Derby Dinner Playhouse sets stage for a great time
Published: Oct 20, 2009
Providing dinner theater since 1974, Derby Dinner Playhouse continues to combine food with entertainment as Southern Indiana's only professional dinner theater. Co-owners Carolyn Thomas and Bekki Jo Schneider claim 200,000 visitors per year, including 8,000 season subscribers.
With 500 seats, Derby Dinner Playhouse in Clarksville, Ind. — just minutes from downtown Louisville, across the Ohio River — ranks as one of the nation's largest dinner theaters. The playhouse has staged such musical theater favorites as Beauty and the Beast, Oklahoma, High School Musical, Cats, Singin' in the Rain and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Light comedies, such as The Nerd and The Odd Couple, round out a typical season. Scheider, who serves as producer-director, even puts on original plays by her husband, local playwright Dudley Saunders Sr., including the inimitable Charlie Chan and the Phantom of the Opera and a musical version of It's a Wonderful Life.
Evenings begin before the curtain rises with a full buffet as you're serenaded by the Footnotes, Derby Dinner's vocal ensemble. There's a full bar and some delectable desserts. After providing enough time for seconds (and desserts big enough for two), audiences settle in for the main performance. The theater-in-the-round layout provides an excellent view to all 500 seats at 122 tables.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for evening performances and at 11:45 a.m. for matinees. The performance begins at 7:45 p.m., evenings; 1 p.m., Saturday matinees, and 12:45 p.m., Wednesday matinees. (There's no matinee on the first Wednesday after a show launches.)
Tickets cost $38 for evening performances on Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday. Friday night shows cost $39, while Saturday night shows cost $42. Tickets for the Sunday matinee cost $35, while the Wednesday matinee costs $33. You can buy tickets online or by calling (812) 288-8281. Check the Show Schedule for upcoming plays.
Along with the plays, many musical acts also make a stop at Derby Dinner Playhouse, including the grande dame of Broadway, Carol Channing; the Blackwood Quartet and the Glen Miller Orchestra. Local legends, The Monarchs, make frequent appearances.
Family-friendly fare makes Derby Dinner Playhouse great for celebrating a birthday, anniversary or other special event. Groups of 20 or more receive discounts. See details here. For more information on birthday parties, click here. Call (812) 288-8281 to book a birthday party, which can only be scheduled for matinees.
Since 1986, Derby Dinner has had its Children's Musical Theatre program in which four plays geared for young audiences are performed in hour-long matinees for school groups. Each of the children's plays also get public performances. Click here to find out about upcoming children's theater plays.
While Schneider casts actors from all over the country, she also holds auditions for local talent. Click here for more information on open calls.
- by Ivonne Rovira, Louisville Reporter for HelloMetro
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