Dickens Parlour Theatre has had more than one home in Ocean View, Delaware. When it opened in 2010, it started in a converted garage that magician and lawyer Rich Bloch owned. “I originally looked at it as possibly a site for some hospital buildings or doctors’ offices that I would build,” Bloch told Genii. “But one day, another buddy of mine and I were sitting in the middle of the garage and it occurred to us that it would be a lot more fun to make it into a magic venue.”
For 10 years, that space—which had a small stage with around 40 seats—housed Dickens. Jay Read, whom Bloch first met working at a magic store in Disney World, was on board from the beginning to manage daily operations. Bloch and his wife, Sue, originally thought they would only be open in the summers, but as they were building, Bloch realized that it would be a great addition to the town as a community space and be open all year.
A new space, post-pandemic
Dickens continued for a decade until the pandemic in 2020. And when Bloch wanted to reopen in 2022, he looked for another space that could hold more seats. Serendipitously, an opportunity was only a short walk away. “A lady up the street had a very well-known and wonderful restaurant/bar on dozens of acres… way more than she’d ever use,” Bloch said. Bloch proposed building a new establishment on that land. The owners initially turned him down, but just the next day, when he happened to see them, they told him they had changed their minds. The result was a 5,000-square-foot building: One half is a restaurant and the other half is a theater with 90 seats.
The owners of the previous restaurant moved into the new kitchen space—Bloch never wanted to get into the food and beverage business—while Read continues to manage the entertainment side of the house. Most people who see a show at Dickens usually have dinner first in the attached restaurant—an establishment with an impressive roster of burgers and milkshakes (including spiked milkshakes for the adults, along with a craft cocktail list)—though dining there isn’t required.
In the summer, a new magician comes in every week and performs a 50-minute act at 7:00 p.m. each evening, with a later show potentially on weekend nights. In other seasons, magicians still come in for a few days, but the calendar is also peppered with comedy and musical acts, with something happening three to four nights a week.
Bloch compares performing at Dickens to working the Palace Theater at The Magic Castle. While the space at Dickens is slightly smaller—90 seats compared to The Castle’s 130—the setup is comparable. “We’ve had illusion shows there, the stage is very spacious and reasonably deep,” explained Bloch. “And while it’s certainly not a concert hall, it has all the aspects of a full-blown theater.”
Acts scheduled to perform this upcoming summer at Dickens run the gamut, and include Chris Capehart, Nathan Coe Marsh, and The Spellbinder.
A place for community
Dickens is also working on becoming a communal space in the town that also serves underrepresented groups. To that end, it recently became a 501 (c)(3) organization, allowing it to receive tax-deductible donations to support bringing in audiences—both children and adults—who may have disabilities or may not have the financial resources to spend an evening at the theater.
The venue is also open for other groups to use during the day for lectures or meetings. “We really want to be a community-based organization,” said Bloch, “and as more and more people come in to use it for, let’s call it off-stage purposes, it’s achieving that. And I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Dickens Parlour Theatre
Enjoy an intimate evening of magical entertainment in this wonderful dinner theatre in Ocean View, Delaware.