Guthrie and The Acting Company Announce HENRY V Co-production And National Tour Casting

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. The cast of 12 features University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program and Guthrie Experience (GEx) graduates, as well as Acting Company Alumni, who will perform in the three-week Guthrie run before embarking on a 34-city national tour through 22 states. Henry V begins previews at the Guthrie on January 10, opens January 14 and plays through February 1, 2009 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, 612.225.6240 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

The Shakespearean epic follows a charismatic warrior King and his men through the brutality of warfare, as the ragtag band confronts heavy opposition and their own destinies in an aggressive pursuit of the French crown. Young, restless and ambitious, Henry V (Matthew Amendt) inherits a troubled crown and seeks to secure his position at home by turning the country's attention abroad, uniting England and France while briefly banishing the civil strife that will long outlive him. Expertly balancing the thrilling heroics of battle with the painful and complex reactions of men who are sometimes unsure of the justice of their causes, Shakespeare offers a rousing, fascinating story about the power of courage and the price of glory.

In addition to Amendt, the ensemble cast playing almost 50 roles in Henry V will feature the talents of Freddy Arsenault, Georgia Cohen, Kelley Curran, Rick Ford, Andy Grotelueschen, Carie Kawa, Robert Michael McClure, Ron Menzel, William Sturdivant, Samuel Taylor and Sonny Valicenti.

Following its Guthrie engagement, Henry V will tour in repertory with Jeffrey Hatcher's world premiere adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's The Spy, directed by Guthrie Associate Artistic Director John Miller-Stephany. This partnership with the Guthrie continues The Acting Company's 35-year tradition of bringing classical productions, talented actors and teaching artists into communities across America.

"It has been nearly 20 years since the Guthrie last produced Henry V," said Dowling. "I am thrilled with our new building, and specifically the Dowling Studio, that we can now partner with a national company to produce this powerful new production that will emphasize the play's theatricality for Guthrie audiences."

"I am so pleased to be collaborating with the Guthrie," said Harley. "Joe and I share a passion for developing young actors, and it will be a thrill to open at their magnificent complex and play this storied theater for three weeks."

The Henry V artistic team also includes Neil Patel (Set Designer), Anita Yavich (Costume Designer), Victor Zupanc (Music), Michael Chybowski (Lighting Designer), Scott W. Edwards (Sound Designer), Erin Kennedy Lunsford (Wig and Makeup Designer), John Sipes (Fight Direction), Andrew Wade (Voice and Text Consultant), Sara Phillips (Voice and Text Consultant), Joel Howell (Production Manager), Ian Belknap (Staff Repertory Director), Karen Parlato (Production Stage Manager) and Nick Tochelli (Assistant Stage Manager).

The Acting Company was founded in 1972 by Ms. Harley and legendary producer and actor, John Houseman with Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone and others in the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division.  Since then it has performed 131 plays to audiences in 48 states and 10 foreign countries.  In addition to Kline and LuPone, its alumni include Frances Conroy, Jeffrey Wright, Harriet Harris, Jesse L. Martin, David Ogden Stiers, Richard Ooms, Richard Iglewski, Keith David and Rainn Wilson.  The Acting Company was honored in 2003 with a Tony Award for Excellence in Theater.

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 a 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 www.guthrietheater.org.

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