Raye Birk to Step in For Peter Michael Goetz in Guthrie Theatre's LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT

The Guthrie today announced that actor Peter Michael Goetz will be stepping away from subsequent performances of his acclaimed portrayal of James Tyrone in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night; Goetz will return to his California home in order to attend to a personal matter that requires his immediate attention. Raye Birk will assume the role of James Tyrone for upcoming performances.

Raye Birk has performed in more than 100 professional Theater Productions, including more than two dozen at the Guthrie (The Sunshine Boys, Faith Healer, Third), and has been featured in nearly 150 television shows and more than 20 feature films. Often recognized for his role as the villain, Papshmir, in the comedic film series The Naked Gun, and as mailman Walt Twitchell on "Cheers" which he later reprised in the hit show "Frasier," Birk has appeared in films such as A Serious Man, North Country, Sweet Land, Factotum, Star Trek: Insurrection, Class Act and Doc Hollywood, as well as many of television's most beloved sitcoms, from "Seinfeld" and "Murphy Brown" to "Third Rock from the Sun" and "The Golden Girls."

Long Day's Journey into Night continues through February 23, 2013 on the Wurtele Thrust Stage at the Guthrie Theater. Single tickets 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