 people, and its ticket pages note that groups reserving 20 or more seats paid a deposit. Community theatres also sometimes allow a group to buy out a whole performance as a fundraiser. If you are organising a group, confirm numbers and meal choices in writing, ask about deposits and deadlines, and nominate one person to handle vouchers and tickets on the night.
Why dinner theatre endures
Dinner theatre works because it removes the planning from a night out. One booking covers the meal and the show, and the restaurant and theatre both benefit from each other's customers. For small community theatres, a partnership with a well-loved local restaurant also strengthens their place in the town. The Apple Hill and Lamplighter arrangement ran for many years and was praised in a 2003 feature on great places in Westmoreland County, which you can read in our press archive.
Conclusion
Whether you choose a table in the theatre or a meal down the road, dinner theatre is a relaxed way to enjoy live performance. Book early, leave plenty of time and check what the package includes. For a detailed historical example, including prices and full menus, see the archived dinner and lunch theater packages and the 2003 price list. New to live shows? Our theatre etiquette guide covers the rest.