Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

The Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is a dinner theater, comedy club and venue located in Chanhassen, Minnesota. As a part of the National Dinner Theatre Association (NDTA), the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is often cited as one of the largest professional dinner theatre companies in the United States.^[1]

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

Address	501 West 78th Street Chanhassen, Minnesota United States
Construction
Opened	1968
Years active	1968 - Present
Architect	Herbert "Herb" Bloomberg
Website
https://chanhassendt.com/

History

The Bloomberg Family

Herbert "Herb" Bloomberg and Carolyn Bloomberg founded the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) in 1968.^[2] The Bloomberg family first moved to Chanhassen in 1958 from the Twin Cities area.^[3] Herb was a drafter and builder who had previously designed several buildings throughout Minnesota including; the Old Log Theatre in Minnetonka, Minnesota, the Hazeltine National Golf Club's Clubhouse in Chaska, Minnesota, the Quadna Mountain Ski Lodge and Chalet in Hill City, Minnesota, the Gold Bond Lodge on Lake Minnesuing in Wisconsin, the conservation of the St. James Hotel in Red Wing, Minnesota, and numerous custom homes.^[4] As fans of Broadway theatre from their frequent vacations in New York City, the Bloombergs purchased land in Chanhassen, Minnesota and eventually built a dinner theater which opened in 1968. From 1968-1989 the Bloomberg family operated the facility as a theatre, comedy club, and venue.^[5]

Theatre Productions

The theatres first production was How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, other featured musical productions include; Annie, I Do! I Do!, Fiddler on the Roof, Les Misérables, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat among others.^[3][6]

Stevie Ray's Comedy Cabaret

Besides theatre, the CDT also offers a comedy club named Stevie Ray's Comedy Cabaret. Stevie Ray’s is a comedy troupe which also offers classes on improv and stand-up comedy.^[7]

New Ownership

In 1989 the Bloomberg family sold the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres to local Minnesota entrepreneur and owner of the Harlem Globetrotters, Thomas Scallen. In 2010 Scallen sold the complex to a group of local Chanhassen inventors including Michael Brindisi and Tamara Kangas Erickson.^[3][8][9]