GUTHRIES 50th SEASON TACKLES WAR, RACE, HISTORY, POLITICS, AND MODERN FAMILY THEMES

Highlights include a new play by Christopher Hampton, a 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, the return to the Guthrie of a two-time Tony winner, the reuniting of a lauded acting duo in a canonical classic, and a thrilling WorldStage Shakespeare repertory production

(Minneapolis/St. Paul) Guthrie Director Joe Dowling today announced 11 mainstage productions of the theaters 2012-2013 season. The theaters 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 2012-2013 Guthrie subscription season includes 10 productions, beginning with the previously announced celebration of the prolific and multifaceted Christopher Hampton. The celebration commences on the Wurtele Thrust Stage with Tales from Hollywood (September 15 October 27, 2012), the historically based, sharp-witted story of German intellectual émigrés such as Bertolt Brecht and Thomas Mann who escaped the Nazi regime and found an uncertain new life in America, which will be directed by Ethan McSweeny (A View from the Bridge). The Hampton celebration will also feature the new Appomattox (September 29 November 11, 2012), a wide-ranging work of historical scope encompassing the Civil War and Civil Rights eras of American history, directed by David Esbjornson (The Great Gatsby).

Christopher Bayes (actor, Guthrie: The Tempest, King Lear, Marat/Sade; director at Intiman Theater, Court Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre) will direct Carlo Goldonis commedia dellarte masterpiece The Servant of Two Masters (December 1, 2012 January 20, 2013), a physical comedy about the wily Truffaldino and his schemes to fill his pockets and stomach, on the proscenium stage. Of the 2010 production of The Servant of Two Masters at Yale Repertory Theatre directed by Bayes and featuring Theatre de la Jeune Lune veteran Steven Epp (who will reprise his role as Truffaldino at the Guthrie), the Washington Post called it as delightful and delicious a farce as youre likely to see.

The Guthrie subscription season continues on the thrust in 2013 with the first-ever Guthrie production of Eugene ONeills American classic Long Days Journey into Night (January 12 February 23, 2013), directed by Joe Dowling and featuring actors Helen Carey and Peter Michael Goetz. ONeills shattering story of a single night in the home of the Tyrone family, riven with betrayal, accusation, addiction and delusion will reunite Carey, Dowling and Goetz after lauded productions of Arthur Millers All My Sons in 2002 and Death of a Salesman in 2004. Of Careys performance as Mary Cavan Tyrone in the current Arena Stage production of the play, Peter Marks of the Washington Post wrote, Degree by furtive degree, Carey provides as meticulously detailed a portrait of this anguishing character as Ive ever encountered. Added the Washingtonian, Goetz brings a comical brio and a mildness to the senior Tyrone, playing him not as a villain but as a selfish man who sees his own flaws.

The proscenium opens in 2013 with Jon Robin Baitzs Other Desert Cities (February 9 March 24, 2013), directed by Peter Rothstein. Called the best new play on Broadway by the New York Times, its story of a homecoming fraught with memories of a tragic family event debuted at New Yorks Lincoln Center Theater and won the 2011 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.

Britains all-male company Propeller will perform Shakespeares Twelfth Night and Obie-winner The Taming of the Shrew (February 27 April 6, 2013) in repertory on the thrust stage, directed by Edward Hall as part of the Guthries WorldStage Series. Noted for their wit, muscularity and vitality, Propeller has been termed thrillingly fresh and sharp, contemporary and urgent in the British press, and will deliver Shakespeares two comedies of mistaken identities, transformations and deception

Mark Rylance will return to the Guthrie on the proscenium stage, having won two Best Actor Tony Awards (for Boeing Boeing and Jerusalem) since his piercing work in the titular role in 2008s Peer Gynt, with Nice Fish (April 6 May 18, 2013). Co-written by Rylance and poet Louis Jenkins, based on the book of poetry by Jenkins and directed by Rylance with Claire van Kampen, Nice Fish begins with two men ice fishing on a frozen lake and proceeds into the realm of the mythic, with a taciturn giant on a snowmobile and the last blizzard of the season about to begin.

The Guthrie will then present playwright Crispin Whittells (A Christmas Carol) world premiere The Primrose Path (April 27 June 15, 2013) on the thrust stage. Based on the novel Home of the Gentry by Ivan Turgenev, Primrose Path will be directed by Olivier, Tony and Emmy-award winning actor Roger Rees (Peter and the Starcatcher, currently on Broadway); the story of a member of the 19th-century Russian gentry who returns to his neglected country estate after escaping his adulterous wife in Paris, this drama explores the tensions between wishing for a simpler life amid the complications of the self and the inescapable past.

In the summer of 2013, the Guthrie will present Clybourne Park (June 1 August 4, 2013) on the proscenium stage. The winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2011 Olivier Award for Best New Play, Bruce Norris play is a direct response to Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun. Dealing with generations of race and class, Clybourne Park was called a bitingly satiric comedy by the Los Angeles Times and dangerous and provocative, but pulverizingly funny by Variety. The 2012-2013 season concludes on the thrust with Garson Kanins (renowned for his Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn films Adams Rib and Pat and Mike) Born Yesterday (July 6 August 31), in which a corrupt businessman on the rise heads to Washington to influence a senator, but soon realizes that his showgirl mistress Billie will need polish and education if hes going to get ahead. He hires a newspaperman for the task, but gets more than he bargained for when Billie begins to piece together her boyfriends business dealings as well as how to exert some influence of her own. Born Yesterday was made into a 1950 film starring Judy Holliday, after Holliday originated the role of Billie on Broadway. John Miller-Stephany (A Streetcar Named Desire, 1776) will direct.

Im extremely enthusiastic to announce a season so varied and immediate, said Dowling. We feel confident that we are continuing to fulfill our mission of enlivening the classics while fostering excellent new work and productions of national relevance. With the Guthrie looking forward to its next 50 years, Im thrilled by what I see on the road ahead.

Dowling also announced productions that will play in the Dowling Studio next season, including Christopher Hamptons Embers and Youth Without God, An Iliad, a one-actor adaptation of Homer by Lisa Peterson and Denis OHare with a translation by Robert Fagles, a continuation of the Guthries association with The Acting Company with Shakespeares As You Like It, and a Mu Performing Arts production of Rick Shiomis Yellow Fever. Additional productions and all dates and times will be announced at a later date.

In addition to the 10 plays of the subscription season and studio productions, Dowling announced that Joe Chvala (Flying Foot Forum) will direct Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol (November 13 December 29, 2012), the perennial favorite that received a new adaptation by Crispin Whittell in 2010 and continues the Guthries holiday tradition for the 38th year. J.C. Cutler will play the role of Ebenezer Scrooge for the second time, following last years acclaimed performance.

TICKET INFORMATION

Ten plays of the 2012-2013 season are available as part of the subscription series at the Guthrie Theater Tales from Hollywood, Long Days Journey into Night, Propellers repertory productions of Twelfth Night or The Taming of the Shrew, The Primrose Path and Born Yesterday on the Wurtele Thrust Stage and Appomattox, The Servant of Two Masters, Other Desert Cities, Nice Fish and Clybourne Park on the McGuire Proscenium Stage. New season subscriptions range in price from $70 to $625 and go on sale June 21. Single tickets for Tales from Hollywood and Appomattox go on sale July 10. Single tickets for A Christmas Carol go on sale September 4. Single tickets for all other shows on the Wurtele Thrust and McGuire Proscenium stages go on sale August 10. Single ticket prices for these shows range from $24 to $85. Discounts are available for students, seniors and children. Single tickets for productions in the Dowling Studio range from $24 to $39 and go on sale August 10.

For more information or to purchase tickets or season subscriptions, call the Guthrie Theater Box Office 612.377.2224 or toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6244 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

GUTHRIE THEATER 2012-2013 SEASON PLAY DESCRIPTIONS

On the Wurtele Thrust Stage

September 15 October 27, 2012

Tales from Hollywood

by Christopher Hampton

directed by Ethan McSweeny

Opening Night: Friday, September 21

Tales from Hollywood depicts the story of German émigré intellectuals in Los Angeles during World War II. This large, sharp-witted ensemble drama follows the careers of Bertolt Brecht, Thomas and Heinrich Mann, and other prominent European writers who fled to Los Angeles during the 1930s and '40s to escape the Third Reich. Hired by the major studios, they set to work writing screenplays but spent much of their time griping about life in exile. The story is narrated by Ödön von Horváth, a real-life Eastern European playwright whom Hampton has fictionalized for the play.

November 13 December 29, 2012

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens

adapted by Crispin Whittell

directed by Joe Chvala

Opening Night: Saturday, November 17

The Guthries perennial holiday favorite, which received a new adaptation by Crispin Whittell in 2010, continues the Theaters holiday tradition for the 38th year, telling the story of an old miser who learns real compassion when three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve. J.C. Cutler returns for a second consecutive year in his acclaimed performance as Ebenezer Scrooge.

January 12 February 23, 2013

Long Days Journey into Night

by Eugene ONeill

directed by Joe Dowling

Opening Night: Friday, January 18

The trio of Helen Carey, Peter Michael Goetz and director Joe Dowling reunite for the first time since the Guthries lauded 2002 production of Arthur Millers All My Sons. In Eugene ONeills shattering American classic, over the course of a single night the tortuous relationships within the Tyrone family are exposed amid themes of betrayal, accusation, addiction and delusion. This will be the first Guthrie production of Long Days Journey into Night, considered ONeills most overtly autobiographical work.

February 27 April 6, 2013

The Guthrie WorldStage Series presents

Propellers productions of

Twelfth Night and The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare directed by Edward Hall Opening Night: Friday, March 1 Britains all-male Propeller company stages Shakespeare with its trademark wit, muscularity and vitality; termed thrillingly fresh and sharp, contemporary and urgent in the British press, Propeller will perform Shakespeares two comedies of mistaken identities, transformations and deception in repertory.

World Premiere

April 27 June 15, 2013

The Primrose Path

by Crispin Whittell

based upon the novel Home of the Gentry by Ivan Turgenev directed by Roger Rees Opening Night: Friday, May 3 Crispin Whittells new play depicts a member of the 19th-century Russian gentry who returns to his neglected country estate after escaping his adulterous wife in Paris. While he tries to connect with his native countryside in a simpler life, he is unable to escape the complications within himself and with a past that refuses to be entirely left behind.

July 6 August 31, 2013

Born Yesterday

by Garson Kanin

directed by John Miller-Stephany

Opening Night: Friday, July 12

When a corrupt businessman on the rise heads to Washington to influence a senator, he soon realizes that his showgirl mistress Billie will need polish and education if hes going to get ahead. He hires a newspaperman for the task, but gets more than he bargained for when Billie begins to piece together her boyfriends business dealings as well as how to exert some influence of her own.

On the McGuire Proscenium Stage

September 29 November 11, 2012

Appomattox

by Christopher Hampton

directed by David Esbjornson

Opening Night: Saturday, October 5

In its first half, Appomattox deals with the final week of the Civil War and the immediate aftermath of the treaty that ended it in 1865. In the second act, it confronts the fact that 100 years later during the Civil Rights era the root cause of the Civil War - racial suppression of African Americans - was still a primary issue that divided the American soul. The play is developed from a libretto written for an opera by Phillip Glass, first presented at the San Francisco Opera House in 2007.

December 1, 2012 January 20, 2013

The Servant of Two Masters

by Carlo Goldoni

adapted by Constance Congdon

from a translation by Christina Sibul

directed by Christopher Bayes

Opening Night: Friday, December 7

Carlo Goldonis commedia dellarte masterpiece is a physical comedy, full of mistaken identities and broken engagements, centering around the wily Truffaldino and his schemes to fill his pockets and his stomach. In the title role is Steven Epp; of the 2010 production of The Servant of Two Masters at Yale Repertory Theatre starring Epp and directed by Bayes, the Washington Post called it as delightful and delicious a farce as youre likely to see.

.

February 9 March 24, 2013

Other Desert Cities

by Jon Robin Baitz

directed by Peter Rothstein

Opening Night: Friday, February 15

A woman returns home to Palm Springs after six years away to celebrate Christmas with her parents, brother and aunt. When she announces that she is going to publish a memoir, a tragic and crucial event in the familys history comes to the fore, crossing a line of incendiary defiance. Other Desert Cities asks the question: Can you ever really go home?

World Premiere

April 6 May 18, 2013

Nice Fish

by Mark Rylance and Louis Jenkins

based on the book of poetry by Louis Jenkins directed by Mark Rylance with Claire van Kampen Opening Night: Friday, April 12

Two men have gone ice fishing on the last day of the season; the ice is melting and the DNR is watching. They are hoping for something essential, immortal, something down there that is pure need, when a construction worker roars across the ice on his snowmobile, spear, dynamite and fancy dress in hand. And the last blizzard of the season is about to begin.

June 1 August 4, 2013

Clybourne Park

by Bruce Norris

directed by TBD

Opening Night: Friday, June 7

The winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Bruce Norris play deals with generations of race and class in a response to Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun, with the action taking place across a span of a half-century amid the changing fortunes and residents of a neighborhood in Chicago.

GUTHRIE THEATER 2012-2013 SEASON LISTINGS

On the Wurtele Thrust Stage

September 15 October 27, 2012

Tales from Hollywood

by Christopher Hampton

directed by Ethan McSweeny

Opening Night: Friday, September 21

November 13 December 29, 2012

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens

adapted by Crispin Whittell

directed by Joe Dowling

Opening Night: Saturday, November 17

January 12 February 23, 2013

Long Days Journey into Night

by Jon Robin Baitz

directed by Peter Rothstein

Opening Night: Friday, January 18

February 27 April 6, 2013

The Guthrie WorldStage Series presents

Propellers productions of

Twelfth Night and The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare directed by Edward Hall Opening Night: Friday, March 1

World Premiere

April 27 June 15, 2013

The Primrose Path

by Crispin Whittell

based upon the novel Home of the Gentry by Ivan Turgenev directed by Roger Rees Opening Night: Friday, May 3

July 6 August 31, 2013

Born Yesterday

by Garson Kanin

directed by John Miller-Stephany

Opening Night: Friday, July 12

On the McGuire Proscenium Stage

September 29 November 11, 2012

Appomattox

by Christopher Hampton

directed by David Esbjornson

Opening Night: Saturday, October 5

December 1, 2012 January 20, 2013

The Servant of Two Masters

by Carlo Goldoni

adapted by Constance Congdon

from a translation by Christina Sibul

directed by Christopher Bayes

Opening Night: Friday, December 7

February 9 March 24, 2013

Other Desert Cities

by Jon Robin Baitz

directed by Peter Rothstein

Opening Night: Friday, February 15

World Premiere

April 6 May 18, 2013

Nice Fish

by Louis Jenkins

adapted by Mark Rylance and Louis Jenkins directed by Mark Rylance with Claire van Kampen Opening Night: Friday, April 12

June 1 August 4, 2013

American Premiere

Clybourne Park

by Bruce Norris

directed by TBD

Opening Night: Friday, June 7

For more information contact:

Seena Hodges 612.225.6142

seenah@guthrietheater.org

Quinton Skinner 612.225.6140

quintons@guthrietheater.org

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