Stephen Yoakam News

ILLUSION THEATER celebrates its 50th anniversary with a season of new plays and special performances, honoring its legacy of producing transformative theater on pressing social issues.

Watch as Scene Shop Supervisor Jesse Delaney as he breaks down the complex build process happening in the scene shop for the History Plays: RICHARD II, HENRY IV and HENRY V at the Guthrie Theatre. 

Enjoy a first look into Shakespeare's History Plays and hear from Artistic Director Joseph Haj on the significance of this epic production and the chance to revisit rotating repertory. RICHARD II, HENRY IV and HENRY V make their historic return to the Guthrie stage for the first time in over 30 years beginning March 23.

Guthrie Theater will present a rotating repertory of Shakespeare's History Plays. Dive into the rich tapestry of historical dramas on stage.

The Guthrie Theater today announced casting for William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, directed by former Artistic Director Joe Dowling, who returns to direct at the Guthrie for the first time since his tenure with the organization ended in 2015.

Mixed Blood Theatre presents the World Premiere of ANIMATE by Ken LaZebnik, performed at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, September 17-26, 2021.

For the 37th annual presentation of PlayLabs Festival, the premier new play incubation program, the Playwrights' Center is meeting the changing needs of the moment. Public readings will be presented online and the festival roster has expanded to include four playwrights developing their work.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan has adapted the drama, 'The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts' from former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's report.  This edited 80-minute version focuses primarily on Mueller's findings around whether President Trump obstructed justice. Artistic Directors and theatrical talent from throughout the Twin Cities are donating their time and imagination to bring this report alive.  The event is free and open to all.  Come participate in the shaping of our country's future.

Blood Knot by Athol Fugard, currently playing at The Pillsbury House Theatre is a show that was first performed in 1961 and is still just as poignant today. A 'blood knot' is explained in the show as a bond by blood that will never be undone. In this case, the knot ties two brothers together in South Africa in 1960, then heavily racially segregated. One brother, Zachariah, is black and the other, Morris, is white.  

Under Sarah Rasmussen as Artistic Director, the 150 seat Jungle Theater in Minneapolis punches above its weight frequently, mounting finely tuned productions of important new works. They've done it again with the current show: a play for grownups called THE CHILDREN, the first production in the US after the Broadway run. Three accomplished veteran actors with Twin Cities roots, working under Casey Stangl's direction, drop us into a contemporary apocalyptic twist on a 'kitchen sink' play. Only here, environmental disaster has established a new normal where water and food are rationed, electricity is spotty, and questions of morality and mortality are immediate and intertwined.

The McKnight Theater Artist Fellowships at the Playwrights' Center recognize Minnesota theater artists other than playwrights whose work demonstrates exceptional artistic merit. The fellowship provides a $25,000 award as well as access to $7,000 in development funds. Selection is based on a commitment to theater arts, evidence of professional achievement and a sustained level of excellence in the applicant's work.

The Guthrie Theater (Joseph Haj, artistic director) announced it will present BAD NEWS! i was there… created and directed by JoAnne Akalaitis with Kate Atwell, Greg Taubman and Ashley Tata with original music and sound by Bruce Odland. Playing June 2-3, 2018, for four performances only, this unique theater experience will take place in the Guthrie lobbies in promenade style, which requires patrons to stand and walk during the performance. A limited number of chairs will be available for accessible seating.

Hennepin Theatre Trust and University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) School of Fine Arts have announced casting for the second annual performance of THE 24 HOUR PLAYS® on Monday, March 26 at 8 p.m. at the historic Pantages Theatre (710 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis).

The Playwrights' Center's annual PlayLabs new play festival runs Monday, October 23, through Sunday, October 29, 2017. The featured playwrights are Jason Gray Platt ('Take Care'), Jen Silverman ('In the Time of the Volcano') and Alice Tuan ('A Humbling in St. Paul'), all Core Writers at the Center.

Casey Stangl (Fully Committed) returns to the Jungle from Los Angeles to direct Jennifer Haley's award-winning The Nether opening September 16 and on stage through October 15 at the Lyn-Lake neighborhood theater, 2951 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis. A smart and tightly wound drama, The Nether is both serpentine crime story and haunting sci-fi thriller exploring the consequences of living out private dreams in a world of ever-advancing technology.

The Playwrights' Center is excited to announce the 2017-18 McKnight National Residency and Commission recipient, 2017-18 McKnight Fellows in Playwriting, 2017-18 McKnight Theater Artist Fellows, 2017-2020 Core Writers and 2017-18 Core Apprentices.

We've heard a lot about KING LEAR's two lead actors but now it's time for the women -- at least one of them. Sun Mee Chomet takes on Regan in this production at the Guthrie Theater and relishes her character's evil ways.

'Disciplined' may seem an odd word to apply to a production of KING LEAR, a tragedy that is about personal and societal dissolution into madness, both individually and at large. But the current mounting in Minneapolis earns that moniker, both in actorly control and design restraint. The result is a masterful rendering that eschews excess but allows the human relationships to be bared and centered.

The Playwrights' Center's 45th anniversary season kicks off October 17 with PlayLabs, a week-long new play festival featuring Core Writers Christina Ham ('West of Central'), Susan Soon He Stanton ('we, the invisibles') and Ken Urban ('The Remains'). Tickets are free and can be reserved at pwcenter.org/playlabs.

BARBECUE is a darkly funny new play that turns the traditional family comedy on its head, forcing hilarious and uneasy revelations about the assumptions we make about poverty, race and social class.