2025–2026 Season: A Tale of Two Beahens
July 14, 2026
What’s better than debuting at the Guthrie? Debuting in the same season as your sibling!
This season, Bradley and Kate Beahen both made their Guthrie debuts — Bradley in Private Lives and Kate in Come From Away. We chatted with the talented Beahen duo to learn more about their acting careers, audition strategies and the significance of appearing on the Guthrie’s stages in the same summer.
How did you first encounter theater?
KATIE BEAHEN: Since Bradley is older, I encountered the arts through my brother. When you’re growing up, you want to be just like your older sibling and do everything they’re doing. One of my older brothers played hockey, and that seemed very violent and terrifying. Bradley just comfortably sat at the piano and listened to The Phantom of the Opera on repeat, and I was a fan.
BRADLEY BEAHEN: Our parents were musically inclined, but they didn’t pursue music. Music was in our house all the time. I always thought it was weird when we went to a friend’s house and there wasn’t a record player or cassette player. We were exposed to a lot of forms of music at a young age, and it was kind of ingrained in us. When I saw my first professional theater production, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, I realized this was what I wanted to do.
Have you ever acted in a show together?
KATE: Back in the day, when Bradley was in high school, they used to bring local kids into the ensemble. When Bradley was one of the brothers in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, I got to be in the ensemble, as well as when he played Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. We were in Brigadoon together as well. Our high school career together was insane.
Do you help each other with auditions?
BRADLEY: It’s one of the bonuses of not being in competition with each other.
KATE: I love that you’re not a 5-foot-6-inch belting comedic actress in town. It’s great for me.
BRADLEY: Not anymore. I’ve grown.
KATE: In all seriousness, the most incredible perk of having a brother who plays piano — professionally and beautifully — is that he’s only a few minutes away if I need him to play my audition pieces on the piano. When Bradley was preparing for Private Lives, I happened to be working with someone who lived in France, and he was able to read Bradley’s monologue for him in a French accent so he could be extra prepared.
BRADLEY: We will always help each other, no matter what.
What have you learned from your sibling?
KATE: Bradley has a kindness and warmth that he brings to every space he encounters. Everybody I meet loves Bradley. I learned from him that having infectious energy, lightness and pure joy in your spirit makes every process better. I try to bring that into every room I walk into.
BRADLEY: I’ve learned a lot from Kate about the power of stillness. We’re both big, brassy people. One time, she told me about a performance she’d seen by Judi Dench where Judi just sat on the edge of a bed and didn’t move a muscle. I was struggling with a performance at the time, and she reminded me to think about communicating through stillness. That was a life-changing thing for me to realize.
What do your parents think of having two children working as professional actors?
BRADLEY: They’re so proud. Our hockey-playing brother that we mentioned earlier is actually a phenomenal musician as well, and he’s on tour with Paul Simon right now. So our parents are constantly floating on cloud nine.
What does it mean to be making your Guthrie debut?
KATE: Working at the Guthrie is something we’ve dreamed about since we were kids. It’s something we’ve shared with each other as adults as we continue to work on our craft. You always hope that if you continue to collaborate and work as hard as possible, you might get the chance to work at one of the greatest theaters in the nation — and in the world. We wanted it together, and the fact that it’s happening in the same summer is crazy. If you told younger Kate and Bradley that they would both be at the Guthrie together, I wouldn’t have believed it.
BRADLEY: The Guthrie is one of those places you always have on your bucket list as an artist if you grow up in the Twin Cities since it’s right here in your backyard. It’s part of the regional trajectory for so many amazing artists. I’m excited for the opportunity to be on this stage and to feel what so many other people have felt making their Guthrie debut.
Kate, why should people see PRIVATE LIVES? Bradley, why should people see COME FROM AWAY?
KATE: Private Lives is hilarious. Whenever I walk by their rehearsal room, I hear them all laughing with each other and I always want to go in. They have an amazing cast, and you’re going to have a grand time.
BRADLEY: The cast camaraderie in Come From Away and the ensemble nature of it all is absolutely incredible. The local talent represented onstage is phenomenal, and watching my sister make her Guthrie debut is unreal. To hear over 700 people each night hoot and holler for your sister is an amazing thing.
Come From Away is onstage until August 9, 2026. Get tickets today!
Private Lives is onstage until August 23, 2026. Get tickets today!