By Bronwen K. Bradshaw 

Features Writer 

Photo credit: The Barn Dinner Theatre 

My parents’ love story began right here in Greensboro. They met while performing in A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline at the Barn Dinner Theatre, which is still a destination for all theatre lovers. Since both my parents were actors, the theatre absorbed me into its world and quickly became a second home. I remember humming songs from Motown: The Musical and Band of Angels like it was yesterday. 

The Barn Dinner Theatre is one of many dinner theatres Conley Jones, Sr., and Howard D. Wolfe established in the 1960s. Cast members rehearsed at Wolfe’s New York City studio, then traveled to Greensboro or other cities to perform. The cast worked as wait staff before the shows and lived in rooms above the theatre during the show’s run. That arrangement no longer exists, and the rooms are now the Barn Dinner Theatre’s box office, dressing rooms, and green rooms for the cast and crew.  

The theatre’s halls and lobby have posters depicting an array of productions performed since its opening. The performance space features a square stage that raises and lowers on a hydraulic lift and three levels of seating. Unlike traditional theatres with audiences sitting on only one side of the stage, the Barn Dinner Theatre has seating on all four sides, so the audience fully surrounds the actors. This arrangement makes the performances much more interactive, as the actors must constantly move around to ensure they engage the entire audience. 

The theatre also provides a Southern buffet-style dining experience that is too good to miss, featuring mouth-watering fried okra, an all-you-can-eat salad bar, and their signature roast beef and smoked ham. The Greensboro location is the chain’s last remaining original theatre, and the Barn Dinner Theatre bills it as America’s longest continuously-running dinner theatre.  

My father, Matthew Bradshaw, is the theatre’s technical director, and he continues to direct and star in many of its productions. I recently asked him what he loves most about the Barn Dinner Theatre. 

“The Barn has been good to me the last 25 years. It allows me to be creative with each production I put on, and the community and people I work with are the highlights for me. I’ve met people from all walks of life at this job and owe a lot to the theatre. I have seen it change over the years, but its charisma and hospitality have remained the same.” 

Currently, the theatre is showcasing a production of Secondary Cause of Death, Peter Gordon’s comedy murder mystery sequel to his Murdered to Death. The play features returning characters Inspector Pratt and Colonel Charles Craddock, who have recently renovated Bagshot House into “a hotel for the discerning visitor.” Unfortunately, the hotel’s opening does not go smoothly, and the lethal shenanigans that follow are a wild ride. If you want to know what happens, you can book your ticket and see the show!