Joe Dowling News

In collaboration with The Playwrights? Center, the Guthrie will present a reading of One Man Show, a newly translated play by Yutaka Kuramochi, on Monday, April 27 in the Dowling Studio. Presented as part of a two-year collaboration between the Guthrie and The Playwrights? Center, the evening will feature local actors John Middleton, Annelise Christ Gould, Casey Greig, Amy McDonald, Bill McCallum, Ryan Parker Knox and Mo Perry. Tickets for the one-night-only reading are $10 and are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6240 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

Guthrie Director Joe Dowling today announced the complete cast and creative team for the theater's world premiere commission of The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner, under the direction of Tony- and Drama Desk-nominated Michael Greif (Broadway: Next to Normal, Rent, Grey Gardens). Performances begin May 15, with an official press opening on May 22, and continue through June 28 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage.

San Francisco's cutting-edge Cutting Ball Theater closes its 2008-09 season with one of Samuel Beckett's funniest and most personal works for the stage, KRAPP'S LAST TAPE. Cutting Ball Artistic Director Rob Melrose helms this witty, poignant look at the choices one man makes and how the paths left untaken come back to haunt him.

On April 18th, 2009, nearly 1,000 attendees took part on the Guthrie Theater's Kick Off to Kushner, a community wide event, which featured 70 singers from the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus premiering 'I Want More Life,' a new choral commission with text from Kushner's Angels in America and music by Michael Shaieb. In addition, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak presented a proclamation declaring April 18 'Tony Kushner Day' in Minneapolis.

The Guthrie is pleased to present My Father's Bookshelf, the new original production by up-and-coming Twin Cities theater makers Live Action Set. Brought to life through a uniquely creative process, the show brings the tragicomic exploration of Alzheimer's Disease to the Dowling Studio for 10 performances, June 18 - 28.

The Guthrie today announced the complete cast and creative team for Caroline, or Change, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner's deeply personal story, featuring music by three-time Tony Award-nominated composer Jeanine Tesori (Shrek the Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie).

A new generation of American actors and playwrights combine their talents, as the Guthrie showcases the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program Class of 2009 in the Dowling Studio, April 17 - 26. General admission tickets, $10 for adults and $7 for students/seniors, are on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

The Guthrie Theater's unprecedented three-month celebration of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner kicks off this weekend in Minneapolis, with daylong festivities including a world premiere performance of 'I Want More Life,' commissioned by the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus with text from Kushner's Angels in America, the presentation of a 'Tony Kushner Day' proclamation by Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak to Tony Kushner, and a screening of the HBO film version of Angels in America. The three-month celebration includes productions on all three of the Guthrie's stages, classes, seminars, discussions, speakers and more.

Join us for a tour of Minneapolis' new Guthrie Theater designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel. Guthrie Artistic Director, Joe Dowling, and members of his production team, show co-hosts Michael Riedel and Susan Haskins around this impressive complex on the banks of the Mississippi River, giving Theater Talk a fascinating look at the Guthrie's multiple stages, as well as all the work that goes on behind-the-scenes to maintain it as one of the most thriving and significant theaters in the world.

The Guthrie today announced the complete cast and creative team for Caroline, or Change, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner's deeply personal story, featuring music by three-time Tony Award-nominated composer Jeanine Tesori (Shrek the Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie).

In collaboration with The Playwrights? Center, the Guthrie will present a reading of One Man Show, a newly translated play by Yutaka Kuramochi, on Monday, April 27 in the Dowling Studio. Presented as part of a two-year collaboration between the Guthrie and The Playwrights? Center, the evening will feature local actors John Middleton, Annelise Christ Gould, Casey Greig, Amy McDonald, Bill McCallum, Ryan Parker Knox and Mo Perry. Tickets for the one-night-only reading are $10 and are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6240 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

Guthrie Director Joe Dowling today announced the 21 plays of the Theater's 2009-2010 season, a blend of classics, fresh takes on timeless themes and exciting presentations - including renewed and continuing partnerships and the return of the Guthrie's prestigious WorldStage program. Ranging from uproarious comedies to a modern retelling of Ibsen's feminist classic to stories centered on Chinese opera and American jazz, the 2009-2010 season showcases Shakespeare, celebrated Irish playwrights and new American voices.

Guthrie Director Joe Dowling today announced the 21 plays of the Theater's 2009-2010 season, a blend of classics, fresh takes on timeless themes and exciting presentations - including renewed and continuing partnerships and the return of the Guthrie's prestigious WorldStage program. Ranging from uproarious comedies to a modern retelling of Ibsen's feminist classic to stories centered on Chinese opera and American jazz, the 2009-2010 season showcases Shakespeare, celebrated Irish playwrights and new American voices.

A new generation of American actors and playwrights combine their talents, as the Guthrie showcases the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program Class of 2009 in the Dowling Studio, April 17 - 26. General admission tickets, $10 for adults and $7 for students/seniors, are on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

Join us for a tour of Minneapolis' new Guthrie Theater designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel. Guthrie Artistic Director, Joe Dowling, and members of his production team, show co-hosts Michael Riedel and Susan Haskins around this impressive complex on the banks of the Mississippi River, giving Theater Talk a fascinating look at the Guthrie's multiple stages, as well as all the work that goes on behind-the-scenes to maintain it as one of the most thriving and significant theaters in the world.

'Theater Talk,' the nationally syndicated program co-hosted by New York Post theater columnist Michael Riedel and producer Susan Haskins, takes an exciting look behind the scenes at Minneapolis's Guthrie Theater, in a special broadcast airing on Friday, March 20 (early Saturday morning) at 12:30 AM on WNET, Channel 13. Check local listings or visit www.theatertalk.org.

The Guthrie is pleased to present Frank Theatre's production of By the Bog of Cats by Marina Carr, March 12 - April 5 in the Dowling Studio. Single tickets are priced from $18 to $30, with opening night priced at $34. 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 http://www.guthrietheater.org/. Tickets for a benefit birthday party on March 21, which will celebrate 20 years of Frank Theatre, are available by calling 612.724.3760.

Now in its 10th year, the Guthrie's annual Shakespeare Classic returns on Sunday, March 15 at 1 p.m., offering young people (ages 8 to 15) an opportunity to share in the entertainingly retro world of Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona. This special event, tailored specifically for young audiences, features a specially prepared play program, subsidized $10 tickets to the performance and a post-play reception where costumed actors from the show engage with the audience to answer questions and sign autographs.

The Guthrie is pleased to present Frank Theatre's production By the Bog of Cats by Marina Carr, March 13 - April 5 in the Dowling Studio. Single tickets are priced from $18 to $30, with opening night priced at $34. 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. Tickets for a benefit birthday party on March 21, which will celebrate 20 years of Frank Theatre, are available by calling 612.724.3760.

The Guthrie is proud to present Penumbra Theatre's production of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Lou Bellamy. A co-production with Arizona Theatre Company and The Cleveland Play House, this presentation marks the 50th anniversary of the show's groundbreaking Broadway opening, and arrives at the Guthrie on the heels of two highly-lauded regional runs in Ohio and Arizona. A Raisin in the Sun previews March 12, opens March 13 and plays through April 11, 2009 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage. Single tickets are priced from $24 to $60, with opening night prices ranging from $49 to $70. 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. A recent widow, Lena Younger (Franchelle Stewart Dorn) wants to use her husband's insurance money to buy a home for her family, freeing them from the cramped tenement in which she, her two children, daughter-in-law and grandson live. Her son, Walter Lee (David Alan Anderson), is determined to invest the money in a business - an opportunity for him to be his own man and not just the driver for his white boss. Lena refuses; in her eyes a house is a sturdy thing to build a dream on, one that can relieve the strains that poverty has put on the family. But when a white representative of the neighborhood 'welcoming committee' presents the Youngers with an offer to buy them out of their home to prevent integration in their community, the dream of the house quickly becomes a nightmare. The title comes from the opening lines of 'Harlem,' a poem by Langston Hughes ('What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?'). Throughout the play, the idea of deferred dreams is a prominent theme, as each member of the Younger family attempts to find his or her place amidst a number of difficult situations. While their future neighbors resist the Youngers' move, Walter Lee for the first time begins to value what money can't buy, and in the process achieves a new level of self respect and pride.