Music appreciation isn’t limited by age, sex or race. It’s something we can share and enjoy together.
And enjoy we did during the opening night performance of “Beautiful: The Carole King Story” March 8 at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.
It’s hard to sit still when performers belt out such hits as “I Feel the Earth Move,” “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” and “One Fine Day.” It was an interactive experience with the actors performing these box office hits and the audience cheering them on — clapping, singing along and ending with a standing ovation.
What makes this show particularly fun is the local connection. Litchfield’s Mitchell Douglas, 26, is playing one of the four Drifters — a member of the American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group — as well as that of Nick, a long-haired guitarist — in the second act. This is the LHS grad’s fourth show at CDT. Past performances included “The Music Man,” “Footloose” and “The Prom.”
“It’s so crazy what has all transpired in the last three years,” Douglas said in a phone interview. “It’s been a whirlwind. It’s been wonderful. ‘Music Man’ was fall 2021. We closed early due to COVID. I was cast immediately into ‘Footloose’ at Chanhassen. The ensemble ran from Feb. 4, 2022, to Feb. 4, 2023. We had more than 400 performances. It was an intense contract.”
Next up for the performer was “The Prom.”
“It was such a special show to take part in,” he said. “So many schools came to us and so many students who saw themselves represented on stage. It ran from February to June 2023.”
From there, Douglas headed north to Duluth where he starred in “Kinky Boots.”
“It was my dream come true,” he said. “It’s been a show on my list for a long time. Billy Porter originated the role. … Right after ‘Prom’ closed on Saturday, I packed up my car, said goodbye Sunday and drove to Duluth Monday. I was there through July 2023.”
It’s not surprising with so many back-to-back acting gigs, that Douglas took some time off to “recharge the artist behind the heart.”
After spending the summer on the North Shore, the performer headed back to the Twin Cities where he was cast in the Children’s Theatre Company production of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
“It was a magical experience,” Douglas recalled.” “It was one of those moments. I hadn’t worked for them before and I had heard really good things. I needed a contract. I auditioned via Zoom. I booked that show. It was so cool how that building works, and the magic they can produce on their stage is amazing.”
What set this show apart from others for Douglas was the composer died before rehearsals.
“We were invited to sing a song for the service,” he said. “It was such a community experience. I played Cyndy Lou Who’s dad. We had a quartet and sang at his funeral. At that moment, it hit me how special it was to be in this play and doing this show. There’s nothing like 10,000 children screaming Christmas at you. We ran that from November 2023 to January 2024.”
Now Douglas is back at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre.
“There are no Twin Cities theatrical agencies,” he said. “Every actor is a free agent in the Twin Cities. Chanhassen typically auditions about six months before a contract would start. I auditioned for ‘Beautiful’ in late August, early September. They typically release information on their website. You sign up for an audition slot and go from there. You go in, sing your song and hope for a call back. I got a call back. I did a dance call, read a bunch of lines and was called back for The Drifters and Nick.”
Douglas described The Drifters lead singer — John Jamison — as “exquisite.”
“He transcends,” Douglas said. “Jamison steals the show every time he opens his mouth. Everywhere you look, you have someone having a shining moment. You get that awesome music. It’s fun to sing those tight harmonies every night. We have a little (meeting) every night. We just get ready and it’s just special.”
The actor is also enjoying sharing the stage with Monet Sabel, the actress playing the lead role of Carole King. Sabel did the Broadway tour of “Beautiful” as well as a number of regional productions.
“She’s got this show in her back pocket,” Douglas said. “It’s not often Chan brings in an out-of-towner for a show. It’s such a treat. It’s so exciting to share this experience with her.”
Douglas described the musical as a “peek into the life of someone.”
“Just as she (Carole King) says in the opening monologue, sometimes life goes as expected and sometimes it doesn’t,” he said. “Either way, there’s beauty in it. There’s pain in Gerry and Carole’s relationship. If you think about the show, it ends with ‘Tapestry.’ There’s joy in any artist’s life, in anyone’s life.”
So far, the show has been a hit. Douglas reported a lot of parents are bringing their children to see it. During March, all the matinees are sold out. Houses are packed and the audiences’ responses are great.
“Everyone seems to be really enjoying the work,” he said. “We have some of the best voices in the Twin Cities.”
Next up for the actor? It’s audition season.
“I have some back backs in the works,” Douglas said. “The Children’s Theatre Company is doing the ‘Grinch’ again. “With ‘Beautiful,’ we run through the end of September. It’s yet to be determined what comes next. I’m not sure yet.”
One of the things Douglas likes about working at Chanhassen is that the long runs allow people to have regular lives, such as buy houses, have kids and own cars.
“I’m proud to be in this community,” he said “The last three years have been a blossom of joy.”
IN THE BEGINNING
Mitchell Douglas got his start on stage playing one of the Lollipop kids in a Litchfield Community Theatre production of “Wizard of Oz.” He was known as Mitch Evans then.
He was a farm kid who grew up north of Litchfield — the third of four boys in the family of Tom and Lisa Cox.
“Being a little theater kid, it can be tricky in a small town like Litchfield,” he said. “They see that light and that passion and were so supportive.”
It was as a student at Litchfield High School that his love of singing and performing turned into a passion. A high school trip to New York City led Evans to consider a stage career. During the trip, students attended a workshop featuring the cast members of the Broadway play “Wicked.”
“We sang one of the opening songs,” he remembered. “Afterward, one of the accompanists asked me if I had considered (a career) in musical theater, singing? I laughed it off and moved on. That night we saw ‘Wicked’ — the way the orchestra played, the opening sequence is powerful, an exciting spectacle. Our seats were in the balcony and although every person on stage was the size of an ant, when the orchestra played the overture, my heart just shifted. That was it for me. This was going to be my life. It was so magical.”
After graduating in 2015, he headed to Minnesota State University Mankato, where he appeared in 23 productions during his four years.
Following college graduation in 2019, with a degree in musical theater and a minor in dance, Evans hit the ground to find work. He was lucky to be booked right away by a small theater company in Minneapolis. It was the first off-Broadway company to produce “Night of the Living Dead: The Musical.” He was cast as the lead.
Next was performing on a cruise ship. Douglas was hired as a playlist dancer with Carnival Cruise Lines. He described rehearsals for five 40-minute shows as a “most intense process.”
“Nothing I had done prepared me for it,” he said. “It was insane. ... We had to learn five shows. I was hired as a dancer. When I lived in Litchfield, boys didn’t have a lot of opportunities to dance, so I didn’t take training until I went to Mankato.”
The next thing he knew, people were fighting over toilet paper at Walmart. He wondered, “What’s going on?”
With the ship scheduled to go into dry dock for construction, he had the option of going home for three weeks. That’s when he found out about the true impact of the COVID pandemic.
“After the second week of vacation, the governor shut down the state,” Douglas recalled. “Everything was in limbo. Then it was a year and a half of nothing.”
WORKING ODD JOBS
With no acting opportunities on the horizon, Douglas supported himself with a variety of jobs, including an animal humane society, waiting tables and working at a call center.
After a year and a half of waiting for theaters to open again, he was cast in his first post-COVID production — “‘Mamma Mia” at the Zephyr in Stillwater.
“Being back doing what we were doing, the first day in the room, there was nothing like that,” Douglas said. “We were overwhelmed to be back in our world again. It hasn’t stopped from there.”
It was a few weeks later that Evans made his debut at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. His dream theater.
“It’s been a full circle motion from seeing ‘Wicked’ to being on stage every day, to be with people who inspired this theater nerd,” he said. “It’s been such a humbling experience.”
