The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theater & Children’s Theatre

We saw the Spelling Bee show tonight and it was amazing. The actors were hilarious and did an incredible job. I would give 5 stars for the performance and zero stars for the food. It was a few steps down from hospital food, and that is not an exaggeration. For $ 50/​ticket, you would think the food would be at least okay. It was beyond awful. Go see the show, but eat beforehand.

I am here from California and was able to celebrate Spring and an early Passover experience at Way off Broadway. The afternoon presentation was good. The actors used the small stage quite well. Scene changes were accomplished seamlessly. I have seen the play so many times I could step in and probably play any part but these actors survived and thrived in their performances. I loved the tailor. Loved the tailor.
There was plenty of food on the buffet and service went fast. I am not a big fan of buffets and for whatever reason was surprised to see ham. Funny isn’t it-​the things that we notice?
The show should not be missed. Nice venue. Good parking. What a fun afternoon.

I think some of the negative reviewers need to realize that this is a small/​local theatre group and not a food destination. I cannot imagine reviewing a dinner theatre without discussing the actual theatre part of the experience! This was my first trip to WOB and we saw Fiddler on the Roof. I was amazed at the performance! The sound was good (except for the one cell phone user who forgot to turn off their ringer!) and the performers were really impressive. I had no idea what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. The actors also are the servers, bartenders, etc. It is a small venue, which I really liked. Way to go WOB! So much fun and you really have some amazing talent.

Great acting and singing. The talent is great. We are subscribers so we have been coming for several years. The food isn’t fabulous but it usually is decent, but w e don’t come for the food, we come for the show! Some of our favorites have been «drowsy chaperone,» «phantom of the opera,» «les miserables,» and «Jekyll and Hyde.» Very enjoyable shows with high quality talent and by being a subscriber you get fabulous seating. Love our nights there!

My wife and I usually go to Toby’s in Columbia, but decided to try Way Off Broadway as it is a lot closer. We had never even heard of it and I took her for her birthday. We saw the very last show of «Singing in the Rain». I am going to compare to Toby’s so you can see the difference. We paid $ 94 for 2 tickets for Way Off Broadway, where Toby’s is more but so much more worth it. At Toby’s for a Saturday show it is $ 18 more for a couple.
The good: Getting to it is very easy and there is more than enough parking. It is basically a store front in a small shopping center. Getting in is easy, and they are organized getting you seated. The staff and actors are very friendly and will try to accommodate you in every way possible.
The bad: First, the food is very bland. Unlike Toby’s, who has a full salad bar, here you simply get a basic house salad or a Caesar salad. The buffet is very limited and you will need to salt and pepper just about everything for it to even taste good. One of our choices was ham that was pre-​sliced just sitting in water. Toby’s has someone there hand carving roast beef or ham. The deserts were outstanding, but they also bring it right after you have eaten and are full. Toby’s brings it after the first act when they are refilling your coffee.
The stage setup is basically what you would expect going to a high school play. It is literally just a standard stage. The sound system seems average at best, and if you are sitting further back, sometimes you can’t hear the actors speak when they are playing sound at the same time. The lighting is average at best and really is limited due to the store front setup. At Toby’s, there are levels of seating so it is much easier to see the play. The seats surround the stage, which is floor level, so it is basically in the center of a full circle of seating. At Way Off Broadway, it was probably close to 80 degrees with limited air flow. I caught myself starting to doze off 3 times and couldn’t wait until intermission to get outside.
The actors are clearly a mixture of very good to just simply average, and it showed. The lead actor barely could tap dance and sing for being a lead.
All in all, it isn’t a «bad» evening if you live in the Frederick area and want to get out. However, you are going to have a much much better time if you actually go to Toby’s.

I just got back from attending «Tilly the Trickster» with my daughter and son-​in-​law and my two grandchildren, 3 and 6. We went to the Sunday matinée and had a good time. The lunches aren’t great, a bit on the small size for adults, but the kids were happy with their hotdogs, and we had the pizzas. Next time I’ll probably make sure we have a late, and large breakfast, but the important thing is that there will be a next time. Peter Pan is next on their schedule and both of the kids are really looking forward to going. What grandparent could say no?

The menu for children are Peanut Butter & Jelly, Hot Dog, Cheese Pizza. What does a child do when they are allergic to peanuts or all nuts? (Do they have a jar of soy butter or cashew butter or nutella? No.) What do they do when they are not eating hot dogs for the known bi products and undesirable ingredients which may have parents only allow children to eat tofu hot dogs? (My daughter’s school switched to Tofu hot dogs and taught the children of the chemicals and unwanted body parts such as pig anus that hot dogs are made of to educate them to eat something better quality like a tofu hot dog. And hot dogs have been linked to cause cancer. Which worked and most of her class never want to eat another meat bi product hot dog.) And what about those children who have issues with the cheese on pizza? Ever have those kids who vomit from the chewy cheese? I hope she outgrows this one day. And what about the kids who are allergic to gluten and can’t eat the food offered?
Well this is the only options and when I asked the owners if they would consider adding a additional healthy option… they said they did not want my child to come to the theater. Wow. I even asked if I could pack from home and purchase a more expensive meal from the adult menu. They reassured this was there menu from 15 years ago. Has any other parent of family member noticed that we learned about foods and have been trying to improve the quality of food we feed our children in the past 15 years? The Doctors tell us this. We as parents avoid fast food and artificial ingredients. I just expected a classy theater to see this need for alternative foods and make moderations for the customer base who cared.
Try feeding the adults this kids menu and see if any of them complain of the limited menu. Was I expecting too much to ask that the food the children consume matter to these business owners and that they promote healthy eating? This in itself is very disappointing that a local business can’t consider change from a 15 year old menu.
I think the owners were so satisfied with there old menu and unless they notice how limited this menu is, they don’t see why to improve it. Hope other adults ask them to make moderation for the well being of the children. They have an opportunity to set a standard for healthy eating. I’d rather pay $ 5-​$ 10 more per child to have a quality menu.

An Empire Christmas, O What Fun, Christmas Dinner with Christmas Music, and cute story. The food was good, Turkey, Ham, and trimmings buffet was very yummy. Fresh bread with applebutter, and cottage cheese (It’s a southern thing) Iced tea and coffee came with the meal. Boooooooo the salad was pre-​made and the onion was very strong. The play was just GREAT, The service was wonderful. I enjoyed every second of my evening. (The charis are hard, but I did not notice until almost the end. If you are looking for something fun; GO you won’t be disappointed.

This my home away from home, my family without my family. I’ve seen shows here, had the unique opportunity to work here, and I would do it all again.
This is a gem on the Golden Mile.

We went to see the Three Little Pigs and Pinkalicious, and had a blast. The shows had a good pace for kids, and the food was kid-​friendly. The price is right too.
I’d like to see them offer a salad for the moms, and lids for the cups :)
Honestly, those are the only recommendations I have. The actors serve you in costume, which the kids LOVE! I laughed harder than I had in a while when we watched the «Buzz Off» scene in Pink.
Keep it up WOB!

This was a very nice outing and something here in the future we would definitely consider doing again! We saw the musical CHICAGO, and most, if not all, productions here listed on the calendar are musicals (not «drama»).
The wait-​staff was also the cast. Overall, the talent seems to be hardworking, fun-​loving, locals that are here for their passion for acting. Most are young (20s) and aspiring. A few seem to be settled in the community based on bio.
This is a small «venue» located in an obscure corner of a strip shopping plaza. But, there is no bad seat in the house, just four rows of tables (five if maxed out). Less than 100 capacity. Seating seems based on when your reservation was made. When I called, they said it was half sold out. We had unobstructed view in row 3.
Dinner buffet is posted on their web site. Three entrees that evening were lemon-​pepper baked fish, roast pork and gravy (delicious!) and chicken with onions and peppers (baked). Also, brown rice, roasted potatoes, green beans, veggie mix (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots), cinnamon apples.
Price of tickets is in the 40s per person, depending on day of week. 15% (suggested) gratuity on total ticket (meal and theater) is suggested bc wait staff is cast and that is their primary income source (tips). Drinks (other than coffee/​tea) are extra, but moderately priced.