Thank you to Chanhassen Dinner Theatres for providing me with two complimentary press tickets, drinks, and dessert. As always, all opinions are my own, and photos are my own unless otherwise credited.
Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is serving up 1950s nostalgia, romantic comedy, and beloved tunes like "We Go Together" and "Greased Lightening" in their current production of Grease. Inspired by the 1972 play and the 1978 Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta film adaptation, the story of retro teenage romance has timeless appeal, whether you know all the songs by heart or you're encountering Danny, Sandy, and the Pink Ladies for the first time.
Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) is conveniently located to Minneapolis and St. Paul, and your ticket includes a Broadway-style show and table-service meal. CDT gave me complimentary tickets to the opening night performance (ticket prices range from approximately $90 for a weekday performance to $130 for a Friday evening show). Here's my review of the food and the musical.
Grease Dinner Menu Review
As I mentioned above, tickets include your choice of entree, which is served with bread and butter and during evening performances, a side salad. The menu features familiar CDT entrees like Chicken Chanhassen, grilled top sirloin, vegetable lasagna, and chicken tenders. A few items have been tweaked or added, including the orange roughy with lemon cream sauce, beet salad, and macro bowl. Three entrees are vegetarian, one is vegan, and three are gluten-free.
I was excited to try the new vegan option, a macro bowl with "ancient grains" (it looks like a mixture of quinoa, wild rice, and wheat berries), roasted beets, mushrooms, kimchi, arugula, and avocado mash. There's a lot going on, in a good way—the flavors don't necessarily mesh into something cohesive, but I enjoyed each element. The grain base has a very satisfying, hearty quality, and I loved the roasted beets. The kimchi is on the mild side, but still brings a bit of tang. The inclusion of avocado was a little mystifying but honestly, who doesn't love avocado? Overall, it was refreshing to see a vegan option that was interesting, filling, and stood on its own as a dish, rather than feeling like they started with a meat-based entree and removed ingredients.
My husband Mike opted for the grilled top sirloin, a favorite from previous visits to Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. The steak was nicely cooked to medium, as requested. Mike opted to add the enhancements suggested by our server: sauteed mushrooms ($3) and Gorgonzola sauce ($4), which really did elevate the steak and the accompanying roasted potatoes and carrots. The Gorgonzola sauce in particular is worth the upcharge.
Dessert is available for an additional charge, with items including sundaes, cheesecake, and cakes. Three items are gluten-free.
The Towering Chocolate Cake For Two ($14) is a CDT standby, and yes, it really is big enough to split. The cake was moist and the frosting was plentiful—it reminded me of a birthday cake.
Coffee, tea, and milk are included with your meal, and soda and other beverages are available for an additional charge. CDT also offers a full bar menu, with wine by the glass and bottle, beer, specialty cocktails, mocktails, and boozy ice cream drinks. Most of the specialty cocktails skew fairly sweet, but if you prefer something spirit-forward my go-to drink is the Chanhattan ($10)—it's a Manhattan, made with Bulleit rye whiskey. If you want something sweeter, I liked the Baker's Treat Old Fashioned ($11) made with Crown Royal vanilla whiskey, brown sugar syrup, and Watkin's bitters, but know going in that it skews more towards a dessert cocktail than a classic old fashioned.
Dinner is served before the show starts, and dessert, coffee, and any additional drinks you'd like are served during intermission. There isn't food or beverage service during the show.
Remember to tip your server! If you don't order any extra items, leave some cash.
Grease Show Review
Set at Rydell High School in the 1950s, Grease tells the story of the on-again, off-again romance between greaser Danny Zuko and good girl Sandy Dumbrowski, with subplots involving the members of their respective friend groups, the Burger Palace Boys and the Pink Ladies. Most of the plot is told through song, and even if you're not familiar with the show, you've probably heard the music—"Summer Nights," "Greased Lightin," "Beauty School Dropout," "We Go Together," "You're the One That I Want," and "Grease Is The Word" are downright iconic.
The plot of Grease is fairly light, even by musical theater standards, so I was impressed with the emotional depth that several actors brought to their roles. Dayle Theisen's portrayal of Sandy emphasizes the impact of bullying and peer pressure in a surprisingly poignant way. Anna Hashizume as Rizzo gave a moving performance of one of the few serious songs in the show, "There Are Worse Things I Could Do." The humorous elements are well-executed, too—the Burger Palace Boys' attempted rumble with a rival gang had perfect comedic timing, and the school song parody will be relatable to anyone whose high experience was not the best time of their life.
The character of Danny Zuko is tricky to pull off—he has to have a tough guy persona, but the audience also has to believe that Sandy would have fallen for him over the summer. Sam Stoll's performance is charming, but he isn't quite believable as a juvenile delinquent. I buy Stoll as a guy who talks back to teachers and cuts class to smoke, but he isn't quite edgy enough to be the leader of a gang.
Although Kasano Mwanza's role as the Teen Angel who sings "Beauty School Dropout" is brief, it's one of the highlights of the show. His sensual, charismatic performance channels a sort of campy version of Prince (fun fact: Paisley Park, Prince's home and studio, is less than two miles from CDT). Thanks to Mwanza's Teen Angel, Hashizume's Rizzo, and a spectacular closing number, this was the rare musical with a second act that tops the first.
Overall, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' production of Grease is a fun, engaging evening of retro nostalgia, with top-notch production design and stellar, memorable performances.
Content considerations: Although the show isn't visually explicit, there are sexual references and double entendres throughout. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres considers the show to have a "PG-13" rating, so keep that in mind if you're planning to take kids (children 5 and older are permitted) or if you're uncomfortable with suggestive content. Some of the sexual references are dated and troubling from a consent standpoint (implying that coercion is normal/acceptable), another thing to keep in mind if you're seeing the show with kids or teens.
Grease is scheduled to run through October 4, 2025. Learn more and purchase tickets via the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres website.
Chanhassen Dinner Theatres provided me with complimentary press tickets, drinks, and dessert, but I didn't receive any additional compensation for this blog post.
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