FAQ
Can I bring my 2 year old to The Dinner Theatre?
Due to the nature of the dinner theatre experience children under the age of 3 are not permitted. Most evenings at the dinner theatre last about 4 hours including dinner and the show and extremely young children and infants would find this an uncomfortable experience. All customers in attendance at a Dinner Theatre performance require a ticket. Some of our shows are marketed to an “adult” audience. It is up to the ticket purchaser to make sure the production they wish to attend is appropriate for their child.
Can I purchase a recording of the show?
Recording or video taping of the shows at The Dinner Theatre is not allowed due to copyright restrictions therefore no videos of our productions are available for purchase.
Is the music Live?
Due to the nature of our “found space” theatre we do not have an orchestra pit like most theatres but rest assured that all of the music in our shows is performed live. For most shows the orchestra is either onstage in full view of the audience or they are in a separate room on the left hand side of the theatre where they are connected to the theatre and stage by a series of sound and video monitors. The next time you attend a show at the UDT and during the curtain call you notice the cast pointing to the wall, they are acknowledging the wonderful contribution these talented musicians in the other room make to a successful performance.
Do you serve alcoholic beverages?
There is a full service cash bar available at all dinner performances serving your favorite mixed drinks, beer, wine and sodas. For matinee performances the bar sells beer, wine, sodas and assorted snacks. The bar opens an hour before each dinner performance and an hour and a half before each no dinner matinee performance.
Can I bring my own bottle of wine to the show?
No outside food or drink are allowed to be brought in to The Dinner Theatre.
Can I make arrangements for a birthday/celebration cake for my guests?
With enough advance notice Sodexo can make arrangements for the purchase of a cake for birthdays and other celebrations. Please call us at (915) 747-6060 for more information.
Do you accept Credit Cards at the bar?
Yes we accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover.
Can I get a doggie bag to take leftover food home with me?
Due to health concerns we do not provide containers for take away.
Are my seats reserved?
When you purchase tickets to a dinner performance the table you buy is reserved but the individual seats at that reserved table are general admission (first come first served).
When you purchase tickets to a no-dinner matinee performance all tables and seats are general admission.
Can I move a chair from one table to another?
Due to space limitations and fire codes we cannot allow extra chairs at tables. All of our tables seat either 2 customers or 4. If you buy 4 tickets at one table and 1 ticket at another you cannot move that 1 extra person to your table of 4. If you purchase 1 ticket at a table and another ticket at another table you will have to sit at the table printed on the ticket as we are unable to move you to sit together.
Do you provide special dietary meals?
We do offer a limited selection of meals that address some dietary restrictions such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and other meals that address food allergies. In order to receive a special meal you must call The Dinner Theatre (915) 747-6060 at least 24 hours prior to the performance you are attending to request a special meal. Please do not call to request a special meal until you have purchased your tickets as we will need to know the table number from your ticket. We cannot guarantee that there will be a special meal available on the night you are attending unless you make arrangements with us a least 24 hours ahead of time. We do not have an extensive list of alternate meals but we will do our best to accommodate your request.
Where is the best/least expensive place to purchase my tickets to The Dinner Theatre?
If you purchase your tickets in person at The UTEP Ticket Center (on Mesa Street in front of the Don Haskins Center) no extra fees are added. If you purchase your tickets over the phone from The UTEP Ticket Center at (915) 747-5234, they will add a $4.00 service fee for the entire order regardless of the number of tickets purchased. If you buy your tickets at Ticketmaster either in person, by phone or over the internet, various Ticketmaster fees are added per ticket.
Can I get a refund or exchange my tickets?
The ticket policy for The Dinner Theatre is as follows:**Sales Timeline**:
- Tickets will be available for purchase first for groups of 20 or more full-price customers, as well as UTEP Faculty, Staff, and Students.
- Single-ticket purchases will be available to the general public one day.
**Sales Indicators**:
- On our website, you will see "Group & UTEP Ticket Sales," which indicates when sales begin for these groups.
- "Public Ticket Sales" will denote the date when individual ticket sales open to the general public. (Please note that all dates are subject to change.)
**Group Ticket Requirements**:
- To qualify for group pricing, you must purchase at least 20 full-price tickets.
- For requests exceeding 100 tickets or if you wish to reserve the entire venue for a specific performance, please call (915)747-6060 to talk about arrangements, available year-round.
**Reason for Policy**:
- This policy is in place to manage the high volume of tickets sold to groups. By selling tickets early, we can determine if additional performances need to be scheduled in advance.
**Refunds and Exchanges**:
- Please be aware that The Dinner Theatre does not offer ticket refunds.
- Tickets may be exchanged at the original point of purchase no less than 7 days before the scheduled performance date. No exchanges will be permitted after this deadline.
- No refunds or exchanges will be available if you cannot attend due to illness or last-minute changes, as the theatre is not responsible for personal circumstances.
- If a performance must be canceled during the first act, you will receive a refund for the show's price minus the meal's cost.
- If cancellation occurs after intermission, tickets cannot be refunded or exchanged.
Where do I park?
Click on this link to be directed to our page showing directions and parking information.
What do I do if I get a parking ticket?
If you have not parked in a 24 hour reserved space or an ADA space (without appropriate permission) you must follow the instructions on the back of the ticket and mail it to the campus police. Make sure you tell them you were attending The Dinner Theatre.
Does The UTEP Dinner Theatre do special performances off campus?
We are not set up to perform our shows outside of our theatre. We also do not have any performing groups available to come to your school or business to perform. However, the Theatre and Dance department (915) 747-5146 and The UTEP Music Department (915) 747-5606 do have several different groups available that are designed to travel to schools and businesses.
Can I rent The Dinner Theatre Facility?
Since we do not have extensive shops for building our scenery we build most of our shows in the theatre itself so when we are between productions the theatre is not available for use by other groups. We do sometimes allow use of our facility during the run of our shows. If you are interested in renting the UDT facility you must first call us (915) 747-6060 to see if the date you want might be available. If it is, you must then make arrangements with The UTEP Union Directors Office (915) 747-5177 to reserve the room and to pay any fees associated with using the facility.
Can I be in your shows?
Auditions for all Dinner Theatre productions are open to all! Please check our website audition page for notices about upcoming auditions. You may also sign up on our mailing list page to receive emailed audition announcements.
Does The Dinner Theatre accept donations of clothing or furniture?
We are very appreciative of our friends who think of us when wanting to donate items. However, we have so little storage space we have to be absolutely sure the items you want to donate are things we can use. If you would like to donate items to the UDT please call us at (915) 747-6060 and we can schedule someone to come out and look over your belongings to see if there are things we can use. If there are, we will make arrangements to pick up or take delivery. If we determine that your donation does not contain items that we will use (or have space to store) we would have to graciously decline.
Can I rent costumes and scenery from The Dinner Theatre?
We do make part of our inventory of sets and costumes available for loan or rent depending on the organization making the request. In any case we would require payment up front and you would be held financially responsible for any theft or damage to our property while in your possession. Please call us for more information.
Can I tip my waiter?
Tipping is not required but any tips left are graciously accepted. You can leave a tip on your table at the end of the evening and we will do our best to get it to your waiter however if you really want your specific waiter to receive your tip we suggest you give it to them before the show begins as they may not return at the end of the show to clean up. You can always ask the house manager to help make sure your tip gets to the right person.
Is there an ATM at The Dinner Theatre?
There is not an ATM in the West Union Building. The closest ATM is on the first floor of the Union East building.
Can my group purchase an entire performance of a show for a special event?
Absolutely! Please click here for information on our group sales.
Are the actors in the show professionals or students?
Auditions for our shows are open to all so the cast you are watching is made up of current and former UTEP students as well as actors from the El Paso/Las Cruces communities and local high school students. Some of our actors have been with us for many years starting as students and continuing to appear in our shows long after they have graduated. We still have some actors appearing in our shows today who were in the original cast of our first production in 1983!
When is The Dinner Theatre going to do HAMILTON or THE LION KING?
We always try to bring our audience the latest and biggest hit Broadway musicals as soon as possible however we are only able to stage shows that have been released for performances at Universities by the copyright owners. Sometimes performance rights are released just a year or so after a production closes on Broadway but in other cases it takes years for the rights to become available. Our best guess for The Dinner Theatre premiere of HAMILTON is March of 2033 for our 50th Anniversary ;-)
