Tracie Bennett News

The Guthrie today announced that 17 accomplished local actors and vocalists who have all appeared on the Guthrie's stages during their careers will complete the artist line-up as the vocal ensemble for BEHOLD: A Gala Performance, honoring 50 years of the Guthrie, on Saturday, June 22, 2013. Accompanied by a 12-piece orchestra helmed by Musical Director Andrew Cooke, the ensemble will perform songs from some of the greatest musicals of all time, in unexpected ways.

The Guthrie today announced that two-time Tony Award nominee and Obie and Drama Desk Award winner Brian d'Arcy James joins the artist line-up for BEHOLD: A Gala Performance, honoring 50 years of the Guthrie, onSaturday, June 22, 2013. James is slated to sing an original song based on excerpts of text from Hamlet, as previously announced, which is being composed by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown specifically for the celebratory evening.

The Guthrie today announced that eight artists who have graced the Guthrie's stages during its 50-year history, from the first season in 1963 to the theater's current season, are slated to participate in the Guthrie's 50th anniversary on June 22, 2013. Exclusive interviews with the legendary Zoe Caldwell and Christopher Plummer will be unveiled as part of a poignant and celebratory multi-media tribute, while stage veterans Barbara Bryne, Peter Michael Goetz and Stephen Yoakam; two graduates of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program, Matthew Amendt and Valeri Mudek; and an alum of A Guthrie Experience for Actors in Training, Erik Heger; will perform live for the one-night-only event.

The Guthrie Theater today announced that actors Daniel Gerroll, Patricia Kalember and Whoopi Goldberg will appear in BEHOLD: A Gala Performance celebrating the Guthrie's 50th anniversary on June 22, 2013. BEHOLD marks a return to the Guthrie for Gerroll, who last appeared in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing in the 2011-12 season. Kalember, a stage actress best-known for her roles on television's "Thirtysomething" and "Sisters," makes her Guthrie debut alongside husband Gerroll in the performance, which will be the first time the pair will perform together since a 2002 production of Blithe Spirit at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, NY. Goldberg also returns to the signature thrust stage for the first time since her five-night Guthrie engagement in May of 1988.

The Guthrie Theater today announced that stage, film and television actor T.R. Knight will appear in BEHOLD: A Gala Performance celebrating the Guthrie's 50th anniversary on June 22, 2013. Knight will return to the Guthrie--where he first appeared onstage at the age of five and was subsequently featured in productions including Ah, Wilderness! and Amadeus--for the first time since becoming a national presence on Broadway and Off-Broadway stages and in the television program "Grey's Anatomy." He is currently featured as Harold Parrott in the newly released feature film 42 about the life story of Brooklyn Dodgers player Jackie Robinson.

The Guthrie today announced that it has commissioned Tony Award and Drama Desk Award-winning Broadway songwriter and composer Jason Robert Brown to create an original music piece for its 50th-anniversary gala performance BEHOLD. Brown's composition will be based on text excerpts from Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The Guthrie Theater today announced that Oliver Award winner and Tony Award nominee Tracie Bennett, best known for her tour-de-force performance as Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow, will appear in BEHOLD: A Gala Performance celebrating the Guthrie's 50th anniversary on June 22, 2013. Bennett returns to the Guthrie stage following the play's electrifying run at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway and at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles this spring.

If you haven't had the chance to catch up on your theater news, look no further than today's recap of all things theater - exclusive features, interviews, reviews and more! - around the Broadway World for the week of March 18!

Tracie Bennett stars in END OF THE RAINBOW by Peter Quilter, directed by Terry Johnson at CTG's Ahmanson Theatre in LA. The show just opened last night, March 20, also featuring Michael Cumpsty, Erik Heger and Miles Anderson. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities below!

For diehard fans of Judy Garland, for those who adored every song she sang and every word she uttered, Peter Quilter's account of Judy's final comeback in the UK at Talk of the Town in December, 1968, called End of the Rainbow must be seen. Yes, it's darkly frank showing literally the decay of the alcoholic/drug addicted superstar whose great pain and loneliness drove her over the edge, but it retains a delicious sense of humor, Judy Garland's unique sense of humor whereby she could put herself down and everyone in the room around her, get big laughs and get away with the deprecation...and still be adulated and adored by all. Garland was iconic who delivered every performance from the bottom of her soul, and in End of the Rainbow Tracie Bennett's mesmerizing electricity dominates her portrayal, giving us the essence of the woman on and off the stage. It's uncannily brilliant!

'End of the Rainbow' opens tonight, March 20 at 8 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. Peter Quilter's acclaimed new play with music continues through April 21, 2013.

'End of the Rainbow' opens Wednesday, March 20 at 8 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. Peter Quilter's acclaimed new play with music continues through April 21, 2013.

'End of the Rainbow' opens March 20 and performances run through April 21, 2013. 'End of the Rainbow', written by Peter Quilter and directed by Terry Johnson, features Tracie Bennett reprising her Tony Award-nominated performance as Judy Garland, Michael Cumpsty (also Tony Award-nominated for his role), Erik Heger and Miles Anderson. BroadwayWorld has a first look at highlights of the production below.

'End of the Rainbow' opens March 20 and performances run through April 21, 2013. 'End of the Rainbow', written by Peter Quilter and directed by Terry Johnson, features Tracie Bennett reprising her Tony Award-nominated performance as Judy Garland, Michael Cumpsty (also Tony Award-nominated for his role), Erik Heger and Miles Anderson. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production photos below.