gettysburg civil war era dinner theater

If the idea of dining in a small historic inn while being entertained with Civil War era magic and history appeals to you, then you cannot miss this wonderful dinner theater. We especially enjoyed the intimate setting in the 250 year-old ballroom, although we were told that the main restaurant is used when larger crowds attend. For an extra cost you can order a bottle of wine that comes from the local winery, which we really enjoyed. We had a great time, enjoyed the food, and had great service. This was a highlight of our weekend in the Gettysburg area.

I visited with my daughter and it was a real treat! We both loved Professor Kerrigan and his characters. He has a nice selection of period props and tricks. My daughter was amazed by his magic tricks. Professor Kerrigan was also very nice and personable.Other reviewers mentioned the nice food, however, I found both the chicken and meatloaf disappointing. The owner apologized for the long wait as the kitchen was overwhelmed with a big party downstairs. If it was not for the food, I would have giving it all 5 stars.We can certainly recommend the Professor: a nice evening with magic entertainment!

I attended the dinner theatre and was disapointed to say the least. I have been to many dinner theatres across the United States and this did not even come close to any of those experiences. To begin with we were herded upstairs to a tiny , dirty little room with wrinkled and stained tablecloths. There were only 2 other people there besides our party and it made me feel uncomfortable that hardly anyone was attending. Our order was taken and the show began. I don't know what to make of his performance. It was very corny, the tricks were ridiculous and two of them didn't even work!! He's certainly no Houdini (there were actually boxes of kids majic kits on a window sill and I wondered if he was using those) I found myself sitting there day dreaming about how I could leave without appearing totally rude. The food was not good. I had the Chicken and Biscuits which is supposed to be there signature dish. I did not find it appealing at all. The pie for dessert was undercooked on top and "wet" no crispy pie crust here. For $50.00 a person I expect better than this. The best part (or worst) depending on how you look at it came when the waitress brought us our bill. My husband did not realize that the gratuity was included in the $50.00 and gave the waitress a very generous tip and she never said anything to him. I found out on the drive home when he was complaining about how much this "Dinner Theatre" cost. I was livid!! I would not recommend this to anyone but if you do go don't order the Chicken and Biscuits and the tip is included in the ticket price and shame on this place and that waitress for not saying so.

From our first step into the Fairfield inn to our last bit our dessert, this was a fun night!! Joe Kerrigan is a wonderful Magician, comedian an awesome story teller. We were entertained for 2 hours... and never a dull moment. Our waitress was wonderful and the food was even better...

Program perhaps a bit long and some parts sort-of corny but Joe makes it very entertaining and fun. Dinner was fabulous!

My daughter and her family have attended the Dinner theater for many years, We all planned a trip and we finally got a chance to come to Gettysburg, We called and made reservations before we left. What a delight it was to meet Joe and experience this show. It is a history lesson for everyone that is made fun with magic and stories. We both enjoyed the show and the dinner was very good. Everyone who visits Gettysburg should attend the Dinner Theater. Joe is a great person and a fabulous performer. This show is well worth the time and money. Thank you for a great evening, Julie & Tim Young Spring Creek, PA

The Professor is a lot of fun and entertains well. The show is 1860's era, so the bad reviewers must have forgotten that & expected Copperfield-type tricks. Simple tricks, slight of hand, real magic.The dinner choices were varied and the Chicken & Biscuits were excellent. Portions are nicely sized as well. We left full but not overly stuffed. The Inn itself is quaint and furnished nicely.We will go again.

I was excited to be attending dinner theatre as it was something I had never done before. It did not take long to realize that even though it was advertised as a ghost story and seance it was nothing like that. I don't know what it was accept that it wasn't good. You could tell how the tricks were done and it left me to wonder all night how I could get out of there. The worst part of the night came with the bill. We did not realize if you purchase tickets online you pay about 28 dollars more in junk fees then paying the day of the show. We only found this out do some other unhappy patrons who were very vocal about there displeasure we ended up spending a 52 dollars a person without drinks and it was awful and embarrassing. It might be suited to children or those over 60 but i felt like I was robbed. Just awful but if u do plan on attending don't buy tickets online pay the day of. The Fairfield inn itself is a beautiful building I hope the new owners can bring on some better talent

We had made reservations for Oct 30th the tickets read that there were no refunds or exchanges. Due to Sandy the superstorm we were postponing our trip. I emailed Mr Kerrigan aka "The Professor" and he was kind enough to let us reschedule. We made it to Gettysburg for the 2nd of November and were treated to an excellent show and dinner. Mr Kerrigan is a first class magician and story teller and the night flew by as were were entertained by a true professional. We highly recommend this show at the Fairfield Inn

I am so glad I checked Trip Advisor and saw this very unique "dinner and a show" experience for our family! It was only a 10-15 min. ride from our hotel in Gettysburg. We were greeted upon entering the Inn by a gracious elderly man in a tux, who was both friendly and talkative to us and the other guests-the Professor. The inside was filled with period authentic furnishing, portraits. We had fun exploring it. The female (Owner?) was quick to take our order of period correct food :soup or salad to start, then chicken and biscuits(really good), crab cakes (AMAZING), fish,pork chops, or prime rib-all served with mini baked seasoned potatoes and fresh veggies, and star-shaped biscuits. During the show, The Professor told us we can use the leftover ones as hockey pucks if you eat the points off them-he was right! Dessert was your choice of fresh fruit pies. Everyone enjoyed their dinner very much-even my picky 10 year old son, and that is saying something! The portions were MORE than either me or my husband could finish comfortably. The show was up-close magic/illusion, right at your table. There were only 5 of us during a Weds. nite showing. We all enjoyed the personal attention, and the audience participation. The Professor held the attention of all of us. His storytelling skills are amazing. We found him charming and entertaining. My son was very impressed and focused for a change on something other than video games. The show had 2 parts. The first was storytelling and magic/illusion tricks,and after a 5-10 min. intermission, the second was an old time seance (not scary). This is a definite must see for families, couples, etc. When I read the reviews, I can't believe that a few members of the audience were actually heckling this wonderfully talented performer. Hopefully karma got 'em. We could not think of anything that we didn't like about the show. Also, they do add 18% gratuity automatically to the check, which is very reasonable for such a great 3 course meal (normal is 20%, people, so don't complain because, we were told, the tip is split with the waitstaff AND the Professor- they should get alot more!)

While only 6 persons were at this particular dining experience, the whole event was great. Dinner was good, and had choices. The performer, "Professor Kerrigan" was most entertaining, including illusion (some from the Civil War era) and simulation of a Civil War seance. A great value -- he will perform for any number of reserved guests. His website: www.civilwartheater.com

Joe is an excellent magician and even better storyteller. Fun for adults and children alike.

If you love history, as well as reenactments of the period, you'll love this place. We came for the advertised Gettysburg Civil War Era Dinner Theater, and were not disappointed. The Fairfield Inn itself is steeped in history... original homestead having been built in 1757, predating the American Revolution. It was used as a Colonial Meeting House, Stagecoach Stop, part of the Underground Railroad and Confederate Hospital during Civil War (Battle of Gettysburg). Coming early, we were able to tour the Inn. The Dinner Theater itself, was held in one of the upstairs rooms, where a one-man show (Professor Kerrigan) was performed in two parts. The first part of the show consisted of magic acts (of the Civil War Era), while the second part showed the history of seances during the same period, all told thru stories. There was audience participation, interacting with the Professor, while a delicious meal was served.

Don't listen to the poor reviews! This is PERIOD dinner theater and is intended to demonstrate what it was like for gullible rural folks over 150 years ago to enjoy a traveling showman. The jokes were PERIOD jokes and so was the magic. The haunted Fairfield is the perfect setting. The food served was PERIOD food! We watched the show with 3 rude ladies from up north who clearly didn't understand history or the nature of the show. They snickered and mocked Professor Kerrigan and demonstrated that they clearly had little understanding of the time and the adventure of a traveling show.

I wish I could give this less than a "one". The whole evening started badly and went downhill from there. We were told to arrive at 6:30 and we did. The rest of the audience, however, had obviously arrived well before that time and most of the dinner orders had been taken. We were truly embarrassed and we never got the tour of the house that other reviewers have mentioned. My husband enjoyed his steak, but I thought the chicken and biscuits were watery and there was only a tiny portion of the vegetable serving. This dinner and show is incredibly overpriced -- We spent over $100 for the food and the show without any alcoholic drinks. The Inn automatically adds a gratuity of which we were unaware beforehand. Charging any gratuity is laughable because the service was extremely poor. I had to go back into the kitchen and find a waitress to refill our drinks. The couple at the next table did not receive their food and had to chase it down. And there is no ballroom. We were squeezed into a downstairs hallway, while a party took place in the enclosed area -- a party that received most of the serving staff's attention.The performer, the so-called "Professor" Kerrigan, gave a bad amateur performance, straight out of a child's "how to do magic tricks" book. It was easy to see how it was done. He lost most of his audience's interest when one of the card tricks failed. And he went on and on and on in some type of fake accent, feeling the need to lecture us about magic and illusion rather then letting us see for ourselves. To make bad matters worse, he had trouble with the sound system and music throughout the performance. And no one from the Inn appeared to help him fix it. So he stumbled through. If this guy is part of the ownership of the Inn, then he needs to quit performing and go back to fixing some of the problems with the management and service. If he is a hired performer, then the Inn needs to find another performer. Better entertainment is certainly available in the Gettysburg area, perhaps someone who can tell ghost stories without amateurish illusion and magic. A bad experience!