Guthrie Theater Kicks Off Kushner Celebration In Minneapolis

On April 18th, 2009, nearly 1,000 attendees took part on the Guthrie Theater's Kick Off to Kushner, a community wide event, which featured 70 singers from the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus premiering "I Want More Life," a new choral commission with text from Kushner's Angels in America and music by Michael Shaieb.

In addition, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak presented a proclamation declaring April 18 "Tony Kushner Day" in Minneapolis.

To listen to remarks from Dowling, Rybak and Kushner, click here. 

Caroline, or Change, the first of the three productions in the Kushner Celebration, continues through June 21 on the Wurtele Thrust Stage under the direction of Marcela Lorca. In May, the world premiere Guthrie-commissioned play The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures under the direction of Tony and Drama Desk nominated director Michael Greif (Broadway: Next to Normal, Rent, Grey Gardens) and featuring Kushner regulars Kathleen Chalfant, Linda Emond and Stephen Spinella along side a cast of Guthrie favorites Sun Mee Chomet, ChariTy Jones, Ron Menzel and Michelle O'Neill, opens on the McGuire Proscenium Stage, followed by Tiny Kushner, an evening of Kushner's short plays directed by Berkeley Rep Artistic Director Tony Taccone in the Dowling Studio.

Tickets for all productions and celebration events are available through the Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE or online at www.guthrietheater.org. The Guthrie is located at 818 South 2nd Street (at Chicago Avenue), in downtown Minneapolis.

Full details on the Kushner Celebration, including complete schedule and travel information, are available online at www.CelebrateKushner.com.

In addition to the three productions, the Guthrie will host major speakers, including former New York Times theater critic and current op-ed columnist Frank Rich (May 11), Lambda Legal executive director Kevin M. Cathcart (May 23 and 24) and the highly anticipated discussion between Joe Dowling and Tony Kushner (June 8). To fully explore Kushner's work during the three-month Celebration, visitors can register for Saturday Seminars, 90-minute course taught by four University of Minnesota professors to explore themes and questions rased by Kushner's work; How'd They Do That? Workshops offering a behind the scenes look at each of the three productions; Continuing Legal Education seminars for attorneys that use Kushner's work to illustrate the human impact that legislation dealing with these issues is having in our society today; and Pre- and Post-Play Discussions with members of the cast and creative team from each production.

The opportunity to fully immerse oneself in all the Kushner Celebration has to offer comes on two Extreme Kushner Weekends -- Friday, May 22 through Sunday, May 24; and Friday, June 5 through Monday, June 8. In addition to seeing all three productions on these weekends, theatergoers can participate in exciting pre- and post-show programming to deepen their experience. Extreme Kushner Weekends will also include free Talk Abouts, public discussions led by Guthrie staff, artists and special guest in the theater's breathtaking lobby spaces.

Tony Kushner's recent Pen Pal lecture is broadcast by Minnesota Public Radio here.

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 its new three-theater home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in June 2006.

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