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dinner theater

American  

noun

  1. a restaurant in which a stage production is performed during or after dinner.

  2. stage productions performed in dinner theaters.


Etymology

Origin of dinner theater

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Play is the primary side dish at “7 Paintings,” a tech-infused dinner theater that aims to be a crash course in fine art.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 8, 2026

He took in projection dinner shows on cruise ships, animated table shows, some more traditional dinner theater and, of course, elaborately themed restaurants.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 27, 2025

The show is like daytime dinner theater, they explain.

From Seattle Times May 31, 2024

Audra McDonald has been dreaming of “Gypsy” since she was a 10-year-old in Fresno, Calif., with a small part in a dinner theater production of the musical.

From New York Times May 29, 2024

Somebody would inevitably high-kick when it was time for spirit fingers, the timing was off on the contagion, and the whole thing was such a disaster that Petra pronounced it “so dinner theater on Mars.”

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

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