The Guthrie Opens AN ILIAD Tonight

Tonight is opening night at the Guthrie for An Iliad, the single-actor storytelling adaptation of Homer's Greek classic about the siege of Troy, featuring Stephen Yoakam (more than 75 Guthrie Productions including a lauded turn as Bertolt Brecht in 2012's Tales from Hollywood and as Creon in 2011's The Burial at Thebes) as The Poet and directed by Benjamin McGovern (The Edge of Our Bodies, Circle Mirror Transformation). An Iliad is written by Lisa Peterson (director of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Guthrie in 2012, as well as the upcoming production of Clybourne Parkopening in June) and Denis O'Hare from a translation of Homer by Robert Fagles.

Yoakam's Poet has told the story of the Greek siege of Troy for centuries, conjuring the heroes and battles for different cultures and eras. Now in the shadow of war in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, he unleashes the story's power for a modern audience. An Iliad premiered in 2010 and has been praised by critics across the country, including The New York Timesthis spring: "Mr. O'Hare and Ms. Peterson have telescoped the mighty expanses of Homer's great poem into an evening that scales the conflict of the Trojan War down to an intimate solo show illuminating both the heroism and the horror of warfare."

The artistic team for An Iliad includes Michael Hoover (Set Designer), Christine A. Richardson (Costume Designer),Tom Mays (Lighting Designer), Greg Brosofske (Sound/Music Composition), Carla Steen (Dramaturg), and Meaghan Rosenberger (Stage Manager).

Lisa Peterson is currently in rehearsal at the Guthrie directing 2011 Pulitzer Prize and 2012 Tony Award winnerClybourne Park by Bruce Norris, the biting contemporary satire about race and gentrification during the past half century in America. The cast for Clybourne Park includes Ansa Akyea (Guthrie: The Burial at Thebes, The Winter's Tale) as Albert/Kevin, Shá Cage (Guthrie: Appomattox, Penumbra Theatre production of The Amen Corner) as Francine/Lena,Emily Gunyou Halaas (Guthrie: Much Ado About Nothing, The Master Butchers Singing Club) as Betsy/Lindsey, Peter Christian Hansen (Guthrie: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Dollhouse) as Jim/Tom, Steven Lee Johnson (Twin Cities: Park Square Theatre, Theater Latté Da) as Kenneth, Jim Lichtscheidl (Guthrie: Nice Fish, The 39 Steps) as Karl/Steve, Bill McCallum (Guthrie: Tales from Hollywood, Time Stands Still) as Russ/Dan and Kathryn Meisle (Guthrie: The Real Thing,Three Sisters; Broadway: Tartuffe, A Touch of the Poet) as Bev/Kathy.

The Clybourne Park artistic team includes Rachel Hauck (Set Designer), David Zinn (Costume Designer), Mark Barton(Lighting Designer), Reid Rejsa (Sound Designer), Carla Steen (Dramaturg), D'Arcy Smith (Voice and Dialect Coach),Marcela Lorca (Movement), Michael J. Anderson (Fight Choreographer), Karen K. Wegner (Stage Manager), Michele Harms (Assistant Stage Manager) and Jennie Ward (Assistant Director).

An Iliad continues through May 26, 2013 in the Dowling Studio at the Guthrie Theater. Clybourne Park begins preview performances on June 1, opens June 7 and continues through August 4, 2013 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage at the Guthrie Theater. Single tickets for both productions start at $29 and are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6244 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org.