Nielsen and Wingert star in Guthrie Theater's ARSENIC AND OLD LACE

The Guthrie Theater announced today that Kristine Nielsen - who recently appeared on Broadway in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson - will play Abby Brewster in its upcoming production of Joseph Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace, directed by Joe Dowling.

Nielsen is no stranger to the Guthrie, having appeared in numerous Minneapolis productions during the theater's 1980-83 seasons, including Arms and the Man, The Tempest, Our Town, Candide, As You Like It and Peer Gynt. She teams with Guthrie regular Sally Wingert, who is current making her Broadway debut in La Bête (closing January 9 at Broadway's Music Box Theatre), to play the pair of well-meaning but deadly spinster sisters in this classic American comedy, which begins performances April 9 on the Wurtele Thrust Stage at the Guthrie.

In addition to Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Nielsen has performed on Broadway in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, To Be or Not To Be, Spring Awakening, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Greenbird, Jackie: An American Life and The Iceman Cometh. She has also been recognized for her Off-Broadway performances in Why Torture is Wrong, And The People Who Love Them (Drama League, Outer Critics Circle Nominations), Betty's Summer Vacation (Obie Award, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle Nominations) and Dog Opera (Obie Award), and has appeared in film and television work, including Morning Glory, The Savages, Adelaide, Small Time Crooks, "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: CI." Nielsen is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama.

Complete casting for Arsenic and Old Lace will be announced shortly.

Arsenic and Old Lace is often called a perfectly written farcical black comedy. Spinster sisters Abby and Martha Brewster are devoted to charity and family. But the sisters have taken on another project as well - befriending lonely older gentlemen and then poisoning them with arsenic-laced elderberry wine. This uproarious comedy begins preview performances on the Guthrie's Wurtele Thrust Stage on April 9, opens on April 5 and continues through June 15. Single tickets start at $24 and are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6244 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

The GUTHRIE THEATER (Joe Dowling, Director) was founded by Sir Tyrone Guthrie in 1963 and is an American center for theater performance, production, education and professional training. The Tony Award-winning Guthrie Theater is dedicated to producing the great works of dramatic literature, developing the work of contemporary playwrights and cultivating the next generation of theater artists. With annual attendance of nearly 500,000 people, the Guthrie Theater presents a mix of classic plays and contemporary work on its three stages. Under the artistic leadership of Joe Dowling since 1995, the Guthrie continues to set a national standard for excellence in theatrical production and performance. In 2006, the Guthrie opened its new home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, the Guthrie Theater houses three state-of-the-art stages, production facilities, classrooms and dramatic public lobbies. www.guthrietheater.org

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