![]() Four years later, the space was converted into the Courtyard Theatre and reopened in June 1974 with “A Thousand Clowns.” It remained active through 1995, when it was converted into an events venue. In 1970, the Clerestory Room opened as a restaurant known for its Sunday brunch. In 1972, not long after the show’s 500th performance, Goeppinger and Anders got married.ġ8. Audiences loved the pair and the show quickly earned its first of many, many extensions. In 1971, Gisselman cast Goeppinger alongside David Anders in “I Do! I Do!” for a six-week run in the Downstairs Playhouse. After 17 main-stage shows across nearly 2½ years, the February 1971 production of “A Flea in Her Ear” was the first to earn a profit.ġ7. On a casting trip to New York, Gisselman hired Broadway actor Susan Goeppinger for the November 1970 return of “How to Succeed in Business.” The pair discussed the Downstairs Playhouse and Goeppinger shared an idea: “You should take a look at ‘I Do! I Do!’ for that space. It also proved challenging to find the right entertainment for the small, 100-person capacity Downstairs Playhouse. ![]() It hosted only two more productions in 1968, “Arsenic and Old Lace” and “The Fantasticks,” and each ran just a few weeks.ġ5. ![]() The first year turned out to be tricky to pull off financially for the main stage, as well. The Downstairs Playhouse closed about a year after it opened.ġ4. Under the direction of John Davidson, the Downstairs Playhouse’s Underground Expression improv troupe wasn’t afraid to tackle sex, politics, women’s liberation and the Vietnam War.ġ3. Admission to the Downstairs Playhouse was $1.50, with food and beverage available for an additional charge.ġ2. The current version of Chicken Chanassen features a chicken breast filled with Minnesota wild rice stuffing and topped with Hollandaise sauce, served with steamed vegetables on the side.ġ1. “They practically picketed the place.”ġ0. “There was a mutiny from our customers,” said resident artistic director Michael Brindisi. In 2000, CDT dropped it from the menu but quickly revived it after an outcry. Chefs have altered the dish over the years, but it’s remained a popular favorite with guests. The initial recipe for Chicken Chanhassen featured a chicken breast stuffed with Danish ham and Swiss cheese. It also offered the first incarnation of Chicken Chanhassen.ĩ. The inaugural menu included Seafood Newberg, braised beef tenderloin tips, roast sirloin and spaghetti and meatballs. And that included dinner, the show and tax.Ĩ. Ticket prices for “How to Succeed in Business” ranged in price from $4.95 to $8.95 per person. A still from “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” Chanhassen Dinner Theatres’ debut production in 1968. In the summer of 1968, several spaces opened in the CDT complex (then known as “The Frontier”), including a bar, liquor store and the Downstairs Playhouse, home to an improv group. The collection remains on loan to CDT by the Bloomberg family.Ħ. The year before CDT opened, Carol Bloomberg bought a rare collection of engravings by British painter and printmaker William Hogarth that dated back to the 1700s. James Hotel in Red Wing and what would become Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.ĥ. Carol Bloomberg was an acclaimed interior designer who decorated several governor’s mansions, the Quadna Ski Resort in Hill City, Minn., the St. In its first 50 years, CDT productions have drawn more than 12.5 million people.Ĥ. To celebrate 50 years, here are 50 things you might not know about Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.ġ. The evening will feature special guests in the audience, including founding artistic director Gary Gisselman, several members of the original “How to Succeed in Business” company and the oldest CDT actor, Rita Vassallo. ![]() But many began closing in the next decade and today only a handful of them remain. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is one of the survivors.Ĭhanhassen Dinner Theatres has spent the year celebrating its golden anniversary, and the company premieres its 234th production, “Holiday Inn,” on Friday, the day after CDT officially hits 50. The concept had been born in August 1953 when six actors from New York bought a run-down tavern in Richmond, Va., and turned it into what would become the country’s first dinner theater.ĭinner theaters peaked in popularity in the ’70s, with 147 professional dinner theaters operating around the country in 1976. The couple hoped to succeed in the burgeoning business of offering dinner and a show in the same venue. Fifty years ago this week, Herb and Carol Bloomberg opened Chanhassen Dinner Theatres with a production of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |