Guthrie Theater

October 16, 2008
Press Release #1274

JOE DOWLING NAMES DIRECTORS AND LEAD SPEAKERS FOR THE
KUSHNER CELEBRATION
April 18 - June 28, 2009
at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis

(Minneapolis/St. Paul) Guthrie Director Joe Dowling today announced directors for the three productions slated to headline the theater's 2009 Tony Kushner celebration, in addition to three speaking events designed to expand and enhance the issues raised in the work of this Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright.

Guthrie veteran director/choreographer Marcela Lorca will helm Caroline, or Change on the Wurtele Thrust Stage, which will run concurrently with Kushner's world premiere commission, The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures on the McGuire Proscenium Stage, under the direction of Tony and Drama Desk nominated Michael Greif (Rent, Grey Gardens). Berkeley Rep Artistic Director Tony Taccone will direct tiny Kushner, a collection of Kushner's short plays in the Dowling Studio, which will include Geraldine of Albania Meets Lucia Pamela on the Moon, Terminating or Sonnet LXXV or "Lass Meine Schmerzen Nicht Verloren Sein" or Ambivalence (which premiered at the Guthrie Lab as part of The Acting Company's 1998 national tour of Love's Fire), East Coast Ode to Howard Jarvis, Dr. Arnold A. Hutschneker in Paradise, and Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall Be Happy. Tickets for all three productions are now through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE and online at http://www.guthrietheater.org/.

In addition to these productions, three lead speaking events will help frame the examination and celebration of Kushner's body of work. Former New York Times chief theater critic and current Op-Ed columnist Frank Rich will speak on the intersection of arts, culture and politics from the Wurtele Thrust Stage on Monday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m as a Guthrie Global Voice. Lambda Legal Executive Director Kevin M. Cathcart will offer two In Conversation events in the Dowling Studio, on Saturday, May 23 at 1 p.m. and Sunday, May 24 at 7 p.m., discussing the movement to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people with HIV. The speaker series will conclude with the highly anticipated Global Voice presentation from celebration honoree Tony Kushner on Monday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the Wurtele Thrust Stage. 

Global Voice: Frank Rich
$15, $25 and $35

In Conversation: Kevin M. Cathcart
$15

Global Voice: Tony Kushner
$20, $30 and $40

Tickets for all three speaking events go on sale Monday, October 20 through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE and online at http://www.guthrietheater.org/.

The productions and speakers will join a series of other special events, including an expanded partnership with the University of Minnesota, to present the local, national and international community with opportunities to expand and enhance their understanding of and appreciation for the many issues raised in Kushner's work.

About the Guthrie
The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is an American center for theater performance, production, education and professional training. The Guthrie is dedicated to producing the great works of dramatic literature, developing the work of contemporary playwrights and cultivating the next generation of theater artists. Led by Director Joe Dowling since 1995, the Guthrie opened their new three-theater home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in June 2006.

The Guthrie is located at 818 South 2nd Street (at Chicago Avenue), in downtown Minneapolis. To purchase tickets or season subscriptions call the Guthrie Box Office between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily at 612.377.2224 or toll-free 877.44.STAGE. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit http://www.guthrietheater.org/.

The Kushner Celebration is made possible through the generosity of
David and Shari Boehnen, the Carlson Family Foundation, John & Sage Cowles, David & Vicky Cox, Barb & Fran Davis, Susan Engel & Arthur Eisenberg, William and Penny George and The George Family Foundation, Polly Grose, Wendy Nelson, Louise Otten, the Ruth Easton Fund, The Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, David A. Wilson and Michael J. Peterman, and Frances and Frank Wilkinson

The Guthrie's production of Caroline, or Change is sponsored by Ameriprise

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Tony Kushner photo by Roy Zipstein