By Forrest Adams

Twas the night before Christmas… and there’s a burglar in the house?! The burglar even claims he’s Santa Clause!

A heartwarming musical, “Another Night Before Christmas,” is set to open on the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres’ Playhouse stage on Nov. 21 and run through Dec. 31.

It’s a new show, which is a big change for the Dinner Theatre where since 1986 holiday revues have been created in house. The shows have consisted of compilations of Christmas songs, readings and sketches.

Dinner Theatre Resident Artistic Director Michael Brindisi is excited, and he described this new offering as “hilariously funny” with “all the sentiments of Christmas.” He was sold on the potential for this to be a big hit after just one read-through of the script.

“I read it, and by the end I was crying,” Brindisi confessed. “I gave it to my wife and asked her to read it and tell me what she thought. A couple hours later she gave it back to me, and she had tears in her eyes. She said, ‘It’s the sweetest play I’ve ever read.’”

“It spoofs a lot of the things that sort of drive us crazy at Christmas, but ultimately, it’s about magic and faith and believing, all those things we really want,” Brindisi said.

“Another Night Before Christmas” is the third collaboration between Sean Grennan and Leah Okimoto, whose other shows include “A Dog’s Life and “Married Alive!” It stars Nicole Fenstad and Keith Rice.

Fenstad plays the part of Karol Elliot, a disillusioned social worker, and Rice plays the part of a homeless man named Guy who claims he’s Santa Clause.

Fenstad’s character has lost her Christmas spirit, and through the course of the play she rediscovers her inner child, inner happiness and joy. Fenstad hopes the audience will relate to Karol and join her journey.

“I hope people can have that faith again that even when things are hard they can have inner beauty and inner strength” Fenstad said.

Rice feels exhilarated by his character’s journey and sees it as a chance for him to “let it all hang out.”

Over the years he has done a couple of stints as Santa “to impress the kids and make them happy,” he said, but this role is different. He predicted it would be a tear-jerker.

“Santa’s a real person. He has his wants and needs, too, but basically the thing is that he wants to bring joy,” Rice said. “You laugh all the way through this show, and then at the end you say, ‘Why am I crying?’”

Fenstad made her Chanhassen debut in the 2006 production of “Grease” as Frenchy and recently played the young bride in “Married Alive!”

Rice is a Chanhassen veteran whose diverse roles included Javert in “Les Miserables,” Sir Lancelot in “Camelot” and Pharaoh in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

Contact Forrest Adams at fadams@swpub.com.

‘ANOTHER NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS’
Show opening: Friday, Nov. 21, dinner at 6 p.m., curtain at 8 p.m.
Regular schedule: Runs through Dec. 31.
Tuesday through Saturday evenings: dinner at 6 p.m. and curtain at 8 p.m.
Sunday early evening performances: dinner at 5 p.m. and curtain at 7 p.m.
Matinee performances Wednesday and Saturday: dinner at 11 a.m. and curtain at 1 p.m.
Thursday matinees: Dec. 11 and 18
Cost: Dinner and show range $39 -$57 each. Call 952-934-1525 or toll free 1-800-362-3515, or go online to www.ChanhassenDT.com. Groups of 15 or more may call 952-934-1547 or toll free 1-800-355-6273.