Latest news with #Chanhassen
CBS News
11-05-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
What's behind the hot Twin Cities weather and when the heat will break
A look at why the Twin Cities is having a streak of unseasonably hot days A look at why the Twin Cities is having a streak of unseasonably hot days A look at why the Twin Cities is having a streak of unseasonably hot days In order to beat Sunday's heat, 2-year-old Henrik Amundsen is taking a taking a dip with mom, Sally Amundsen, at Lake Ann Beach in Chanhassen, Minnesota. With temperatures 20 degrees above normal, the lake is a popular destination. "We're just hanging out, enjoying Mother's Day, getting some sunshine in, hopefully put our feet in the water, splash around a bit and cool down," said Sally Amundsen. "Originally from Duluth, so not used to this type of temperature. I think anything over 75, I kind of melt away," said Sally's husband, Franque Amundsen. Sunday marks one of several days with well above average heat in the Twin Cities. "The thing that really stands out about this particular set up is not just the fact that this is not just one warm day, it's going to be like this again tomorrow and Tuesday and maybe even Wednesday," said Nick Carletta, lead meteorologist with the National Weather Service Twin Cities. The string of very hot days is due to strong winds from the southwest and a blocking pattern, which is keeping the weather consistently hot, Carletta said. For those who don't like the heat, there should be relief by the end of the week, with possible below normal temperatures, even the potential for snowflakes in northern Minnesota.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Michael Brindisi, longtime Chanhassen Dinner Theatres artistic director, dies at 76
Michael Brindisi, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' president and artistic director, died unexpectedly Wednesday following a very brief illness. He was 76. 'Michael belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Twin Cities theater presenters,' said former Pioneer Press theater critic Dominic Papatola, who called Brindisi one of the kindest and most genuine in the business. He's also one of the most versatile, having spent decades directing and acting at CDT as well as scores of other theaters in the region. 'I can't think of a better situation,' Brindisi told Papatola in a 2002 interview when asked why he stuck with CDT. 'I have four or five months to prepare for a show. My wife and daughter work here. We have an acting company. And we're doing good work. Where else would I go?' Brindisi grew up in a working-class Italian neighborhood of Philadelphia and fell in love with theater after seeing a production of 'Golden Boy' with Sammy Davis Jr. while in high school. Brindisi went on to study theater at Temple University, but flunked out because he skipped classes in favor of acting in plays. A recruiter from the now-defunct Lea College in Albert Lea convinced Brindisi to move to Minnesota. It turned out to be a much better fit, as Brindisi directed his first show at Lea College and he went on to serve as artistic director for Albert Lea Community Theatre. In the early '70s, he began bouncing between Minnesota and New York, where he landed work in the Broadway production of 'Once in a Lifetime' and in the first national tour of 'Grease.' In Minnesota, CDT's then-artistic director Gary Gisselman saw Brindisi in a comedy revue at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop and hired him for his first professional acting job at Chanhassen, a $90-a-week gig as an accordion player in Thornton Wilder's 'The Matchmaker.' In 1981, Brindisi met Michelle Barber when they were both in different plays. They later married and spent three summers in Bemidji running the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, where Brindisi directed close to 30 shows. They also founded the Minnesota Festival Theatre in Albert Lea, which ran for more than 20 years. Gisselman cast Brindisi once again in 1987 as Motel in 'Fiddler on the Roof.' After it wrapped, Britta Bloomberg, the daughter of CDT's founder, Herb Bloomberg, asked if he'd like to take over as artistic director. As Brindisi remembered in 2002: 'I said, 'You bet your ass I would.' ' Veteran actor Tony Vierling first met Brindisi in 1982 when he spoke at Vierling's acting class at Iowa State University. Five years later, Vierling acted in 'Fiddler' alongside Brindisi. The pair hit it off and Brindisi cast Vierling in his first show as artistic director, 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood.' Vierling has since appeared in 51 CDT productions. 'One of the things that has made working at Chanhassen such a unique thing is that you instantly feel like you're in a family,' Vierling said. 'There's a very specific familial feeling he nurtures out there. He genuinely likes people and loves doing the work with the actors.' Brindisi was also an inadvertent matchmaker. In 2007, he traveled to New York to audition actors. He hired Michael Gruber to perform in CDT's 'Easter Parade,' which featured Vierling in the ensemble. The two fell for each other and later married. 'We would have never met without Michael,' Vierling said. 'He changed the direction of both our lives.' Brindisi was a family man both at home and at CDT. Brindisi and Barber's daughter, Cat Brindisi-Darrow, grew up in the theater and made it her profession. Her extensive resume includes work as an actor, director, producer, writer and choreographer. Last year, she returned to Chanhassen to co-direct 'Beautiful: the Carole King Musical' with her father. Theater | Friends say man found dead in Hastings was a 'bright light' Theater | Obituary: Longtime Pioneer Press reporter George Beran 'knew St. Paul inside and out' Theater | Legendary Edina high school hockey coach Willard Ikola dies at 92 Theater | Obituary: 'Mr. Positive' was West End neighborhood's guardian angel Theater | 'Mr. Baseball' Bob Uecker, Brewers announcer, dies at 90 In 2010, Brindisi took on a new challenge when he purchased Chanhassen Dinner Theatres as part of group of employees and regional investors. He was one of three managing partners alongside Tamara Kangas Erickson and Steven L. Peters. Friday night, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres opens a new production of 'Grease,' which broke an attendance record when the company first staged it in 2006 and nearly matched those numbers on the second go-round in 2017. Years ago, as a gag, Brindisi framed a photo of himself back when he was in the national tour of 'Grease' and hung it backstage. He told the cast that way he'll always be keeping an eye on them. 'Little did he know that was going to be the way he watches us now,' Vierling said. 'His presence will still be there, we just won't see him. That's the hard part.'
