TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE Comes To Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' Playhouse Theatre This Fall
Mitch Albom's beloved story will receive a five-week engagement in the Playhouse Theatre beginning October 27.
Tuesdays with Morrie, the touching story based on Mitch Albom's NY Times Bestseller, comes to life on Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' intimate Playhouse Theatre stage for a limited run. It will open on October 27 and play a series of matinee and evening performances for five weeks (ending Sunday, November 29).
An inspirational drama, Tuesdays with Morrie is the true story of Detroit Free Press sportswriter Mitch Albom and his own personal reunion with a favorite college professor, Morrie Schwartz, after learning that Morrie is battling ALS. The play simply features Mitch who visits Morrie, over a series of 14 Tuesdays during which the audience gets a seat in the room to listen to Morrie's meaningful life lessons focusing on love, human connection and relationships. The conversations focus on topics including: love, fear, aging, family and finding happiness.
Albom's renowned book Tuesdays with Morrie was published and went on to sell millions of copies. This book is frequently assigned by teachers and professors as required reading. Albom's writing style is both honest and straight-forward and balances the poignancy of Morrie's decline with his own self-reflection. Oprah Winfrey made it into a movie and then it was adapted for the stage, with a collaboration between Albom and local playwright, Jeffrey Hatcher. Albom believes his story comes closest to the reality of his real-life talks with the professor in the live adaptation.
CDT President and Artistic Director Tamara Kangas Erickson stated, 'We're excited to bring Tuesdays with Morrie to our audiences for this short five-week run. We did the same with Love Letters for several years featuring local media celebrities, Nancy Nelson and Don Shelby. It was so popular with audiences we decided to find another show that would fit into our program just as easily. We will offer more matinee performances to appeal to school groups since this show is often required reading in schools, due to its inspirational messaging. But this show will appeal to a variety of ages.'
Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is pleased to welcome Serena Brook as Guest Director for this theatre project. In her directorial debut, Brook is no stranger to Chanhassen Dinner Theatres having been seen in multiple staged productions here as well as on many other Twin Cities' stages. Brook also has Off-Broadway credits, and was a company member of the highly praised and renowned A Prairie Home Companion.
Tuesdays with Morrie will be performed by Gabriele Angieri (Morrie) and Ryan London Levin (Mitch). Angieri is a Twin Cities' based actor who has appeared locally and nationally in film, television, commercial work and in theatre appearing on stages including Park Square Theatre, Frank Theatre, Nimbus Theatre, and the Guthrie Dowling Studio Theatre to name a few. His first feature film was a starring role in Profile of a Killer, an independent film shot locally in Minnesota and distributed internationally. Angieri is close to this work having performed this same role on the tour.
Ryan London Levin has performed on stages across the Twin Cities including Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Children's Theatre Company, Ten Thousand Things, Theater Latte Da, History Theatre and also in film projects: I Was There (John Wilkes Booth, Robert Ford) and The Combination (Kid Cann).
Tuesdays with Morrie opens to four preview performances in the intimate Playhouse Theatre on Tues. evening Oct. 27, Wed., Oct. 28 (matinee and evening), and Thurs., Oct. 29 (matinee) with an official opening on Thursday (evening), Oct. 29. The performance schedule is as follows:
- Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday matinee performances at 1pm
- Thursday evening at 7:30pm
- Sunday performance at 6:30pm
- Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26): one performance at 1pm only
It will run through Sunday, November 29 in repertory with Stevie Ray's Comedy Cabaret. Group discounts are available for parties of 12 or more. For tickets and information, visit ChanhassenDT.com or call the CDT box office at 952-934-1525.
ABOUT CHANHASSEN DINNER THEATRES
Celebrating over 57 years, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is the nation's largest professional dinner theatre company. Since 1968 CDT has welcomed 13 million visitors with its unique form of hospitality. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is a fully-professional, producing musical theatre company. With scenic and costume shops on site, all design elements are created and executed by CDT's resident artistic design and technical staff. The artistic program is led by President and Artistic Director, Tamara Kangas Erickson. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres provides inspired entertainment and world-class hospitality to its guests. We create amazing, lifelong memories through living the values of respect, hospitality, creativity, and collaboration. To learn more, visit ChanhassenDT.com.
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