2018-2019 Season

by Barbara Field (from the novel by Mary Shelley) 
directed by Rob Melrose

September 15 – October 27, 2018
Wurtele Thrust Stage

Adapted by Minnesota playwright Barbara Field from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (celebrating its 200th anniversary this year), Frankenstein – Playing with Fire imagines a meeting between a dying Victor Frankenstein and his Creation in the Arctic Circle. As Frankenstein prepares to right his greatest wrong by confronting the Creature, scenes from their past are replayed and the line between good and evil is debated, revealing a powerful and agonizing question. Frankenstein – Playing with Fire is a poignant thriller and an interrogation of the ethical limits of science and the human imagination.

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The Guthrie Theater presents PRIME Productions’
Two Degrees
by Tira Palmquist 
directed by Shelli Place

October 5–21, 2018
Dowling Studio

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by Michael Frayn
directed by Meredith McDonough

October 27 – December 16, 2018 
McGuire Proscenium Stage

In this rip-roaring classic, the audience is treated to a hilarious behind-the-scenes peek at an acting troupe rehearsing and performing the farce Nothing On. Despite nerves, dropped lines and technical difficulties they make it through rehearsal and open the show. Time goes by and things deteriorate until pandemonium ensues and axe-wielding co-stars, drunken cast members and misplaced sardines take center stage during a disaster of a performance, threatening to jinx the old saying: “The show must go on.”

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The Guthrie Theater presents Interact Theater’s production of
Hot Funky Butt Jazz!
created by the Interact Ensemble
directed by Jeanne Calvit
music and lyrics by Aaron Gabriel
featuring New Orleans' musicians Zena Moses, Jeremy Phipps and Eugene Harding

November 3–18, 2018
Dowling Studio

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by Charles Dickens
adapted by Crispin Whittell
directed by Lauren Keating

November 13 – December 29, 2018
Wurtele Thrust Stage

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by Lauren Yee
directed by Desdemona Chiang

January 12 – February 10, 2019
McGuire Proscenium Stage

When an American basketball team travels to Beijing for an exhibition game in 1989, the drama goes deeper than the strain between countries. For two men with a past and one teen with a future, the game is a chance to stake their moment in history and claim personal victories off the court. Tensions rise right up to the final buzzer as history collides with the action in the stadium. Rapid-fire comedy meets poignant reflection in this perceptive new play, inspired by the life of playwright Lauren Yee’s father.

by William Shakespeare
directed by Lavina Jadhwani 

February 9 – March 17, 2019
Wurtele Thrust Stage

This utterly charming tale centers on Rosalind, the daughter of an unjustly exiled duke who falls in love with the daring Orlando. When her uncle banishes her from court, Rosalind disguises herself as a boy and flees to the forest in search of her father. With great joy, she stumbles upon Orlando and cunningly counsels him in the art of love under her guise. Culminating in four weddings between some of the Bard’s most beloved characters, As You Like It is a romantic comedy that is sure to surprise and delight.

by Edmond Rostand
adapted and directed by Joseph Haj

March 16 – May 5, 2019
McGuire Proscenium Stage

Cyrano de Bergerac is the full package: he’s a poet, playwright and consummate swordsman. The only thing standing in the way of declaring his love for Roxane is his grotesquely large nose. When Roxane confides that she’s fallen for a handsome young cadet named Christian, Cyrano takes him under his wing, adds brains to his beauty, and through Christian expresses his own feelings to Roxane without her suspecting a thing. With wit, wordplay and rousing passion, Cyrano de Bergerac is a heroic comedy for the ages.

based on the myths of Ovid
written and directed by Mary Zimmerman 
from the translation by David R. Slavitt

April 13 – May 19, 2019
Wurtele Thrust Stage

In what’s considered her signature theatrical piece, once hailed as “the theater event of the year” (Time), Tony Award-winning director and playwright Mary Zimmerman juxtaposes the ancient and the contemporary in a visually stunning theatricalization of Roman poet Ovid’s powerful masterwork, Metamorphoses. Performed in and around a large pool of water, a ravishing effect, an ensemble of actors embodies figures from Greek mythology to share both well-known and rarely told stories of transformation.

The Guthrie Theater presents Full Circle Theater’s production of
Caught
by Christopher Chen
directed by Rick Shiomi

May 17 – June 2, 2019
Dowling Studio

A Musical Fable of Broadway  
based on a story and characters of Damon Runyon
music and lyrics by Frank Loesser                                                              
book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
directed and choreographed by Kent Gash 

June 22 – August 25, 2019
Wurtele Thrust Stage

New York City’s infamous gambler Nathan Detroit has set his sights on the biggest craps game of his career while Adelaide, his fiancée of 14 years, longs for a wedding. Master gambler Sky Masterson woos uptight missionary Sarah Brown despite the obvious problems inherent in their relationship. Gambling in luck and love from Times Square to Havana, this classic musical boasts colorful characters and a brassy score, featuring “Luck Be a Lady,” “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat” and “Adelaide’s Lament.” It’s a surefire win.

The Guthrie Theater presents
Leaves of Grass – Illuminated
written and performed by Patrick Scully
from the text by Walt Whitman

July 12–14, 2019
Dowling Studio

by Lynn Nottage  
directed by Kate Whoriskey

July 27 – August 25, 2019
McGuire Proscenium Stage

From two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage (Sweat, Ruined) comes a razor sharp, disarmingly vulnerable comedy, a world premiere commissioned by the Guthrie. A rest stop sandwich shop named after its tough-as-nails owner, Floyd’s is more than just a respite for truckers. It’s the first step for its ex-con employees and their last hope for survival. A motley crew of line cooks forms under Zen Master Montrellous to learn the secret art of creating the perfect sandwich, a metaphor for how to rebuild their lives.