A popular entertainment and tourist destination in the Twin Cities, Minnesota is the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. It opened its doors in 1968 and since then has put on over 193 plays with over 8 million people watching. Given the quality of shows, those numbers aren’t surprising.
The 90,000 square foot facility was constructed and designed by Herbert and Carolyn Bloomberg on what was once a corn field. It all started when they built a new facility for the Old Log Theater in Excelsior. Their own complex soon followed, built about 30 minutes from downtown. They decided to follow that project by building their own theatre complex 30 minutes from downtown. To add to the risk their vision included a restaurant. Given the failure rates of new restaurants and the distance from downtown, the project appeared to be a pipe dream doomed to fail.
But on October 11, 1968 the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre Minnesota opened. “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” was an appropriate choice for the first show. That ran for a month and a half before “the Fantasticks” took the stage. Now for a pun. The stage was set for what is today the largest professional dinner theatre in America. It’s also the largest privately owned restaurant in the state. Not bad for such a risky venture.
The Playhouse, a small theatre room in Chanhassen, started showing “I Do! I Do!” in February of 1971. It ran a staggering 21 years. What’s more staggering is that it included the original cast for the entire run. How’s that for job security? It became a cornerstone production for the Playhouse and Chanhassen, known all over the country. It ended in November of 1992, but after “I Do Love the Holidays” took over for a few months, “I Do! I Do!” returned for a short run from late January to early December of 1993. It was then replaced by “Stevie Ray’s Comedy Troupe” which had a nearly two year run. But nothing compared to the amazing run enjoyed by “I Do! I Do!”.
Both “Stevie Ray’s Comedy Troupe” and “I Do! I Do!” later returned to Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, but in a different room. The Courtyard, now called the Club, hosted each of the plays in 1995. Today the Club is a popular spot for wedding receptions, private parties and even business meetings. Other well known plays that have appeared at Chanhassen are Camelot, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Guys and Dolls, 42nd Street, Oklahoma, and Dial M for Murder. The list goes on and on. That can be found on the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre website chanhassentheatres.com.
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