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Michael Brindisi got his start in theater while in Albert Lea

Albert Leans are remembering fondly the co-owner and artistic director at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, who died Wednesday after leaving an indelible mark on Albert Lea theater decades before.

“All of us at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres are profoundly devastated to make the announcement that our leader, mentor, colleague and most dear friend, Michael Anthony Brindisi, passed away very unexpectedly today following a very brief illness,” the theater posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday. “This amazing man has meant so much to our Chanhassen Dinner Theatres’ family, and this news is utterly shocking to us all.”

Brindisi had well over 100 productions to his credit and was preparing for his fourth production of “Grease.”

“His extreme passion for life and his love for what we do here for our employees, actors, musicians and audiences is something that is broadly evident in everything he did,” the post said.

According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Brindisi grew up in a close-knit Italian neighborhood in Philadelphia and went to his first Broadway show in 10th grade, and was smitten with the production.

His parents wanted him to go to college, so he enrolled at Philadelphia’s Temple University but he never went to class because he would rather direct and act in plays and ultimately flunked out. The newspaper said in his second attempt at college, he went to Lea College in Albert Lea.

While in Albert Lea he directed the first show at Lea College and went on to serve as artistic director for Albert Lea Community Theatre for several years.

“You couldn’t help but remember him the moment you met him,” said Rosalie Truax about Brindisi in an interview with the Tribune in 2023.

He was immediately embraced by a number of families in Albert Lea and quickly got involved with Albert Lea Community Theatre.

Glen Parsons said he moved to Albert Lea in 1970 right out of college to teach here and the first show he did with Brindisi was “Fiddler on the Roof.” He remembered others, including “Carousel,” “Kiss Me Kate,” “On Golden Pond” and “The Three Penny Opera.”

“The thing about Michael — when he was just meeting the cast for the first time with a new show, he had this fire about him,” Parsons said. “He had so much enthusiasm, and it was so infectious.That energy, that enthusiasm got the cast excited to prepare the show.”

Parsons said his wife and daughter also worked with him, his daughter, Andrea, performing a few years with Chanhassen.

“His passion was just always there for every project,” Parsons said. “Every show he just brought so much energy and so much attention do detail. It was just so much fun to work for him because he was so enthusiastic.”

Parsons said seeing how Brindisi directed made him become a better director, too.

After graduating in 1970, Brindisi went away for a while, directed a play at Chanhassen and has been connected there ever since.

He and his wife, Michelle Barber Brindisi, later started a professional summer theater in Albert Lea, which became known as Minnesota Festival Theatre. The theater ran for about 18 years.

Brindisi and his wife liked to stay connected to Albert Lea as it is the place he got his start in theater. He still had many friends here.