Guthrie Theater Reports Dramatic Fiscal Turnaround with Reduced Deficit

After reporting a $3.8 million shortfall on a $32 million budget in fiscal year 2023, the Guthrie Theater posted a deficit of $85,578 on a $29.6 million budget for the year ending August 31, 2024.

The theater had anticipated a $1 million gap but achieved greater savings through programming efficiencies and staff cost reductions. Programming expenses, which account for 79% of annual costs, were cut by $900,000—from $24.3 million to $23.4 million. Administrative expenses fell by $822,792, from $5.34 million to $4.52 million.

“While this progress is encouraging, we know there is still work to do ... to return to ... a balanced budget,” board chair Jennifer Reedstrom Bishop and artistic director Joseph Haj said in a joint statement to the Star Tribune.

The Guthrie drew 11.6% of its budget from restricted and unrestricted net assets, increasing its endowment to $144 million from $142 million the previous year.

Total attendance for the season reached 307,986, with audiences attending productions including the marathon staging of Shakespeare’s History Plays, the world premiere of Ty Defoe’s and Larissa FastHorse’s For the People, Yasmina Reza’s one-act Art, and the summer musical Little Shop of Horrors.

Photo by Mark Vancleave