If you are coming to Minneapolis for a show on Hennepin Avenue this November, the answer to “where should we stay” is about a mile from the marquees: a National Register mansion on the quiet side of Loring Park, with a hot tub in the garden for after the curtain comes down. November is a strong month on Hennepin — two comedy legends sharing the Orpheum stage, a six-Tony Best Musical on its first national tour, a hometown band’s 40th anniversary, and Dolly Parton’s Christmas show to close it out. Here is the lineup as published by Hennepin Arts, and how a stay at 300 Clifton fits around it.
November 2026 on Hennepin Avenue, by date
Everything below is from the official Hennepin Arts calendar, which runs the Orpheum, State, Pantages and Dudley Riggs theatres. Dates can shift, so confirm on the event page before you book a room.
- Sunday, November 1 — When a Woman’s Fed Up, a play at the State Theatre.
- Wednesday, November 4 — PIVOT with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, live at the State.
- Thursday, November 5 — Justin Willman, magic at the State.
- Friday, November 6 — Ari Matti, comedy at the Pantages.
- Saturday, November 7 — Mojo Brookzz’s Outta Pocket Tour at the Orpheum.
- Sunday, November 8 — Neil deGrasse Tyson, Science as a Way of Knowing, at the State.
- Wednesday, November 11 — Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox at the State.
- Friday, November 13 — Derrick Stroup’s Running Hot Tour at the Pantages.
- Saturday, November 14 — The Best of Steve Martin and Martin Short at the Orpheum, two shows (3 PM and 8 PM), plus The Fab Four, a Beatles tribute, at the Pantages.
- November 17–22 — Maybe Happy Ending, Broadway on Hennepin at the Orpheum. Eight performances, including matinees on Saturday and Sunday.
- Friday, November 20 — The Bald and the Beautiful live at the State.
- Saturday, November 21 — Marc Maron at the Pantages and The Jayhawks’ 40th-anniversary show at the State, on the same night.
- Tuesday, November 24 — Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol at the State.
The two weekends to book first
Saturday, November 14. Steve Martin and Martin Short have been touring together since 2015, and this Orpheum date was moved from February 28 to November 14, so demand that had built up over the winter is now concentrated on one Saturday. Two performances, an afternoon and an evening, means you can see the show and still have a proper dinner downtown either before or after. If you are a fan, this is the weekend to lock in.
November 17–22. Maybe Happy Ending won six Tony Awards including Best Musical, runs an hour and forty minutes with no intermission, and is recommended for ages 7 and up — which makes it an unusually easy Broadway night for a family or a couple who want to be at dinner by nine. The Saturday and Sunday matinees are the ones to watch for a two-night weekend. That same weekend the Jayhawks celebrate forty years at the State on Saturday the 21st while Marc Maron is down the street at the Pantages, and Twin Cities Con fills the Convention Center November 20–22. That is a busy downtown weekend for hotel rooms; it is not a busy weekend for us, because we have eight room types and a garden gate.
Getting from the mansion to the marquee
300 Clifton sits at the south edge of Loring Park, and the theatre district is roughly a mile northeast of our front door — about a twenty-minute walk through the park and up Hennepin, or a few minutes by rideshare. In November, dress for it: the walk is lovely on a crisp night and less lovely in sleet, so we usually suggest walking there and riding back. If you would rather not think about it, the Metro Transit trip planner will give you the bus from Hennepin and Lyndale. Driving? The Orpheum Lot at 1022 Hennepin and the 810 Hennepin Lot are both listed on Hennepin Arts’ parking page, and you can add ParkWhiz parking at ticket checkout. Guest parking at the mansion is available, with directions sent before you arrive.
Why a mansion instead of a downtown hotel
The Eugene J. Carpenter Mansion was built in 1906 and is on the National Register of Historic Places; it is often called the finest Georgian architecture in Minnesota and, because of the Carpenters, the birthplace of the arts in Minneapolis. You come home from the theatre to hand-painted murals, carved fireplaces and a house that is quiet after ten. Rooms range from the Crystal Mansion and the Georgian in the main house to the Hayloft and the Blacksmith’s Forge in the carriage house, with the Estate Rooms as the budget option (they are the only rooms with a shared bath). Every room has air conditioning and its own character; none of them look like a hotel.
After the show, the four-season hot tub in the English garden is open under the stars, and in November that is exactly when it is best. If you would rather stay in, Gertrude’s Cistern — the speakeasy under the house with its heated reclining seats and a library of old horror films — is a very good second act. Check-in is 3 PM and check-out is 10 AM, with early check-in or late check-out available for $25 each, which matters for a Sunday matinee. Breakfast is not served on site, but there is complimentary coffee in the common area, and plenty of brunch within a short walk of Loring Park.
Make it a full weekend
Book direct and every stay includes a $20 dining voucher for the Pillsbury Club, the speakeasy-style club in the Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion a few blocks south, and a $20 voucher for Minneapolis Trolley Tours, whose Candlelight Ghost Tour is at its spookiest in the fall (details on our vouchers page). The Minnesota Orchestra’s fall season is playing at Orchestra Hall on Nicollet Mall the same weeks, if you want a second night out, and the Walker Art Center and the Sculpture Garden are a short walk across the park.
Ready to book?
Pick your show on the Hennepin Arts calendar, then book your room at 300 Clifton. November 14 and November 20–22 will go first. For the October lineup on the same three stages, see our October guide.
Keep reading: Where Should You Stay for A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Theater in 2026? A Loring Park Mansion for the Holiday Show