This is a quaint little non-profit, volunteer-run theater with a lot of potential. The newly redone stage and sound system seemed like a big hit with the locals (and we thought they were nice, though had no comparison basis). Plus, the theater has plans for additional seating capacity (currently fundraising). Your very reasonably-priced ticket basically covers the costs of production and dinner. You can bring your small child (under 5) for free, but please don't. And if your older child can't sit still and keep quiet for 3+ hours, don't bring them either.
The acting, though amateur, was overall enjoyable and well-done for what we expected. The play we saw was actually three shorts that all took place in the same hotel room during different time periods (and with different characters). The set was fantastic. The actual play part is done well enough that I would recommend the experience and even come back if in Carthage again. As for dinner....
The food was meh. The salad was actually pretty decent. However, the chicken entree was dry, the green beans seemed canned, and the mashed potatoes seemed rehydrated. The roll was good, but small (it almost seemed like a large dinner roll cut in half). Given their budget and volunteer staffing constraints, this wasn't unexpected, but was still a little disappointing. If I'm remembering correctly, drink options were limited: water, coffee, iced tea, maybe lemonade, and hot tea (that took them a long time to track down). I don't remember there being any soda or adult beverage options. Having some cheap wine or beer for sale seems like it could be beneficial for them.... or at least finding a way to let you bring in your own and pay a small corking fee.
As for how the evening played out, we were expecting dinner and a show with dinner during the show like a few other dinner theaters we've been to. Nope. After the 1/2 hour seating window, the next hour is dedicated to dinner service, then you see the first act, then dessert is served, then acts two and three. We showed up at 6 p.m. when the doors opened, didn't get our entrees until about 7 p.m., and didn't get home until about 11 p.m. It was a long night in an uncomfortable dining room chair in a chilly room. I would highly encourage them to find a way to shave off some time - have the salads already set at the table (I can't remember exactly, but I'm fairly confident they weren't). Serve dinner and let folks eat it during the first act and then serve dessert between acts two and three (this will require some table adjustment as there are some seats with their backs to the stage if you're facing your table to eat and some adjustment of house lights so you can see your dinner, but I think it'd be worth it).
Lastly, I had made a reservation ahead of time (highly recommended) for four people. However, our fourth group member wasn't feeling well, had been hoping to feel good enough to come, but decided not to at the last minute (say 5:45 p.m.). We were highly apologetic and they didn't charge us for the fourth ticket, which was extremely nice, but then we were strongly (and loudly) scolded for not having called the theater and updated our reservation. We explained it was a last minute decision as we were leaving (and the drive there was less than 10 minutes), but it didn't seem to matter to the manager who was exasperated that she had been turning people away earlier that afternoon. Again - we hadn't known for sure earlier! I completely understand the frustration of losing out on a ticket sale given the non-profit nature of the business, but it's not like we had done it on purpose or were just too lazy to call. Plus, we got there just as the doors opened and were one of the first to go in, so anyone waiting for last minute tickets could have easily bought ours. Even then, I'm not exactly sure what they would have done, since there was only one extra seat at our table (our absentee guest) and people often come to these things as couples (or larger groups). They didn't seem outfitted with the capability to do on-the-spot table shuffling. That scolding clearly left a bad taste in my mouth. Sometimes things happen and it's not our fault and though your business may hurt a little, you should never make the customer feel embarrassed. read more
