Chanhassen Dinner Theatre Introduction
Visitors to the Twin Cities can take in a show at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. Since 1968 there have been over 193 productions on its various stages, with over 8 million guests in attendance. That number is staggering, but not surprising given the quality shows appearing at Chanhassen.
A married couple, Herbert and Carolyn Bloomberg, looked at a corn field and imagined a 90,000 square foot theatre facility. They had designed a new home for the Old Log Theater. 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. Surely the distance from downtown as well as a restaurant, a business with a high failure rate, combined to doom this dream.
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. So here’s a pun. The stage was set for what is today the largest professional dinner theatre in America. It can also boast being the largest privately owned restaurant in Minnesota. Take that, nay sayers.
“I Do! I Do!” began showing in the cozy Playhouse on Feb. 18 1971. It ran a staggering 21 years. Even more amazing was that the same cast stayed with the show the whole time. Do you think they were typecast? That long running show made Chanhassen and the Playhouse famous throughout the United States. 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. “Stevie Ray’s Comedy Troupe” took over for the next two years. 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. This is by no means the complete list. That can be found on the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre website chanhassentheatres.com.