The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis will present the Tony Award-winning play The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard, directed by Joe Dowling, in a production starring Jay Goede and Kathryn Meisle. The Real Thing, which begins previews August 5 and plays through September 24, is the first Guthrie production on the McGuire Proscenium Stage.
In addition, on December 18, 2006, Stoppard (
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Arcadia) will appear at the Guthrie for the first time, as this year's Global Voicespeaker. "This annual forum brings world renowned artists to the Guthrie stage for dialogue and inspiration," state press notes.
"The Real Thing is a sly examination of the mysteries of love and marriage that opens with a suspicious husband discovering evidence of his wife's infidelity. But is she really guilty? For that matter is she really his wife? A play-within-a-play illustrates the confusion in Stoppard's razor-sharp take on marriage, art and the art of marriage. Funny, sexy and right on target —
The Real Thing is an enormously entertaining commentary on the ironies of love," state press notes.
The cast for
The Real Thing stars Jay Goede (Henry), whose credits on Broadway include
A Year With Frog and Toad, The Play's the Thing and
Angels in America; Kathryn Meisle (Annie), who has appeared on Broadway in
Tartuffe (Tony Award nomination),
A Touch of the Poet and
The Constant Wife, as well as in seven Guthrie productions.
It will also feature Lee Mark Nelson (Max), whose Broadway credits include
Gore Vidal's The Best Man and
Voices in the Dark, and whose Guthrie credits include
Pericles, She Loves Me and
Blue/Orange; and long-time favorite Sally Wingert (Charlotte), who has been with the Guthrie for 17 seasons. Of the seven actors in the cast, two are recent graduates and one is a current student of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program; Jonas Goslow (Billy), last appeared in
Hamlet, the Guthrie's final production at Vineland Place (the theatre's former home), and Mike Rasmussen (Brodie) and Elizabeth Stahlmann (Debbie) will both make their Guthrie stage debuts in this production.
The artistic staff for
The Real Thing includes John Arnone (Set Designer), Helen Q. Huang (Costume Designer), Christopher Akerlind (Lighting Designer), and Scott W. Edwards (Sound Designer).
"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 Artistic Director Joe Dowling since 1995, the Guthrie recently moved to their new three-theater home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis."
The Guthrie is located at 818 South 2nd Street (at
Chicago Avenue), in downtown Minneapolis. To purchase tickets (which range from $22 to $52) or season subscriptions call the Guthrie Theater 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.
