EXPERIENCE
DERBY DINNER PLAYHOUSE
Derby Dinner Does It Right
BY JD DOTSON | PHOTOS BY CHRISTIAN WATSON & JD DOTSON
OPEN FOR NEARLY 45 YEARS, Derby Dinner
Playhouse remains the only dinner theater of its
type in the Louisville/Southern Indiana region.
The theater in the round setup immerses the
audience in the action. There is not a bad seat in
the house, with actors entering and exiting the
centrally-located stage through the audience.
The shows range from huge Broadway mega-hits
to children’s programming, holiday favorites and
22 EXTOL : APRIL/MAY 2018
lighthearted comedies and musical acts.
I recently had the great pleasure of seeing
“Mamma Mia!” this season, a musical set to the
infectious music of Abba and was completely
amazed at what a brilliant production I witnessed.
The music and dancing had me singing along and
tapping my feet the whole time. Some of those
Abba songs are still stuck in my head.
I brought my hubby along, and we started out
with dinner, which is served buffet style with a
salad bar. I felt it was my duty to try everything for
the sake of being thorough. My spinach salad was
fresh and delicious, and the salad bar was loaded
with toppings as well as broccoli and tomato/
cucumber salads. I have a strict rule to not fill up
on salad when a buffet is involved but made an
exception for the sake of journalism. The buffet
was equally delightful on my second trip. Fried