What is the definition of a theatrical production?

That’s the question Tom Marinaro, owner of Tank’s Bar in Babbitt, wanted the Minnesota Court of Appeals to answer.

While it is clear to anyone that if a bar holds a “theater night” with patrons wearing badges that say “actor” would seem a violation of the state ban on smoking in workplaces, how does the law delineate what is a real theater production and what isn’t? It is a speech question that can be hard to pin down.

The bar owner deserves a clarification on this question — mostly so another bar doesn’t try it again.

It is poor jurisprudence to sidestep the heart of an argument in an appeal and simply rule against Tank’s Bar. It’s like a parent saying “Because I said so.”

We supported the state smoking ban and continue to back it. We only hoped a ruling from the Court of Appeals would strengthen it, not leave a weak spot.

Now judges across the state are left to determine what is and what isn’t theater. Good luck.