The Alhambra Theatre & Dining in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, is the oldest continuously-running professional

dinner theater Dinner theater (sometimes called dinner and a show) is a form of entertainment that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play or musical. "Dinner and a show" can also refer to a restaurant meal in combination with live concert music, where pat ...

in the United States,Capitano, Laur

Florida Times-Union, May 2, 2008, "For dinner and a show, why not head to the Alhambra?" and the only professional resident theatre in Northeast Florida.

History

The Alhambra was built by Jacksonville businessman Leon Simon in 1967 and purchased by Tod Booth, Sr. in 1984. Booth moved to Jacksonville from Chicago, where he worked as artistic director for the Drury Lane Theatre (Illinois), Drury Lane Theaters. His family has frequently been involved, with daughter Jessica Booth and wife Lisa Valdini appearing in a number of shows and son Tod Jr. contributing in various aspects, including acting, directing and stage managing of the dinner theatre before becoming general manager and director of the Alhambra's Children's Theatre. As with other dinner theaters of the 1970s, Alhambra initially relied on the appeal of former stars of film, television and music to attract customers. Alhambra's first such headliner was in ''

Barefoot in the Park ''Barefoot in the Park'' is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The play premiered on Broadway in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. It was made into a film in 1967, which starred Redford and Jane Fonda. Productions ''Barefoot ...

'' in 1969, which featured former ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells. It aired for thr ...

'' costar

Dawn Wells Dawn Elberta Wells (October 18, 1938 – December 30, 2020) was an American actress known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. Early life Wells was born to Evelyn (née Steinbrenner) and Joe Wesley Wells ...

. Stars earned weekly pay between $1,500 and $5,000 for six to eight weeks as well as being able to enjoy the weather and amenities in Florida. According to Booth, "When their careers cooled, a star could learn a show and take it on the dinner theater circuit. That one show could be a meal ticket for a year or two." Other celebrities, including soap opera cast members, hosts from TV game shows, and

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

Centerfold The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched magazines (as opp ...

gals appeared in productions. In the early 1980s, however, it became difficult to hire former big names to act in dinner theatre. Booth explained: "They could make more in a day doing a commercial than they could make during the entire run of dinner theater show, and they didn't have to travel. Plus, a lot of the stars just started dying off." As a result, few of the performers had familiar names, but all were professionals, most with extensive experience on stage, in movies and TV. The show itself was promoted, rather than the headliner.

Notable appearances

Since the 1970s, over 100 stars have graced the Alhambra stage: The theatre features three-course served dinners and a full bar service. The bar hosts patrons who arrive early for happy hour. The facility uses a

Thrust stage In theatre, a thrust stage (also known as a platform stage or open stage) is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its upstage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between performe ...

to give all 408 seats an excellent view. Several staff members have been at the venue for over 25 years.

Brief closure

On August 31, 2009, the Alhambra Dinner Theatre suspended operations, citing the effect of the

Late-2000s recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...

on attendance and expenses. The sale of the theatre to ''Theatre Partners'', a group of local investors, was announced on October 28, 2009.Coleman, Matt
"A revived Alhambra Dinner Theatre ends short-lived hiatus"
Florida Times-Union, November 8, 2009 The group stated that operations would resume December 1, 2009, with Christmas Carole, which has been a fixture in Jacksonville for more than 20 years. Former owner Tod Booth agreed to direct the shows, which were the primary attraction. The food was placed under the direction of DeJuan Roy, a popular local restaurateur, who has changed the menu with each show; table service replaced the buffet style of serving. The building's decor has been spruced up with new flooring, fixtures, paint and table place settings. The new ownership group hosted a free outdoor dinner show on November 7, 2009, to celebrate the revival of the local theatre landmark. Chef Medure cooked on a grill and performers entertained with classic show tunes. It was announced that the first show for the 2010 Season would be

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, th ...

beginning December 30, 2009.

Actors' Equity Association Do Not Work Order

The Alhambra Dinner Theatre is currently on the

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a boo ...

's Do Not Work listActors Equity Association Do Not Work List - Alhambra Dinner Theatre under Eastern Region
/ref> meaning that members of AEA are not permitted to work on any production produced or performed at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre under penalty of suspension or permanent expulsion not only from AEA but from the unions affiliated with the

Associated Actors and Artistes of America The Associated Actors and Artistes of America (4As), established in 1919, is the federation of trade unions for performing artists in the United States. Gary M. Fink, ed. ''Labor unions'' (Greenwood, 1977) pp. 3-4. The union was established b ...

known as the 4As unions which includes

SAG-AFTRA The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA, stylized as SAG·AFTRA ) is an American labor union representing approximately 160,000 film and television actors, journalists, radio personalities, record ...

American Guild of Musical Artists The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) is the labor union of singers, dancers, and staging staff in opera, ballet and concert dance, and concert choral performance in the United States. A national union with a membership of over 6,000 arti ...

American Guild of Variety Artists The American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) is an American entertainment union representing performers in variety entertainment, including circuses, Las Vegas showrooms and cabarets, comedy showcases, dance revues, magic shows, theme park shows, ...

and the

Guild of Italian American Actors The Guild of Italian American Actors (GIAA) was founded in 1937 as the Italian Actors Union (IAU) to protect the rights of Italian-American actors in Italian-language theater and was reinvented as GIAA, the Guild of Italian American Actors by then- ...

References

External links