Longest-running Minnesota theater. Some say it’s the oldest continuously operating professional theater in the nation. It opened as a summer stock company in 1940 in a dirt-floor log building that later became a scenery shop.
Owners retiring after 11 years; dining ends too
GREENWOOD Minn. – The Twin Cities theater scene, struggling since the CoVid pandemic, is losing the Old Log Theater on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. Marissa and Greg Frankenfield, who bought the theater in 2013, are retiring and no longer will produce shows. “We take immense pride in the Old Log Theater’s 84 years of artistic excellence and extend our deepest gratitude to our talented artists and exceptional staff who have consistently created remarkable productions,” they said. They also are closing their Cast & Cru restaurant, which attracted a pre-performance theater crowd and also night-cappers. The Frankenfields had invested heavily in modernizing the theater with state of the art lighting and sound systems and remodeled the entire lobby and the Cast & Cru.