Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre

Deceived with no apology.
After hearing an ad from a radio station near Chicago, IL working my third shift job in the wee hours of the morning, I decided to surprise my wife on our anniversary. I drove home and got her up, not wanting to miss the Thursday matinée as advertised on their website. «Weekday Matinée: Open 11:00 am, Buffet 11:30 am, Curtain 1:00 pm» and in another place: «Tue/​Wed/​Thurs $ 56».
When my wife and I, having driven over an hour and a half, arrived at 11:06 am, I saw the empty parking lot and was overjoyed at the thought of having the best seats available to us. I walked up to the door, leaving my wife in the car because I had a small shrinking feeling deep in the pit of my stomach, and it wasn’t hunger, for we had skipped breakfast. As I approached the ticket area I asked: «We’re the first ones here?» To my dismay, the salesman asked: «Did you have tickets for tonight?» Without hesitation, my brows became furrowed and I said: «No. We’re here for the matinée.» To which followed a very passionate exchange and my exclamation of «God Damn It» and my feet out the door, down the stairs, to the car door and a disenchanted wife.
An hour later and a good diffusing session over Chinese food did the trick and I had stopped shaking over the ruin of the day. Oh, sure, we could have stayed for the «actual show» at 7:00 pm (and here I am only guessing they had one because nothing else was correct on their website, who knows… maybe they have no Thursday show at all) but I work third shift and had no desire to be fired the next morning. So. Dear owners of B&B, please reconcile yourselves past a 1996 mindset and expect your m. and your regular site to be just as much communication as an actual phone call to relay information to your customers.
This next generation of consumers expects honesty and integrity with your web presence. At least you had a working voicemail system… Wait… That’s not entirely correct either. When I call your phone number and press «1» and then «1» for «Show information, including show description, prices and times» (as the recorded voice said) all I get is the narrative of the show itself. You did not provide me with times… Which brings into suspicion all of your communication to the outside world. Do you actually wish to create a web and phone presence that delivers what it promises? With your current standards, one can only expect your answer is an overwhelming: «NO.»
Poor customer service. A song as old as time.

My stars are for the drama team there food is horrible but I am OCD there bathrooms are amazing and there gift shop is really cute the beauty and the best show they did is amazing the actors do really good I just wish that I could say there food is good there dessert is ok I have had better if I owned this I would hope they would do food that is over the top good just like the show want good food this is not the place for you but if you like just really humorous acting and don’t care about the food this place is for you

The show was very good. We saw sister act! The food was just okay. The buffet had a variety of food items including gluten-​free items. We arrived early around 6 o’clock and the buffet started at 6:30. It did make for a long evening considering the show ended at 10:30. Wish they offered tickets to the show only we would visit more often due to the food being mediocre. The service was good and drinks were always full!

My wife and I went to B&B on Thursday dor the opening night of Sister Act. This was our second visit to B&B. DINNER: the food was fine. A typical buffet with your standard items, the food tasted fine, but nothing spectacular. STAFF we had a very friendly waiter who was attentive. AMBIANCE. This is an old theater that could use a makeover. Not that it is falling apart. It just felt like the family car that has been reasonably maintained, but out on several family trips. My biggest complaint was the lighting was a bit dim for the dinner. PATRONS My wife and I remarked to each other how many older people were there. It could be the day of the week, but we are in our early 50s and felt young. PLAY. I will be upfront and say that I didn’t care for the play. I’ve tried to keep this from biasing my comments above and can say that they were thoughts that I had before the show started. The actors we good. Some had amazing talent and I enjoyed some of the musical numbers. However, many of the songs went on and on and should have been removed. The overall storyline was flate and boardered on being offensive to this church goer. OVERALL I felt the whole evening was pedestrian. I may teturn for another show but not for some time.

Went to Beef & Boards for the first time recently with a few members of my family on a Saturday night. The play we saw was called Run For Your Wife. The actors and actresses were great! They were very energetic and we all thought they did a very fantastic job.
We arrived at 6 o’clock and were immediately taken to our seats. At the table they have cheese and crackers for you while you wait for your waiter or waitress to arrive at your table and take your drink order. They offer complimentary drinks in the form of water, coffee, or lemonade. If you want soft drinks, you will have to pay $ 3 for unlimited refills. They also have a large drink menu.
Each table is dismissed based on the order that they arrived in. So, if you want the most time to enjoy your meal, then get there early. The buffet was good, but nothing memorable. There were quite a few items on the salad bar, however, the fruit wasn’t that great. The main entrees consisted of potatoes, rice, chicken, fish, roast beef, and a couple other items. Once you are dismissed the first time, you are able to get back in line as many times as you want until they take the food away.
The wait staff was very friendly and did their best to keep our drinks filled. Just before the show started, our waiter brought us a pitcher of lemonade that way we wouldn’t run out during the show since they were not able to serve while the production was going on. We were very appreciative!
All in all, it was a good experience for a dinner and a show. We would be more apt to go back for a specific production as opposed to just go for the food.

Always a great place to come. Great food. Buffet style. Friendly staff. We come at least once a year for a Christmas carol. Some people have said the food is bland but it’s called salt. Use it. They probably cook food for all people and some people can’t eat salt. I love the food and have never had a bad meal or experience here.

As I have said before about Beef & Boards, I am not a big fan of the buffet. I’ve gone enough times now that I know what is decent and what to not even put on my plate, but I really wish I was as excited to go for the food as I am for the show. That said, The Addams Family musical was a riot! We laughed so hard and this production is no less entertaining than I’ve seen at theatre-​only venues. I am starting to recognize so many of the regular B&B cast members. Sarah Hund, Eddie Curry and Jeff Stockberger have become my favorites, but realizing the woman who played Grandma was the same one who previously played Peter Pan made me realize even more what an exceptionally talented crew you have. I also have a feeling we’ll be seeing the young man who played Pugsley a lot more in the years to come. Honestly, the entire cast was amazing for this production. Not a weak link in the entire lineup. Keep up the fantastic work! Can’t wait to see the next show!

My wife and I went to see the South Pacific, realizing our tickets were for last nights performance instead. After the counter clerk made a scene and everyone in the lobby was aware that we had made a misjudgement on the date, they worked out with management to place us at an available table with partial obstruction of our view. Once seated we were fortunate to be one of the first to eat and be served our drinks. Overall we are thankful for the acommadations that were made by management, we only regret that we were put in the public eye for a mistake in our scheduling. We feel this could have been handeled more respectfully and with tact. We will come again, but hopefully the counter clerks will be more empathetic to us who are not members but who traveled over three hours to see your performance.

This is my first time to watch a show at Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre. My review is only for the show. We watched the musical South Pacific which we loved. The performers were great, the singing was awesome, the humor was entertaining to hilarious, and the touching moments were spot on. Very enjoyable musical. You have a fan!

Awesome place for a first date, anniversary or birthday! The plays are always top notch and the band is simply fantastic. Buffet is good — above average. Drinks are also good.

Enthusiastic performance, but — for the love — update your décor! It looks like 1987 in there. The food is tired, no local beer, and the desserts are clearly from a box.

I feel kinda all over the place with my thoughts about Beef & Boards, so I’ll go with the in-​between 4 stars.
My husband recently got us tickets for my birthday. His coworker recommended it when he mentioned I am a huge theatre person. I was really excited to check it out, I have heard of this place my entire life growing up in central Indiana yet had never been, oops. Granted, high school Samantha couldn’t afford this. I want to support more local theatres now as an adult. I even know a few people who have been in shows here!
Parking and getting in was easy and I like that they escorted us to our seats since we had no idea where we were going. We went to see Crazy for You, first time seeing it and the show itself was cute but not my favorite show ever.
So here are my thoughts on value/​overall experience…
What makes this place great — Unique experience compared to many other theatres with the dinner aspect, love the tiered seating so there are no blocked views at all. Enthusiastic and talented cast, put on an entertaining show! The serving staff is also super friendly and helpful!
What disappoints me — Food, sure it was ok but for the price point charged I am shocked they can’t offer up a bit better quality. The tables/​chairs are cramped very close together, for us it wasn’t a huge deal but I could see it made navigating and seating hard for some guests. Feels a tad old, chairs/​tables/​settings seemed old, generic and used.
What this place needs is makeover! Give it a good overhaul, update finishes, freshen up the menu and this place could seriously rock and definitely be worth the ticket price! I can’t imagine they aren’t turning a profit currently, invest more of that back into the theatre!

Surpassed all my expectations! I’m a big Broadway fan, and having grown up in New York I have seen my fair share of shows. I wasn’t expecting too much from dinner theater, and was pleasantly surprised at the level of talent of every actor on that stage.
The food was good, no complaints. :)
You do need to pay extra for alcohol and dessert, but that’s all reasonably priced — around $ 5 for dessert and $ 6-​$ 9 for wine.
We arrived a little late, at about 6:45, and the parking lots were full but there was street parking and barely any walk.
Can’t wait to go again!

The show was awesome as always. You can just tell if the actors are pouring their hearts into a performance and they certainly did tonight.
The lobby staff is a little hit and miss and we kinda missed it this time. Oh well.
The food is a bit mediocre I would say. By no means bad, but it reminds more of the things old folks would eat at a cafeteria. It is not very imaginative, just your staples. Some salad, rolls, some veggies, potatoes, chicken parm, roastbeef and some sort of breaded fish. Don’t come here because of the food.
Now the wait staff is excellent and refills are plentiful especially if you are having coffee. The drinks and the desserts are pretty good also.

Fiddler is pretty decent… not their best production… but very familiar music is always enjoyable to re-​hear…
Not as good as the previous production… Oklahoma… which had some very good actors who worked really well off each other… excellent on stage chemistry.
One or two folks in particular were very good in this version of FOTR

We took our kids to see Mary Poppins. A great time was had by all. They want to come back for Oklahoma.
The food was good but not spectacular. Our tickets weren’t cheap, but well worth the cost.
Make sure to keep younger kids on a bathroom schedule. The lines get long at times.
The staff was fantastic!

Saw CATS today. It was incredible! Food was ok and service was splendid. The sound and visibility is great & very well put together. It exceeded my expectations. I’ll be recommending CATS & Beef & Boards to everyone.
Parking was tough to find if you are running late so aim far if it’s after dinner time (6:30pm).

This was my first time to Beef and Boards.
WOW!
We went with a larger group for the Holiday show.
Seating is SUPER tight and not really comfortable.
The food tastes like leftovers from a cruise ship buffett and actually the whole place reaks of an old cruise ship.
It is kitschy and great for a laugh but definitley not worth the price.
I’ve been and I wont be returning…

I saw Les Mis today and it was excellent. The performers were beyond incredible and I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried several times. The actor playing Valjean deserves every penny he earns and more. He was truly talented — as were all of the other actors.
The food is so-​so. Everything was heat & serve, but I wasn’t expecting a 5 star meal. If you want anything other than water, tea or lemonade to drink, expect to pay extra ($ 3 and unlimited refills). Dessert also costs extra if you’re not a VIP member.
The tables are crowded together, and I was expecting it to be an issue, but it wasn’t. The people seated around me were pleasant enough and we all had more than enough personal space. I had a great view of the stage.
The only real complaint is that there is 1 bathroom and the line was very long at intermission. An additional restroom is probably in order if they have such a large crowd regularly.
This was my first visit and I’m planning to go back in 2014 to see Cats.

We went to the afternoon matinée showing of Cinderella, which included a snack and juice box (we have 5 and 7 year olds so we have no lives right now).
The performance was around an hour long and excellent, especially for around $ 10. You’ll pay almost that much for a movie, which makes the value here for a live performance extra compelling.
I see a lot of the reviews complained about the food. We didn’t have the food but you’re living in a metro area of around 1.7M people — about ¹⁄₆ that of Chicago — so the fact that there’s even a dinner theatre operating here is pretty good. Keep it real.