Photo Flash: First Look at Peter Michael Goetz and Raye Birk in Guthrie's THE SUNSHINE BOYS

The Guthrie Theater currently presents The Sunshine Boys-acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon's sidesplitting comedy. Directed by Gary Gisselman (Guthrie: A Christmas Carol, Lost in Yonkers), The Sunshine Boys features veteran actors Peter Michael Goetz and Raye Birk as Willie Clark and Al Lewis, respectively, a pair of crabby, retired vaudeville comedians persuaded to reunite after 11 years apart-despite the fact that they hate each other. Hilarity ensues when these seasoned stage partners return to the stage for a CBS television comedy special. Get a first look at Goetz and Birk in The Sunshine Boys in the photos below!

Peter Michael Goetz's impressive career, which boasts almost 100 productions at the Guthrie, spans nearly half a century with countless film and television roles. Goetz made his Broadway debut in 1981 and has since appeared in Broadway productions of Beyond Therapy, The Government Inspector and Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs. On screen Goetz has appeared as Dr. Welty in My Girl, King Kong Lives, Jumpin' Jack Flash, The World According to Garp, as the groom's father in Father of the Bride and its sequel (alongside Steve Martin) and more than 200 television shows including "Arrested Development," "The West Wing," "Gilmore Girls," "The Practice" and "Home Improvement."

Actor Raye Birk has performed in more than 100 professional Theater Productions, including more than two dozen at the Guthrie, and has been featured in nearly 150 television shows and more than 20 feature films. Often recognized for his role as the villain Papshmir in the comedic film series The Naked Gun, and as mailman Walt Twitchell on "Cheers," a role which he later reprised in the hit show "Frasier." Birk has appeared in films such as A Serious Man, North Country, Sweet Land, Factotum, Star Trek: Insurrection, Class Act and Doc Hollywood, as well as many of television's most beloved sitcoms, from "Seinfeld" and "Murphy Brown" to "Third Rock from the Sun" and "The Golden Girls."

To round out the cast, Gisselman has assembled a brilliant team of talented actors. Robert O. Berdahl, who wowed audiences last summer in his turn as the dimwitted Captain Corcoran in the Guthrie's lauded production of H.M.S. Pinafore, plays Ben Silverman, Clark's agent nephew who engineers the reunion between the aging performers. Guthrie mainstay Nathaniel Fuller, last seen on the Guthrie stage as the abusive schoolmaster-among other characters-in A Christmas Carol,takes on the role of Television Director. Jennifer Maren makes her Guthrie debut in the role of Sketch Nurse. On the heels of her portrayal of Sister Margaret Alexander in Penumbra Theatre's production of The Amen Corner at the Guthrie, Greta Oglesby plays Registered Nurse. University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program student Samuel Finnegan Pearson plays Eddie, the Assistant Director. The production also features a special cameo from renowned improvisational comedian and Brave New Workshop founder Dudley Riggs as Sketch Patient.

The artistic team includes John Arnone (Set and Costume Designer), Don Darnutzer (Lighting Designer), Reid Rejsa (Sound Designer), D'Arcy Smith (Voice and Dialect Coach), Marcela Lorca (Movement Coach), Carla Steen (Dramaturg), Martha Kulig (Stage Manager), Justin Hossle (Assistant Stage Manager) and Dionne Laviolette (Assistant Director).

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.

For tickets, scheduling and more information, visit www.guthrietheater.org.

Photo credit: Michael Brosilow 

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