UTEP Dinner Theatre

«If I were a rich man…» I’d go here more.
I’m gonna climb on my soapbox re Ticketmaster first, so you’ll have to bear with me for the review of the dinner theater.
How is Ticketmaster even still a thing? I remember as a kid watching my older brother pace desperately up and down the hall, phone cord stretching and recoiling, as he cursed at the busy signal while trying to buy U2 tickets from Ticketmaster before the show sold out. Even as a kid I remember thinking it didn’t seem worth the stress. But it was the only option available in those dark, pre-​wifi days.
But with the advent of the Internet I feel like Ticketmaster should have gone the way of Major Video and cassette decks and the Dodo. Yet UTEP still relies on them for events both big and small, like the Dinner Theater. But hey, maybe Ticketmaster has kept up with modern times and made things cheaper and easier than they used to be.
That’s what I told myself as UTEP’s website sent me to Ticketmaster’s website when I tried to buy a couple tickets for Fiddler on the Roof. After much ado and clicking to select the night and seats I wanted, I wound up at the checkout page. Somehow, the two tickets, originally quoted at something like $ 43 a piece, were now costing me over $ 110 after taxes and various service fees. Geez. Interesting math. And to make the gouging even more ludicrous, I then discovered there was no option for electronic/​email tickets or even window pick up. The ONLY options I was given for ticket receipt were various mail options– of which the CHEAPEST option was $ 14 for two week mail. I about fell over. 14 bucks to mail two small pieces of paper LOCALLY, and it might take upwards of two weeks… the show I wanted to see was less than two weeks away.
Had I not already promised a pretty young woman that we were going to this thing, I would have backed out of the whole idea right then and there. I was starting to have to pay a lot of money for a lot of hassle.
I wound up taking time out of my day and gas out of my tank to drive to the UTEP ticketmaster office a couple days later to buy the tickets in person. The depressed/​tired/​hung over? young man behind the glass seemed less than thrilled by my arrival, but he reluctantly put himself into gear and together we plodded through the paces of ticket purchase. In person, the two tickets came out to less than $ 100, so somehow service fees are less if the service is actually provided by a human.
Now, for the dinner theater itself, I rather liked it.
Food: The salad was a bit limp to be honest. And the dinner rolls reminded me of the rolls my grandma used to get at the old folks home. Big on yeast, low on inspiration. That old-​folks home style may have been on purpose though, as I, nearly 40 yrs old, felt very young compared to most of the rest of the audience.
The main course and desert and coffee were all very good though.
The show itself was outstanding! Production quality far exceeded my expectations. That may be because I wasn’t actually expecting anything that great. I was anticipating some sort of semi-​professional college level or community style play (like what I’ve seen at the El Paso Playhouse), but the stage design, lighting, sound, and performances were all well above that level in my opinion. I really had to appreciate the level of spacial awareness the performers had to maintain during some of the crowded dancing scenes… it’s not a huge stage, but everyone moved around flawlessly.
My late grandfather LOVED Fiddler on the Roof. While not Jewish, he related to it in nearly every way. Being of Russian and Ukrainian decent, he was keenly aware of his heritage and TRADITION!, as well as the strife a nearly constant revolutionary climate can cause to a family. Plus he was the father of five daughters. So it was an important story to him, and I’m happy this production did justice to it. Grandpa would have enjoyed it tremendously.
With that said, it was all a very long night. Between dinner and the play, expect to be sitting, perhaps awkwardly depending on where you sat, for the better part of 4 hours. Dinner at 7pm, play started at 8 and ended just short of 11pm. There was one all too brief 15 minute intermission, but don’t expect to get to the bathroom in time unless you manage to sprint ahead of all the old people and get there first.
I don’t intend to visit this place on any sort of regular basis. I can’t afford it, or the hassles with ticketmaster it requires. But if another play arrives that really strikes my fancy I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.

I came here with a date to watch an encore presentation of «Footloose» in November.
Since there are a lot of things that go into a dinner theatre production, I’ll break it down into sections. I’ll start from the bad to the good.
Food: ²⁄₅ stars — I must say, this was the most disappointing part of the night. The food was mediocre at best and the best part of the food was the wine that we bought.
Sound engineering: ²⁄₅ — Also a big disappointment, I believe each member of the cast was mic’ed up and the sound mixer/​engineer should know the lines by this point in the production. Sadly, this was not the case as several lines were inaudible, music was poorly balanced, and the overall sound was pretty bad.
Light Engineering: ⁴⁄₅ — Nothing big here, no huge gaffes or mistakes.
Cast/​acting: ⁴⁄₅ — I had never actually seen the original (or remake) of the Hollywood version of «Footloose» before this performance so I came in with basically no expectations. The cast was full of energy and were obviously talented. Whoever casted the preacher was on point. No huge gaffes or mistakes and the pace of the scenes were executed pretty well. The comedy timing was pretty good as well. I do have to break this down further though.
Singing: ³⁄₅ — While he did try his best, the main actor who played Ren was not a very good singer. He shined most when he had dancing parts, which is understandable to cast a male lead in «Footloose» based on their dancing. Every other part did fairly well in giving their vocal performances but since the male lead is so pivotal to the performance, I have to dock some points here.
Dancing: ⁵⁄₅ — This is where most of the performers, and overall performance shined. Every person knew where to be at the right time and the overall visual aesthetic was very well executed. As I mentioned before, the male lead who played Ren was a really awesome dancer and he shined in his solo moments.
Overal: ³⁄₅ — A mixed bag from really bad to really good. I did enjoy the overall show though but I was expecting a bit more, especially since the cost was a bit pricey.

Came to UTEP dinner theater for the play, «Chess». It is the worst play I have ever seen. I haven’t understood a single word that was“sung” which to me sounded awful. The food was very good but the acoustics in the theater make the voices and music excessively loud.

Just saw Xanadu at the UTEP Dinner theatre. Initially, I thought this was going to be a real chick flick that I would hate. I am not a fan of the original 1980s musical with Olivia Newton John, however I am a fan this rendition. It made fun of the original, yet stayed within the same vein of the original plot line. The cast was flawless and turned it into a comedy musical, not a musical comedy. The food was much better than last time I was there, must be a different catering company, because the wait staff were much more attentive and the food much better. Girls on skates never looked so good, well, except the for the roller derby! Go Chuca Town Chulas!