Tinseltown Will Offer O.C. Diners a Taste of Hollywood

Tinseltown, the dinner theater with a Hollywood awards show theme, is just a prototype. Or so Ogden Entertainment hopes.

The company spent $15 million to develop the building and show that opens Nov. 13 in Anaheim, just down Katella Avenue from Edison International Field. Ogden also is studying several other U.S. markets as possible Tinseltown sites, said Thomas C. Etter, senior vice president of the New York-based company, whose businesses include theme parks and stadium management services.

“I also think it has the potential to be franchised outside the United States,” said Etter, mentioning Rio de Janeiro and Asian locations.

Tinseltown diners will be greeted by ersatz paparazzi, camera crews and autograph hounds. Shots from their arrival and a pre-show “cocktail party” will be incorporated into a televised “awards show” that also will feature footage of some guests spliced electronically into scenes from “Field of Dreams,” “Jurassic Park,” “Animal House” and other movies.

The price is $44.50 a person (group discounts are available), steeper than competitors such as Buena Park’s Medieval Times. But that includes tax, tip, 17-actor musical show and choice of top sirloin, Norwegian salmon, grilled chicken or vegetarian pasta.

“We think the public will perceive it as a good value,” Etter said. “For about what they’d pay for dinner at a lot of nice places, they’re getting a top-quality meal and also two hours of very high-quality entertainment.”