Christopher Plummer, Barbara Byrne and More Join Guthrie's 50th Anniversary Gala, 6/22

The Guthrie today announced that eight artists who have graced the Guthrie's stages during its 50-year history, from the first season in 1963 to the theater's current season, are slated to participate in the Guthrie's 50th anniversary on June 22, 2013. Exclusive interviews with the legendary Zoe Caldwell and Christopher Plummer will be unveiled as part of a poignant and celebratory multi-media tribute, while stage veterans Barbara Bryne, Peter Michael Goetz and Stephen Yoakam; two graduates of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program, Matthew Amendt and Valeri Mudek; and an alum of A Guthrie Experience for Actors in Training, Erik Heger; will perform live for the one-night-only event.

Matthew Amendt, a 2004 graduate of the U of M/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program, has performed in 13 Guthrie Productions, most recently Charley's Aunt and Henry V - a co-production with The Acting Company of New York. Of his performance as Henry V, The New York Times raved, "Matthew Amendt is a charismatic, skillful actor with a clarion baritone who gives the production a magnetic focus." Off-Broadway, Amendt recently played Claudio in Theater for a New Audience's production of Much Ado About Nothing. He received an Ivey Award for his play The Comedian's Tragedy, was recently nominated as Actor of the Year by the SALT Awards for his performance in RED at Syracuse Stage and is the recipient of the first Joe Dowling Fellowship Award.

Barbara Bryne is an award-winning actress who has appeared in more than 60 Guthrie Productions since 1970, most recently Embers, Hay Fever, H.M.S. Pinafore, Macbeth, When We Are Married, Jane Eyre, His Girl Friday, Oedipus, Pygmalion, The Pirates of Penzance, Pride and Prejudice, The Chairs, Three Sisters and A Christmas Carol (5 productions since 1975). On Broadway, Bryne appeared in the original casts of Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George and Hay Fever. She has performed more than 30 roles since 1966 at the Stratford Festival, and has had roles Off-Broadway, and at numerous regional theaters across the country, among them Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre and the Mark Taper Forum. Bryne's film and television credits include Amadeus, The Bostonians, "Love, Sidney," "Svengali," and "Maid in America."

Zoe Caldwell launched the Guthrie's first theatrical season in 1963, performing in The Miser and The Three Sisters, as well as the 1965 productions of The Miser (revival), The Caucasian Chalk Circle and The Way of the World. On Broadway, she has won four Tony Awards for roles in Slapstick Tragedy, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Medea and Master Class. Miss Caldwell directed An Almost Perfect Personwith Colleen Dewhurst and Richard II in Stratford, Ontario; the award-winning Broadway production of Othello starring James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer; Park Your Car in Harvard Yard starring Jason Robards and Judith Ivey; and the Off-Broadway production of Vita & Virginia starring Vanessa Redgrave and Eileen Atkins. She has appeared on film in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo, in Just a Kiss (2002), Birth (2004) and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2004).

Peter Michael Goetz began his affiliation with the Guthrie as a McKnight Fellow in 1967 and in the following 46 years has appeared in more than 90 productions. On Broadway Goetz appeared in Macbeth, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Sex and Longing, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Ned and Jack, The Queen and the Rebels, Beyond Therapy and The Government Inspector. Additional theater credits include roles at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Lincoln Center Theater, the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Manhattan Theatre Club, Long Wharf, Geffen Playhouse, Westport Playhouse, Arena Stage, Kennedy Center, and The Abbey Theatre, among others. He is well-recognized for his role in Father of the Bride, and its sequel, as well as My Girl, King Kong Lives, Jumpin' Jack Flash, The World According to Garp and Scenic Route. Goetz has appeared in more than 200 television shows including "Arrested Development," "The West Wing," "Gilmore Girls," "The Practice," "Home Improvement," "The Golden Girls" and "Twilight Zone."

Erik Heger recently completed a run as Mickey Deans in End of the Rainbow at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Heger's Guthrie credits include: Macbeth, The Great Gatsby, A Little Lunch and No More Static. Off-Broadway and regional credits include: Based on a Totally True Story (MTC), An Error of the Moon (Beckett Theater), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? (CenterStage), The Scottish Play (La Jolla Playhouse), Henry IV, Part 1 (Shakespeare Santa Cruz), and Naked, The Master and Margarita, The Tempest, and Romeo and Juliet(American Conservatory Theater). Among his film and television credits are: The Shells, Umbrella Man, Police State, Upside Out, Henry Hinkle, "Smash," "30 Rock," "NYC 22," "Blue Bloods," "Damages," "Law & Order," "One Life to Live," "Guiding Light," "As the World Turns" and "All My Children." Heger is an alum of A Guthrie Experience for Actors in Training and is a professional harpist.

Valeri Mudek is a 2007 graduate of the U of M/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program and has performed in five Guthrie Productions, most recently as Mandy in Time Stands Still. Mudek played multiple roles in Tiny Kushner, a world premiere that debuted as part of the Guthrie's Kushner Celebration that also played at Berkeley Rep and at London's Tricycle Theatre. With Hudson Valley Shakespeare, for which she is also a founding curator of the In Process performance series, Mudek has performed in Hamlet, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It and Richard III. Additional credits include: Auto Motive with East River Commedia, NYC and Cloud 9 with Shakespeare on the Cape, as well as the film Insalata Caprese (Official Selection of Heartland, Sedona, Port Townsend and Minneapolis-St. Paul film festivals and MNTV).

Christopher Plummer appeared on the Guthrie stage in Cyrano: A New Musical in the Guthrie's 1972-73 season. On Broadway he has appeared in 16 Broadway productions, including Inherit the Wind, King Lear, Barrymore, No Man's Land, Macbeth, and Othello. In a career that spans seven decades and includes roles on stage, and in film and television, Plummer is perhaps best known to audiences as Captain von Trapp in the 1965 film The Sound of Music. Plummer made his film debut in the 1958 Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include The Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther, The Man Who Would Be King and the 1969 classic Lock Up Your Daughters. More recent roles include The Insider, Up, The Last Station, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He has received numerous awards for his work, including an Academy Award (Beginners in 2012), two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe Award and a SAG Award.

Stephen Yoakam has performed in more than 75 Guthrie Productions, including The Birds, The Burial at Thebes, The Winter's Tale, A Delicate Balance, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Oedipus, Good Boys, A Christmas Carol, Three Sisters, Hedda Gabler, Side Man, King Lear, As You Like It, Othello, Triumph of Love, Medea, The History Plays, The Screens, Uncle Vanya and Richard III. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Arena Stage, Jungle Theater, Pillsbury House Theatre, The Kennedy Center and Mixed Blood Theatre, among others. His film and television credits include: Older Than America, Sweet Land, Heaven on Earth and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Yoakam is currently playing The Poet in An Iliad, a new adaptation of Homer's timeless story playing in the Guthrie's Dowling Studio, May 4 - 26.

As previously announced BEHOLD: A Gala Performance will he co-hosted by Guthrie favorites Greta Oglesby and Sally Wingert, and will feature Guthrie favorite Daniel Gerroll; Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning artist Whoopi Goldberg, award-winning stage and screen actress of "thirtysomething" fame, Patricia Kalember; veteran of "Grey's Anatomy" and Broadway T.R. Knight; Olivier Award-winner and Tony Award-nominee Tracie Bennett; an original composition by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown, and award-winning male vocal ensemble Cantus. BEHOLD has musical direction by Andrew Cooke, choreography by Brian Sostek, set design by Michael Hoover, costume design by Christine Richardson, lighting design by Tom Mays, and is written by Mark Benninghofen. Peter Flynn-whose extensive credits include directorial work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in regional theaters and other gala events-will direct. Further information about artists and guests appearing in BEHOLD will be announced in the weeks to come.

A star-studded performance featuring actors, composers and writers with ties to the Guthrie's past and future, BEHOLD: A Gala Performance will be held on June 22, 2013, on the Wurtele Thrust Stage and is a part of the Guthrie's 50th season weekend celebration (June 22-23, 2013). BEHOLD will be presented in conjunction with Anniversary Weekend celebration dinners the Golden Soirée and Fête 50, which include tickets to the performance and are on sale now through the Guthrie's Anniversary Line at 612.225.6350. For more information, visit www.guthrietheater.org/50.

The GUTHRIE THEATER (Joe Dowling, Director) was founded by Sir Tyrone Guthrie in 1963 and is an American center for theater performance, production, education and professional training. The Tony Award-winning Guthrie Theater is dedicated to producing the great works of dramatic literature, developing the work of contemporary playwrights and cultivating the next generation of theater artists. With annual attendance of nearly 500,000 people, the Guthrie Theater presents a mix of classic plays and contemporary work on its three stages. Under the artistic leadership of Joe Dowling since 1995, the Guthrie continues to set a national standard for excellence in theatrical production and performance. In 2006, the Guthrie opened its new home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, the Guthrie Theater houses three state-of-the-art stages, production facilities, classrooms and dramatic public lobbies. www.guthrietheater.org

To post a comment, you must register and login.