The dog days of summer are in full swing, and sometimes it’s nice to get out of the house, let someone else do the cooking and enjoy live theatrical entertainment in air conditioned comfort.
With a longstanding tradition of entertaining productions, the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre is a fixture in the Twin Cities. First opening its doors in 1968, the theater is a 90,000 square foot entertainment complex that also doubled as a restaurant. Today, the Chanhassen is the nation’s largest professional dinner theatre, and the largest privately owned restaurant in the state of Minnesota. Since Chanhassen Dinner Theatres opened, nearly 200 plays have been produced and played to more than eight million guests.
The theater is comprised of three main theatre spaces. The Main Dinner Theatre is where guests can enjoy the larger theatrical productions, and can accommodate roughly 540 guests. The Fireside Theatre, home to many comedies, classic plays, and small musicals, holds about 230. It has a separate dining area, from which the guests move to see the play. The third theatre space is the Playhouse Theatre, the smallest of the three, accommodating about 125. The Playhouse hosts comedies and small-scale musicals, including the record-breaking production, I Do! I Do!, which ran from 1971 – 1993 with its original cast–an impressive 22 years.
Currently showing in the Main Theatre is All Shook Up, a modern musical comedy/love story written by Joe DiPietro. Much the same way the famed Mama Mia was written based on popular hit songs of ABBA, All Shook Up has been created around the works of Elvis Presley. For schedule of shows, ticket prices and other info on the show, visit www.chanhassentheatres.com/box-office/show-details.
Also playing in the Playhouse Theatre is Stevie Ray’s Comedy Cabaret, a comedy improv show that relies heavily on audience participation. For more info on that show, visit the show details page.
Don’t forget, you get to enjoy dinner while taking in the shows. Take a look at the menu to see what they have to offer.
The Chanhassen Dinner Theatre is located at 501 West 78th Street in Chanhassen.
For calendars, upcoming shows, ticket prices and other information, visit www.chanhassentheatres.com.