Chap­ter 30 — The Din­ner and the Dra­ma opens by high­light­ing a curi­ous con­tra­dic­tion in Amer­i­can culture—how a nation over­flow­ing with the­aters and wealth can still fail to cul­ti­vate a robust dra­mat­ic tra­di­tion. Despite the pres­ence of grand venues and gen­er­ous patron­age, the heart of the the­ater seems to beat faint­ly. Plays with last­ing val­ue are rare, and for­eign works or shal­low enter­tain­ments often dom­i­nate the stage. The trans­for­ma­tion of Amer­i­can life, espe­cial­ly in cities like New York, reveals how broad­er social behav­iors sub­tly but pow­er­ful­ly shape cul­tur­al trends. One such shift, seem­ing­ly unre­lat­ed at first, is the evo­lu­tion of how Amer­i­cans dine. Meals have trans­formed from hum­ble evening rit­u­als into elab­o­rate social events, unin­ten­tion­al­ly replac­ing the the­ater as the focal point of night­ly leisure.

This new focus on din­ing, espe­cial­ly among the afflu­ent, com­petes direct­ly with atten­dance at the the­ater. In ear­li­er decades, din­ner was served ear­ly, leav­ing the evening free for the­ater, con­ver­sa­tion, or qui­et enjoy­ment. Now, a din­ner often begins when the cur­tain once rose. This tem­po­ral shift not only reduces the prac­ti­cal­i­ty of see­ing a play but repo­si­tions food and com­pa­ny as the pri­ma­ry expe­ri­ence of the night. Lav­ish din­ing envi­ron­ments, lux­u­ri­ous ser­vice, and long hours around the table make the idea of leav­ing for a per­for­mance seem less appeal­ing. The the­ater, once a cen­ter­piece of urban life, is often reduced to an after­thought or com­plete­ly skipped. Such soci­etal shifts have deeply influ­enced how peo­ple pri­or­i­tize their evenings and, by exten­sion, what they demand from their cul­ture.

In con­trast, Europe main­tains a dif­fer­ent rhythm. In cities like Vien­na, Paris, or Rome, attend­ing the the­ater still plays a vital role in social life. Din­ner remains sim­ple or ear­ly, and dra­ma retains its cer­e­mo­ni­al place. The cul­tur­al habits there sup­port a deep engage­ment with the arts, allow­ing audi­ences to approach the the­ater with ener­gy and atten­tion. In Amer­i­ca, how­ev­er, this rit­u­al has frayed, and with it, the space for chal­leng­ing, thought­ful pro­duc­tions has nar­rowed. Audi­ences often arrive dis­tract­ed or tired—or nev­er show at all. Light enter­tain­ment pre­vails, offer­ing quick amuse­ment that fits neat­ly after a lengthy din­ner or before a late evening com­mit­ment. As taste adapts to con­ve­nience, the depth of dra­ma suf­fers.

Anoth­er chal­lenge aris­es from the struc­ture of Amer­i­can the­ater itself. The once-com­mon stock companies—troupes that built chem­istry over time—have large­ly dis­ap­peared, replaced by tran­sient pro­duc­tions that lack ensem­ble uni­ty. The “star” sys­tem, designed to attract audi­ences through fame rather than artistry, push­es spec­ta­cle over sub­stance. Add to this the scarci­ty of native play­wrights con­sis­tent­ly pro­duc­ing sig­nif­i­cant work, and the result is a cul­tur­al envi­ron­ment ill-equipped to sup­port the­ater as a seri­ous art form. These sys­temic shifts pair with the exter­nal pull of lav­ish din­ners to form a dual threat to the­atri­cal qual­i­ty. It’s not just that audi­ences pre­fer food—it’s that the entire infra­struc­ture of the­ater has weak­ened, both artis­ti­cal­ly and com­mer­cial­ly.

Yet hope per­sists. Trends are nev­er per­ma­nent, and his­to­ry shows that cul­tur­al renais­sances often emerge after peri­ods of neglect. A renewed appetite for mean­ing­ful dra­ma may sur­face as younger gen­er­a­tions seek depth over nov­el­ty. Already, there are signs in small­er venues and exper­i­men­tal spaces where sto­ries with grit, intel­li­gence, and emo­tion find their stage. These shifts, while qui­et, sug­gest that dra­ma is not dead—it is mere­ly wait­ing for its audi­ence to return. Change in habit, like din­ing ear­li­er or carv­ing out time for reflec­tion, can reopen the door to an art form that once held the pow­er to move minds and hearts pro­found­ly.

In reflect­ing on these pat­terns, the chap­ter encour­ages a broad­er con­tem­pla­tion of cul­tur­al choic­es. What we eat, when we eat, and who we eat with may seem per­son­al, but such habits rip­ple out­ward to influ­ence the fate of entire art forms. A soci­ety that val­ues con­ver­sa­tion, sto­ry­telling, and ideas must make space for them beyond the din­ner table. As Amer­i­cans con­sid­er what makes a ful­fill­ing night out, there lies a choice between momen­tary sat­is­fac­tion and last­ing enrich­ment. The the­atre, though dimin­ished, still offers that sec­ond path. All it needs is a sec­ond look—and per­haps an ear­li­er meal.