After a hard week and with a busy weekend ahead of me, Stevie Ray’s Comedy Cabaret was exactly what I needed to unwind and release the tensions that had been building up. To sit back, let someone else do the cooking, and much better than I could for that matter, enjoy a drink, and just let all your cares slip away. To watch people make you laugh for two hours while you nibble on a decadent dessert, isn’t that what Friday should always be like? Don’t you deserve that too? This was my first time in a theatre other than the mainstage at Chanhassen, but I was delighted to find that the menu was exactly the same as I have come to know from attending the Mainstage musicals. I recommend the Spinach Artichoke dip and the Herb-Crusted Roasted Prime Rib, and of course the Turtle Cheesecake! They also have what I’m sure are delicious adult beverages with a full bar but for teetotalers like myself, soft drinks, and some fun N/A blended drinks.
Performing every Friday and Saturday night this is an improv show, meaning every show is unscripted and thus original and unique. In fact, even the cast changes night to night. Drawing from a pool of 14 troupe members so you never know who will be performing on a given evening. We had a special treat the night I attended as Stevie Ray himself performed alongside the hilariously talented Kip Hathaway, AJ Kueppers, Ellie Walton, and Brett Williams. Improv always makes me anxious at the thought of it, but as I begin to laugh that anxiety melts away and I’m left with a true appreciation for the talents of the performers. My dinner companion’s favorite was Kip Hathaway, who came up with several of the best one liners of the evening. My favorite was Ellie Walton, who fought a bull and also sang her heart out. The improv games that give me the most anxiety are the musical based pieces. To not only come up with something funny to move a scene forward, but to set it to music, sing it, thinking far enough ahead to make sure it rhymes! That is a skill set that leaves me awestruck. The entire cast we had was quick witted, even when pretending they weren’t, I’m looking at you Brett Williams.
For more information and to purchase tickets for an upcoming Friday or Saturday performance go to https://chanhassendt.com/stevierays/. Seating for dinner begins at 6:00 PM with the show beginning at 8:00 PM. And if you haven’t made it out to the current mainstage musical Footloose it’s running through February you can read my thoughts on that show here https://bit.ly/3NjETFKFootloose.
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