One of the top ways to make magical memories during the holidays is to experience the Barleen’s Dinner Show – Home for the Holidays Variety Show. For this adventure with Backpack Pat, we get to sit down with good friends, listen to good music, have some good laughs, and have a great time at Barleen’s Dinner Show.

 

What is Barleen’s Dinner Show

 

Located in Apache Junction at 2275 E. Old West Highway, Barleen’s Dinners Show is a music, comedy, and visual spectacle for all ages. The Barleen Family and their talented staff entertain hundreds of guests each show from the months of November to April with a variety of genres to cater to all music lovers.  For this particular blog post, a guest and I attended the Home for the Holidays Show which was filled with amazing song choices, great costumes, knee-slapping comedy and an array of lights and videos adding to this memorable occasion. Oh, and there is a whole meal served as part of the ticket!

 

You Had Me at Cake

 

Barleen’s Dinner Show staff certainly know how to fill up their guests with delicious dinner items and crafty cocktails on top of their entertainment options. For the Home for the Holiday Show, our table was served mouth-watering roast beef, mashed potatoes, salad, an additional choice of a protein of chicken or short ribs, and, best of all, homemade chocolate cake!  Each table is also offered coffee, iced tea, with free refills, and water.

Since there were only two of us that attended the show, we sat at a table with two other attendees and it was a great opportunity to meet other people while enjoying our meal. Our table partners have been coming to Barleen’s Dinner Show for several years and they mentioned that they see a different show every year.

The meal is served one hour before the actual show starts, which allows all the guests to get to talk with one another, enjoy a hand-crafted cocktail, and check out the gift shop section after eating.

 

Shop Before the Show

 

 

What is more fun than shopping around for Barleen’s Dinner Show memorabilia before being serenaded for the next couple of hours. Located in the back corner of the venue, guests will be pleasantly surprised by the variety of gift items available for purchase. Items that were on display in the shop included Barleen’s Dinner Show branded mugs, kitschy kitchen towels embroidered with one-liner jokes, board games, hats, hanging art pieces, and many more items to help memorialize this special occasion.  After looking around the gift shop, it was time to sit back down and watch the show!

 

On with the Music and Entertainment

 

The holiday season is certainly filled with a variety of songs and the band delivered a series of classic tunes that covered a multitude of iconic artists ranging from Elvis to Louie Armstrong. As each artist is introduced, one of the Barleen family members mentions where they came from and where they got their start. These artists have come from all over the country including Illinois, Texas, Indiana, New Jersey, Washington DC and other places. Moreover, some of the musicians performed in famous groups such as The Limeliters and The Kingston Trio.  The Barleen’s Dinner Show musicians do a fantastic job of giving each individual musician the opportunity to highlight their talents with solos. Since this was the Home for the Holidays Show, nearly every musician did a cover of well-known holiday songs such as Jingle Bell Rock, Joy to the World, White Christmas, Rocking Around the Christmas Tree and more.

The musicians also played songs related to iconic fictional characters such as the Peanut Gallery and The Grinch.  On top of covering the songs, various staff come out in costume, in this case, Charlie Brown and Mr. Grinch, to help accentuate the songs and act out on stage.

After a few songs, one of the staff comes out on stage to give the band a break for a few minutes and crack a few jokes.

The crowd is filled with laughter as the staffer provides one joke after another. Once the band plays music for a while and the staff provides some punchlines, there is an intermission which gives the guests another chance to check out the gift shop and perhaps get a scoop of ice cream. The second half of the show is filled with even more cover songs, jokes, costumes, and visual effects to engage the audience for quite some time ensuring that everyone gets their money’s worth in entertainment. Also, this venue is great for groups. There were five large groups attending that day and the emcee called out to each group to see which one would make the most noise to really help liven up the crowd.

Overall, if you are looking for an afternoon or evening filled with timeless classic songs, a few laughs, and an amazing experience with friends and family, then be sure to catch one of their matinees or dinners at an upcoming performance.