Candlelight Dinner Playhouse

This little gem hiding out behind the RV complex is our favorite place to dinner theater. If you compare it to A Broadway play, you are not playing fair, but from our first visit years ago, where we were pleasantly surprised about everything, too our last visit for Hello Dolly, we have cherished our visits there. My elder Mom so loves the flash and the music that I am buying 3 season tickets today. The food is wonderful especially for dinner theater, with its rapid pace of serving and necessity of moving things along, and the waiters being the men and women in the play. And such an intimate, small town feel! Thank you Candlelight for being our go-​to oasis!

I would say come for the show and not the food. We saw «Into the Woods» with Debbie Boone as the witch. The show itself was good, although it felt like the second half kind of dragged a bit. The theater itself is rather elegantly appointed, and every table has a good view of the stage. The servers are actors in the show, and are very cordial and attentive. The musical score, stage background and props, and singing and acting were very good, and we definitely enjoyed that. The food was okay, definitely edible, but not very memorable. It kind of reminded me of cafeteria food. All in all, however, it was a very pleasant way to spend an evening.

What a blast! What a cast! Hello Dolly is a must see!

This theater itself is very nice. I went during the holiday season for A Christmas Carol and had a really good time. There was a Christmas tree and lots of lights and wreaths for the holidays. (Yay!)
The show itself was very fun. Great vocals and acting! The orchestra pit was okay … I did see the conductor playing the trombone and directing the pit and stage at the same time though, and found that to be impressive!
The food was okay … I had the Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie and found it a little salty, and the sides were crusty. (Which means they probably microwaved the dish?!) Either way, the dish was okay, not great.
The cocktail shrimp appetizer, on the other hand, was really tasty, but expensive! ($ 9 for six lousy pieces of shrimp.)
The dessert was extremely rich and sweet. I had some kind of a pudding dessert, which came in a cup.
I will say, though, that I had a lot of fun because of the person I went with, so thanks for the opportunity for me to spend time with my special someone, Candlelight!

The production was well done but orchestra out of tune. Saw West Side Story. The male lead was not believable as Tony… Too clean cut! Maria was lovely with beautiful voice and Anita was well done.
The 2 stars is for the food. Cheapskate food. Salad small and iceberg, instant potatoes, frozen mixed veggies and meat was small portioned. Honestly… The food was billed as ¹⁄₃ of the cost of our ticket which is ludicrous. The dinner was maybe $ 4 worth of food. Not that great and detracts from the evening. There were 5 options… Chicken fried chix, arrozopollo, tomato soup, tuna casserole, a green salad. U can upgrade to 3 other entrees & were &13−14 more but those were not promising to us. Appetizers and desserts are small portions and extra$. We will not return unless to see show from balcony where u are not insulted with such bad food for too much $$. Mr Clark, u should be ashamed.

Absolutely looking forward to the next time we can return to the playhouse! Outstanding experience overall!
My husband and I got tickets for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. We arrived early and they couldn’t find our ticket. I had booked tickets for the week before! :(ah! The embarrassment! Anyway, they resolved my little number in a matter of 5 minutes (since we didn’t show up for the booked play). I was amazed at their courtesy, they didn’t even up charge us for the mistake.
There was a large crowd waiting to be seated in the lobby but when it was time for the dinner to beggin, the Candlelight team escorted all the guests to our assigned tables in a heart beat. The tables were beautiful and clean, well decorated, and the menus easy to read.
The waiting staff also happen to be the actors in the play so you see them running around in their persona during the intermission, serving desserts and coffee.
I was a bit disappointed with the food, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great. Compared to the rest of the experience it was okay. I do understand they serve a very large crowd in a fast orderly manner, so that’s why they’re keeping their five stars.
Overall it was an amazing night and I would recommend this experience to everyone.

The food was terrible and the performance was sub par.

Three stars because the show is always good but the food sometimes borders on downright terrible. We have been many times and frankly, we are considering never going for dinner again, just for the show. When you figure how much you pay for just the main course of dinner, it would be worth your while and cheaper to have dinner at a restaurant and show up for curtain. The food is mass produced and poorly executed. Dry, poor presentation, boring = dinner at this dinner theater. The desserts are good but not included in the ticket price.
So good job on the shows, but you need to step it up with the main course.

I have gone here to three productions in which we only bough for watching the show from the
has been a delightful time each play. We hope to go for the dinner also someday. and sit downstairs.

Last night we made our first trek up to the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse. In short, we had a very enjoyable experience. Here are the highlights:
The drive? Not bad at all — 50 minutes from Golden without traffic; longer, of course, if you’re dealing with rush hour or with bad weather. Take I-​25 north, exit at Johnson’s Corner, take the first right at the bottom of the exit ramp followed by the first left off of the frontage road and you’re there. Unless you want a cinnamon roll at Johnson’s Corner as an appetizer, in which case you turn left at the bottom of the exit ramp rather than right.
The facility? Large and lovely. I read somewhere that it seats 400. It is tiered from the stage to the back of the theater, so every table provides good seating and clear views of the stage. The aisles are wide and there’s plenty of room between tables — the design has thoughtfully avoided the sardine can feel of many dinner theaters. There is a balcony with theater seating for those that choose theater only without the dinner. The overall feel of the facility is fairly upscale.
The stage? Large — wide, deep and high — able to accommodate almost anything you would want to do with staging, props and sets.
The service? Terrific. The general organization and service flow is remarkable. They’re surprisingly efficient in seating a few hundred people. Then, you have 3 wait staff — a food server, beverage server and bus person. The food servers and beverage servers are also performers (RIP Country Dinner Playhouse and Barnstormers). All were very cordial and attentive.
The food? Plenty good enough to probably pretty good. I’m really not an ambiguous person — allow me to explain. Dinner and show ($ 59.50) comes with bread, soup or salad, and your choice of four seasonal entrees (last night these were honey glazed ham loaf, roasted chicken, Manhattan fish chowder, and roasted acorn squash as a vegetarian option). You have the option of upgrading to prime rib ($ 14), braised short ribs ($ 11), or shrimp and lobster pie ($ 12). Appetizers, desserts, and all beverages are also extra. Desserts are ordered with dinner but served at intermission. We wanted to try the basic options so didn’t upgrade — we all had the roasted chicken (served with green bean casserole, wild rice and cranberry relish). It wasn’t award-​winning, but it is a perfectly fine option for those understandably wanting to keep the total cost of the evening down.
More about the service? The servers understandably would like to up-​sell the premium entrees, desserts and beverages. They make you aware and pleasantly encourage you to consider these options, but they’re definitely not pushy and we received the same excellent service with the basics. One bill is brought to you at intermission that covers all of your food and beverage extras, you settle up during the last act, and you’re ready to go at the conclusion of the show.
The show? I saved this for last since this will vary over the course of the year. They run around 7 shows a year along with some concerts, and are currently in their seventh year of operation. We saw Miracle on 34^th Street. The basic story is the same as the movie, but there are definitely differences in the musical stage version. The quality of the acting and production was variable, but generally good. We’ve definitely seen more professional productions in local theater, but it was still enjoyable and we enjoyed a very pleasant evening. There is a live orchestra which is also a plus.
The bottom line? We will be back. Beautiful facility, remarkably well-​orchestrated service, good enough food (probably better if you’re willing to upgrade), and a fun production. Not inexpensive but prices are fair — for all that you get, the value is there even if you choose not to upgrade. Folks that enjoy dinner theater should try Candlelight at least once. It’s similar in some ways but different in more ways from any other dinner theater I’ve attended, and for the most part, I like the differences.

Wow. First class all the way around. I decided to take my daughter here as she is extremely interested in singing and acting. We had a front row table and she was beyond excited. Here are my observations:
Layout: awesome. Doesn’t seem to be a bad view in the house.
Waitstaff: incredible friendly and punctual. My daughter loved that the waitstaff is also part of the show. Adds more «wow» factor.
Food: not the most gourmet, but decent with adequate portions.
Drinks: decent wine list, but you’re much better off buying a bottle for the prices. Itty bitty glasses!
Show: fantastic! Captivating from beginning to end. Talented and passionate actors.
We will definitely be back for another show. Thanks candlelight!

We have season tickets and enjoy going to each and every play. The acting is wonderful and it is great to have a theater closer to home! The food is very good compared to other theaters we have been to. It does get pricey if you upgrade but it is a treat for us every 3 months! She Love Me was a great play and one we haven’t seen before. Looking forward to the next one!

The acting is alright, the food borders on poor. The seating is crowded.

When my dad was giving me directions on how to get to Candlelight he said, «get off at Johnson’s Corner and it’s back behind the RV park.» Ok, typically directions like that do not end up well. I was pleasantly surprised by the layout of Candlelight. You’d never know you were just off the highway behind an RV park. The tables are tiered so you can see the stage clearly while you are eating. The stage, acoustics, etc. are all decent. It’s a pretty nice place.
So why only 3 stars? Well, first, the food was not that great. Tickets are not cheap (but keep in mind they do include dinner), but then food options without an additional surcharge are not plentiful. I opted for the prime rib, which was an extra $ 13. Then my prime rib was not cooked medium as I had ordered it; it was closer to medium rare. I was hungry so I didn’t complain. I also opted for a glass of wine (not included in ticket price) and piece of salted caramel crunch cake (also not included in ticket price). The cake was disappointing to say the least. Dry and flavorless. I ate the frosting off the side and a bit of the filling and then stopped because it was so not worth the calories. Second, the bathrooms. While the ladies room was very nice and it was certainly kept clean, it was poorly designed. The stall doors swing in and just barely miss the toilet doing so. This means you have to stand to the side of the toilet to open/​close the door and there’s not much room there. I banged my knee trying to get out of the stall.
Along with theater, they also have concerts at times. I went for a big band jazz concert, so I cannot speak to the quality of the acting at the shows. And, given that I live in Denver, I doubt I would ever be up here for a show (DCPA is so much closer!). But, I did enjoy hearing the band. And, quite a few people even got up and danced on their brand new dance floor.

Attended The Gatlin Brothers Christmas Show last night. Our party had several different entrees and everyone was happy with their meal. Service was good and the servers (mostly performers from their stage shows) were friendly and very competent. Enjoyed seeing The Gatlins who always put on a terrific show!

We loved this playhouse! My fiancé and I went with two friends for a Sunday afternoon showing of Oklahoma!
Dinner (lunch, really) was served around 12:30p. The service was great, and the food was fantastic. My fiancé had the prime rib (he shared with me, and it was delicious), and I had southwestern shrimp scampi, which was also very good. The portions were generous. Dessert and more drinks were served at intermission, which was perfect timing.
The show was also phenomenal — I was very impressed with the cast talent, and the lighting and acoustics were great.
I wish they changed shows more often so we could return sooner — the next new show won’t start for another 3 ½ months, so we will have to wait until then to go back. And we definitely will go back!

Fair warning if you buy your tickets via groupon be sure to redeem them before the expiration date. Per the playhouse management there is zero tolerance policy.
The office is closed Sunday and Monday so if it expires on sunday and call in on Tuesday when they are open you are screwed. Pretty sad that a small local operation has a worse experience than some of the mega sized corporations.

I was very impressed.
Rating a dinner theater comes in two parts: The show and the food.
The show was very well done, with very nice costuming, set, lighting and production. The actors were great, talented and well casted. The singing (it was a musical) was energetic, fun, and entertaining. I had seen the same show perfomed elsewhere, but they definitely added their own bits of flare, and it was one of the best performances of that show that I have seen.
The food was ok. We went with the options that were included with the ticket price, although they also had upgradable options as well. The upgrades seemed a bit pricy, but the standard options all were moderately proportioned and pretty delicious.
Dessert was dissapointing however. It was a bit pricey (its not included with the ticket), and mostly generic. We got a variety of things, and some were good, but others were just very average.
The dinner service was very nice (service is done by the actors and crew), so they were very nice and very attentive. We tipped well.
Overall, it was a very good experience, and I would definitely go back.

I found this place by accident while looking for a nice place to take my wife for our 9^th Wedding Anniversary. Westword had a link to it and I checked out the web site. From the looks of the web site (very professional) and other links on the ‘net, I decided to buy a pair of tickets to the show.
The doors were open when we arrived at 5:30. Patrons aren’t seated until 6 though so the early arrivers collected their tickets and stood around chatting. The playhouse advertises «Colorado Casual» however most folks were dressed up. There were a few of us that did dress more comfortably and we didn’t feel out of place.
The playhouse holds almost 400 people and it quite large. The seating is tiered so you’re not looking at the back of someones head. There are very few tables for two so unless you’re coming with a large party, you’ll be sharing your table with a stranger or two. We had a very nice dinner and conversation with Jim and Judy from Greeley so no complaint there. One issue with the seating is during the show itself. Dining chairs are fine for dining but they were a bit uncomfortable for the show. It didn’t detract from the show much but we were a little stiff after sitting in them for 3 ½ hours.
As the name says, this is a dinner playhouse. For the price of a ticket, you get a small selection of dinners and a soup or salad. For a little extra, you can get appetizers, upgrade dinner, and order dessert.
I ordered the soup of the day (potato soup) and Beouf Wellington. The soup was very tasty with pieces of bacon. The main course also included green beans which were crisp and flavorful. The Beouf Wellington was a mixture of beef tips (which were a little tough), potatoes, onions, and mushrooms in a sauce. While not bad, it was only missing some carrots to be a hearty beef stew :) My wife had the Ratatouille which she seemed to like along with the soup.
Dessert is ordered after your meal but served during intermission which really was a good time for it. I ordered the fruit tart with lemon curd mangos, and strawberries. When it arrived during intermission, it was more of a slice of thin pie. It was about a half inch or so deep including crust. There were small slices of strawberries laid out on the slice along with a twist of lemon and two raspberries covered with a little bit of topping. In general it wasn’t bad also if a little tangy. My wife ordered the Marzipan Cheesecake. It was much much larger in comparison being the size of a slice of layer cake. The cheesecake itself was whipped and not the solid cheesecake you’d expect. She shared a bite with me. It was ok but I’m really a fan of the solid cheesecake with cherries so I may not be the best judge.
One note about dinner. The food was moderately proportioned. You didn’t get so much food that you felt like you’d eaten a water buffalo. So when they asked if you wanted dessert, most people around us seemed to order it. Personally I appreciate a more moderate portion. I tend to eat what’s in front of me so giving me a «hungry man» portion will guarantee I won’t be eating dessert.
As the show started, I found that the volume level was just about perfect. After going to concerts and clubs, coming to the playhouse had me realize that loudness really doesn’t equal good (not that I didn’t know that before of course :)). The orchestra was just the right size for the theater and provided accent music throughout the show that didn’t overwhelm but actually enhanced the performance.
The actors in the show are also the waitstaff. It was interesting to watch the first half of the show and then find one of the actors serving you dessert still in costume :)
This isn’t a review of the play but of the playhouse. Remember that the play is a part of the entire show. Without the extra gear, the show will not do well no matter how good the actors. The props used were perfect for the show (Phantom) which I’d expect but they were also well made and didn’t seem to be something used from a different play. The acoustics were very good. We were back near the balcony and could hear the show without a problem. The lights were just right and accented the show well. So the sound and lights man did a fine job.
I plan on going again with my wife. It’s not something we’d do on a weekly basis but certainly to celebrate events or to take out of town friends and family to.