conklin's barn ii dinner theatre

conklin's barn ii dinner theatre印象

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  beerlover78

  Normally New Year's plans are such a bust; and we just love staying in and cooking something fabulous and having some drinks. But a week leading up to New Year's I thought it would be fun to do something different. I always see little ads in the Pantagraph for the Barn II and I always think, 'gee, I'd really like to go to that sometime'. And then I proceed to completely forget about it until I see another ad for it. This time I saw they were doing a show for New Year's, so I gave them a call to see if tickets were still available. The woman who answered the phone was very informative, and I needed to prepay since it was New Year's. Normally it costs around $35, but for NYE it was like $62 a person. It included the buffet, entertainment, balloon drop and favors and midnight. And the place is BYOB! So I reserved a couple of seats. We drove to Goodfield on NYE, and the barn is on the property of a neat old farmhouse and several outbuildings. We were greeted at the box office right inside the door and then escorted to our seats, at a table of 8 in the second row. I knew we would probably be spending the night with many couples over 60 and I was right! Everyone at our table was nice, jovial, and fun. The waitress got our drink (choice of water, tea, coffee; soda is $1) and salad dressing order and promptly brought them out. Bread was on the table already for us, along with whipped butter and a garlic cheese spread and basket of crackers. Soup was also served. The buffet had fried chicken, turkey cranberry and stuffing casserole, pasta with shrimp, yams, baked potatoes, steamed vegetable and prime rib with au jus and horseradish cream sauce. Food was typical buffet fare, prime rib was a bit overcooked, but overall I was pretty happy with it. You then got your choice of dessert, which was cheesecake, carrot cake, coconut cream, or chocolate mousse. The show started with a warm up from a comedian telling lame jokes, but he did get a few chuckles out of me. And the show was a holiday revue, consisting of a few skits and many holiday songs. It was great! And our waitress was in the show, and during breaks would come refill our drinks. The show was over about 5 minutes to midnight, and the entire room counted down and was given favors and noisemakers, etc. Overall we had a great time and would love to do it again, it really is a nice escape from the usual bar/restaurant/comedy show, and a great value as well. Highly recommend it!

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  roadtrippersx2Chicao

  Show and buffet dinner. Local troupe is pretty good. Food could be better. Overall enjoyable for the price.

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  Case62656

  We have been going here for years. The food is buffet and tasty. Plenty to eat. The cast of the live play are the servers and very fun and up folks. The plays are always funny and enjoyable. I have never attended a bad play and wished i had stayed home. So go and enjoy. Do get reservations as they do sell out.

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  karenm696

  We had a great time. The actors also act as your waiters before the play. The food was very good and the atmosphere was very inviting.

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  anna_chronistic

  The buffet is fine - not haute cuisine but filling and generally good, with a couple of real high points. Coffee, iced tea and water are included, soda is extra, and it's BYOB. I don't drink, so it makes no difference to me. Desserts are just OK. Standard offerings are coconut cream pie, carrot cake, cherry "cheesecake" (the stuff you can make from a boxed mix), and a chocolate mousse layered dessert. The buffet offerings differ depending on whether you attend a Thurs-Sat show or the Sunday matinee. I enjoy the cinnamon roll at each place setting at the matinee, but the garlicky cheese spread and crackers on the table during the other shows is pretty addictive. The regular cast is a lot of fun, and the more often I attend, the more I like them. I just attended the holiday show, which they change each year. I enjoyed it thoroughly, just as I always enjoy the holiday show. I tend to prefer the musicals over the straight-up comedies. It's fun to see which performer we get as a waiter/waitress each time. It's always a fun night out, and everyone is friendly. Go often enough and you'll start to recognize the regulars in the audience. It's true the demographic tends toward the older side, but that means you won't have to see a bunch of people texting during the show. Everyone's attention is on the stage!

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  alicem455

  I fist saw the Conklin theatre group in the early 1970's at a hotel in Bloomington IL. When they moved to the big old barn in Goodfield I went often They did a marvelous job turning the barn into a dinner theatre. It was always so much fun having the actors serve you during dinner before the show. It was a hard job for them but it made me feel like I really a part of the whole experience. I moved to the Chicago area in the late 70's. We went w few times when I came back to visit relatives but eventually we stopped going to the theatre as my parents were aging and it was a a hours trip. My Mom now lives in Peoria and my fiend lives in Washington. When I was visiting my friend took me back to the Barn II last year. This year my Mom was feeling well so I took her there for Mothers Day brunch. She loved it. My Spousal equivalent had never been there and he really enjoyed it. The food is good. The acting is. Rey good. I see many plays in Chicago and it think the acting at the Barn II is quality acting. I encourage everyone in central IL or who is visiting there to give it a try. They do comedies so even the person who doesn't like heavy theatre should enjoy themselves. Take friends, take family, get tickets and go. Prices are good and if you have people who jVe trouble walking just let them know you need to sit on the first floor.

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  Kolimpia

  Whilst we were staying in Bloomington with friends, we were taken to the Conklins Theatre Group at Barn 2 to see Boeing Boeing featuring 6 actors and actresses and enjoy the dinner buffet.The comedy play was very good with good acting, and the buffet was excellent, with much variety. Doors opened at 6pm and the buffet was available from 6.30pm to 7.30pm, and the show started at 8pm. Tables were called in turn to get their food from the buffet, which was good and saved everyone rushing at once. Food was replenished quickly. You can take your own alcoholic drinks if over 21, but there are soft drinks available. Booking in advance is essential, and they do cater for groups.The Hut has a big car park, and is a converted barn, and is very attractive inside. The theatre provides plays throughout the year on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings with a Sunday brunch at mid-day, with the show starting from 1.30pm.Costs start at about $33 plus and details can be obtained from their web site www.barn2.com.On the evening that we went, the venue was completely full.Service was quick, efficient and friendly.Would recommend a visit.

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  908lindam908

  We recently saw the play "Life after 50" at Conklin with another couple. The play was hilarious! The cast was very professional and really had fun with this play. The buffet was the same basically as it had been for years. Several entree selections and side dishes. Perhaps it is time to change up the menu a bit. Our server was very courteous and quickly responded to any requests.

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  unknowndiner

  We have attended many plays at Conklin's Barn Theatre and have never been disappointed. They have a very good buffet dinner that is included and the cost is really reasonable. They have new shows throughout the year.

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  16StephB

  I love Conklins. Been going there for years and it's still fun every time I go. The only thing I would change is the menu. The food is good, but the menu always seem to stay the same every time I go and it would be nice if maybe they had a few items that rotated out or were changed every once in a while. But I would definitely recommend Conklin's Dinner Theatre.