Joe Chvala News

Friday night, July 12, saw the opening of the Guthrie Theater's romantic summer comedy Pride and Prejudice helmed by Guthrie director Joe Dowling. The production is the Simon Reade adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel and features Ashley Rose Montondo (Guthrie: Charley's Aunt, University of Minnesota/Guthrie BFA Actor Training Program) as Miss Elizabeth Bennet along with Vincent Kartheiser (Guthrie:A Christmas Carol, Henry V, Henry IV; Regional theater: Death of the Novel; Film: Untamed Heart, In Time; Television: "Mad Men") as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

Park Square Theatre invites the public to its annual summer extravaganza as single tickets for all shows in the 2013-2014 Season go on sale Thursday, July 18, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The free event takes place over the lunch hour at the theatre on West 7th Place in downtown Saint Paul.

The Guthrie Theater today announced complete casting for its summertime romance Pride and Prejudice adapted for the stage by Simon Reade based on the novel by Jane Austen in the 200th anniversary of its publication. The production will be directed by Joe Dowling and will feature Erin Krakow (Guthrie: The Importance of Being Earnest; Off-Broadway: The Shanghai Gesture, Prometheus Bound; Television: "Army Wives") as Miss Elizabeth Bennet along with previously announced Vincent Kartheiser (Guthrie: A Christmas Carol, Henry V, Henry IV; Regional theater: Death of the Novel; Film: Untamed Heart, In Time; Television: "Mad Men") as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.

The Southern Theater today announced the presentation of Trick Boxing by Sossy Mechanics, a fast-paced physical comedy full of rapid-fire dialogue, "Fred-and-Ginger style dancing" and puppetry. Trick Boxing premiered to great success at the 2002 Minnesota Fringe Festival, has since played to audiences around the U.S., Canada and the U.K., and will appear at The Southern Theater from June 1st - 8th.

Guthrie Director Joe Dowling today announced 12 mainstage productions of the theater's 2013-2014 season. The theater's 51st season includes first-time Guthrie productions of playwrights Beth Henley and Nina Raine, classics on the Wurtele Thrust Stage directed by Dowling and Marion McClinton, WorldStage Series presentations of returning companies Kneehigh Theatre and Out of Joint, as well as a summertime slate of a beloved musical and a Christopher Durang comedy that is currently a Broadway hit.

Park Square Theatre announces a 2013-2014 Season composed entirely of area, regional and world premieres - opening with David Lindsay-Abaire's dark comedy Good People and closing with the first ever stage depiction of Nero Wolfe, the famously eccentric detective genius created by best-selling author Rex Stout. The talent bringing these stories to life includes bold-faced names and theatre favorites, including the Minnesota stage debut of James Denton of Desperate Housewives fame, the return of Emmy-nominee Linda Kelsey playing Mary Todd Lincoln and the Park Square directing debuts of Joe Chvala and Amy Rummenie.

The Guthrie Theater today announced the full cast and creative team for the Theater's 2012 production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, presented by U.S. Bank. The perennial holiday favorite, now in its 38th year at the Guthrie, will feature a script by British playwright Crispin Whittell and be directed by Joe Chvala. Chvala is the founder and artistic director of the Flying Foot Forum and has previously served as movement director for the production. Longtime Guthrie actor J.C. Cutler will take on the role of grubby miser Ebenezer Scrooge. Cutler has been involved in 30 productions at the Guthrie since 1993, including five productions of A Christmas Carol - appearing as Ebenezer Scrooge (2011), Bob Cratchit (1995, 1997), Banker (1996) and Young Scrooge (1993, 1994) - and was last seen on a Guthrie stage in this past spring's American premiere of Conor McPherson's The Birds.

CTC is the industry leader in commissioning and producing plays by women specifically for young audiences, adding several strong young women to the canon of female protagonists. The opening play of the 2012-2013 Season brings a new feisty young lady to the stage to face seemingly insurmountable challenges. CTC will premiere the musical Buccaneers, written by Liz Duffy Adams with music by Ellen Maddow tonight, September 11 through October 21.

CTC is the industry leader in commissioning and producing plays by women specifically for young audiences, adding several strong young women to the canon of female protagonists. The opening play of the 2012-2013 Season brings a new feisty young lady to the stage to face seemingly insurmountable challenges. CTC will premiere the musical Buccaneers, written by Liz Duffy Adams with music by Ellen Maddow September 11 through October 21.

The Guthrie Theater announces the presentation of Trick Boxing by Sossy Mechanics, a fast-paced physical comedy full of rapid-fire dialogue, "Fred-and-Ginger style dancing" and puppetry that The New York Times called "the best show I have seen" when it played at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2010. Trick Boxing premiered to great success at the 2002 Minnesota Fringe Festival, has since played to audiences around the U.S., Canada and the U.K., and will appear in the Guthrie's Dowling Studio from tonight, August 17-September 2, 2012.

The Guthrie Theater today announced the presentation of Trick Boxing by Sossy Mechanics, a fast-paced physical comedy full of rapid-fire dialogue, "Fred-and-Ginger style dancing" and puppetry that The New York Times called "the best show I have seen" when it played at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2010. Trick Boxing premiered to great success at the 2002 Minnesota Fringe Festival, has since played to audiences around the U.S., Canada and the U.K., and will appear in the Guthrie's Dowling Studio from August 17-September 2, 2012.

Guthrie Director Joe Dowling today announced 11 mainstage productions of the theater's 2012-2013 season. The theater's 50th season and seventh on the Mississippi River looks ahead to a vital future with highlights including three new commissioned plays and works that deal vigorously with themes of war, race and politics through history and contemporary times.

The Guthrie Theater last week opened its six-week run of Crispin Whittell's adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the 37th year the play has been presented at the Guthrie but only the second year under Artistic Director Joe Dowling's direction.

The Guthrie Theater today announced that British theater, television and film actor Daniel Gerroll will play the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the 2010 production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, presented by U.S. Bank.

The Guthrie Theater today announced that British theater, television and film actor Daniel Gerroll will play the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the 2010 production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, presented by U.S. Bank.

The Guthrie Theater today announced that British theater, television and film actor Daniel Gerroll will play the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the 2010 production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, presented by U.S. Bank.

The Guthrie Theater today announced that British theater, television and film actor Daniel Gerroll will play the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the 2010 production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, presented by U.S. Bank.

Welcoming Twin Cities audiences back to the whimsical Kingdom of Didd, the Children's Theatre Company (CTC) kicks off its 45th Anniversary Season with the storied Dr. Seuss' The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.

Welcoming Twin Cities audiences back to the whimsical Kingdom of Didd, the Children's Theatre Company (CTC) kicks off its 45th Anniversary Season with the storied Dr. Seuss' The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.