The Guthrie Theater brings Shakespeare's romantic comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona to the stage January 24 ? March 29, 2009 in a retro rendition directed by Joe Dowling, as the story is 'taped' on the set of a '50s television studio in front of a live audience. It's the same familiar story, an oldie but goodie, where four young lovers hit the road to romance and find their bonds of friendship tested along the way. The director's cut offers a no holds 'bard' pop culture explosion of comedy, song and dance, showcasing the triumphs of young love, an adorable sidekick dog named Crab, and everything in between.
Director Joe Dowling today announced complete casting for his upcoming Guthrie production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, the theater's first-ever staging of this Shakespeare comedy. A cast of recent University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program graduates team with Guthrie veterans for Dowling's 1950s-style retelling of this Shakespearean comedy celebrating the triumph of young love.
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.
Tickets for Guthrie Girls Night, a new Wednesday 3-play subscription package, are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office. Gather the girls and pick three upcoming performances for $90 ($30 per show), earning full subscriber benefits for the remaining 2008-09 season. This mid-week series includes an exclusive pre-show party in the Target Lounge, featuring a delicious complimentary cocktail, spa services from Aveda Institute and music from DJ Eric Lovold. Give reality the night off and continue the girl bonding in the theater, as the drama takes to the stage. Guthrie Girls Nights packages are only available in-person or by phone at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE.
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 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.
Set in rural Ireland, By the Bog of Cats mixes the trademark dark humor of the Irish with an uncompromising tale of abandonment and shocking self-sacrifice. Hester Swane (Virginia Burke) is an Irish 'tinker,' a woman born of gypsies, and tied to the bleak landscape of the bog where she has lived her whole life. Her younger lover, Carthage Kilbride (John Catron), with whom she has a daughter, is on the verge of a marriage to another woman that will bring him land, wealth and respect. Refusing to acknowledge that Carthage could ever leave her, Hester grips more tightly and tragically to the life she believes is rightfully hers.
In this loose retelling of Euripides' Medea, Marina Carr blends the mythic with the modern, populating the Bog of Cats with misfits, witches, and ghosts. Following the highly successful run of their Ivey Award-winning production of The Pillowman during the Guthrie's 2007-2008 season, Frank returns to the Dowling Studio to bring its fearless, take-no-prisoners style to this bold and uproarious play.
Tickets for Guthrie Girls Night, a new Wednesday 3-play subscription package, are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office. Gather the girls and pick three upcoming performances for $90 ($30 per show), earning full subscriber benefits for the remaining 2008-09 season. This mid-week series includes an exclusive pre-show party in the Target Lounge, featuring a delicious complimentary cocktail, spa services from Aveda Institute and music from DJ Eric Lovold. Give reality the night off and continue the girl bonding in the theater, as the drama takes to the stage. Guthrie Girls Nights packages are only available in-person or by phone at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE.
Tickets for the final six Target Play Dates of the 2008-09 season will go on sale Wednesday, January 7 through the Guthrie Box Office. Presented in partnership with Target, this wildly popular event lets kids take part in an afternoon of classes taught by Guthrie teaching artists, while the rest of the family gets $15 reduced-price tickets to that afternoon's matinee performance. Target Play Date tickets are only available in-person or by phone at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE.
The Guthrie announced today that actor Tom Tammi has left its production of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance for personal reasons. The role of Tobias will be played by Guthrie veteran Raye Birk, who recently concluded his fourth consecutive year as Scrooge in the theater's perennial holiday favorite, A Christmas Carol.
Tickets for the final six Target Play Dates of the 2008-09 season will go on sale Wednesday, January 7 through the Guthrie Box Office. Presented in partnership with Target, this wildly popular event lets kids take part in an afternoon of classes taught by Guthrie teaching artists, while the rest of the family gets $15 reduced-price tickets to that afternoon's matinee performance. Target Play Date tickets are only available in-person or by phone at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE.
In 2008, the Guthrie was abuzz with new works and classic favorites in a busy 12-month lineup that included 19 productions across three stages. From starry world premieres to intimate studio engagements, we welcomed artists and audiences from around the globe to our world-class facility boldly nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River. In addition to the 13 Guthrie productions in 2008, we're proud to have presented the work of six other local theater companies. As the year comes to a close, we look back on the remarkable accomplishments of our cast, crew, staff and volunteers.
Veteran Guthrie actors Sally Wingert and Richard Ooms team with director Rob Melrose for Samuel Beckett's masterful two-character drama Happy Days. The production, which serves as the Dowling Studio debut for both actors, begins previews February 14, opens February 18 and plays through March 8, 2009. 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.)
Guthrie Director Joe Dowling and The Acting Company's Producing Artistic Director Margot Harley today announced casting for the co-production and national tour of William Shakespeare's Henry V, directed by Davis McCallum.
Director Joe Dowling today announced complete casting for his upcoming Guthrie production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, the theater's first-ever staging of this Shakespeare comedy. A cast of recent University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program graduates team with Guthrie veterans for Dowling's 1950s-style retelling of this Shakespearean comedy celebrating the triumph of young love.
The Guthrie today announced complete casting for its first-ever staging of A Delicate Balance, Edward Albee's 1966 Pulitzer Prize-winning portrait of upper-upper-middle-class suburban WASP culture. Under the direction of eight-time A Christmas Carol director Gary Gisselman, actors Margaret Daly (Jane Eyre) and Tom Tammi (Richard III, 1965) return for their second Guthrie productions, teaming to play Agnes and Tobias, the dysfunctional suburban couple at the center of Albee's sharp and witty masterpiece. A Delicate Balance begins previews January 10, opens January 16 and plays through March 1, 2009. Single tickets are priced from $24 to $60, with opening night prices ranging from $54 to $70. Tickets are on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE and online at www.guthrietheater.org.
HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS
The Guthrie will be closed on December 25 and January 1 in observance of Christmas and New Years Day, respectively. In addition, the building will close at 4 p.m. on December 24 and December 31. Regular building hours (8 a.m. - midnight) and backstage tours (offered Fridays - Mondays at 10 a.m.) continue throughout the holiday season on all other days.
The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis has announced that British biographer and film producer Douglas Gresham will join Guthrie Director Joe Dowling as this year's Global Voice speaker on Monday, November 10.
The Guthrie's Shadowlands, directed by Joe Dowling stars Simon Jones (The Home Place, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy") playing C.S. Lewis alongside Guthrie favorite Charity Jones (Jane Eyre, A Christmas Carol), who plays his wife Joy Gresham Davidman. Shadowlands began previews November 1, opening November 7 and continuing through December 21 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage.
The Guthrie welcomes back beloved stage and screen actor Charles Keating, who returns to the Dowling Studio next month for two nights in his highly-lauded one-man show I and I: The Sense of Self.
