Guthrie Theater
This article contains text that is written in a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2022) ) |
Address | 818 South 2nd Street Minneapolis, Minnesota United States |
---|---|
Type | Regional theater |
Construction | |
Opened | 1963 |
Rebuilt | 2006 |
Architect | Jean Nouvel |
Website | |
www |
The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions among Sir Tyrone Guthrie, Oliver Rea and Peter Zeisler. Disenchanted with Broadway, they intended to form a theater with a resident acting company, to perform classic plays in rotating repertory, while maintaining the highest professional standards.
The Guthrie Theater has performed in two main-stage facilities. The first building was designed by Ralph Rapson, included a 1,441-seat thrust stage designed by Tanya Moiseiwitsch, and was operated from 1963–2006. After closing its 2005–2006 season, the theater moved to its current facility designed by Jean Nouvel.
In 1982, the theater won the Regional Theatre Tony Award.
History
In 1959,
Frank Whiting, the director of the
Throughout the 1960s the Guthrie found critical acclaim in its productions of
In 1971,
In 1980
That year the Guthrie turned to Garland Wright, who had spent some time as Liviu Ciulei’s associate artistic director in the early 1980s as Ciulei's replacement. Wright had shared a vision with Ciulei that included the desire to have a second, smaller stage that could act as a lab to enable the exploration of new work and performance techniques. Born out of this vision was the Guthrie Laboratory (also known as the Guthrie Lab) located in the Minneapolis Warehouse District. Wright also shared a desire to keep the concept of a resident acting company alive and used his ensembles to great effect. He was able to combine critical and popular success with a series of productions that helped reestablish a large, enthusiastic and loyal audience base. Productions from this period include
Garland Wright announced his resignation in 1994 and after an international search for his successor, Joe Dowling was chosen as the Guthrie's seventh artistic director. Dowling had gained an international reputation with his work at Ireland's national theater, the Abbey Theatre, including becoming the Abbey's youngest artistic director in its long history.
Under Dowling's artistic leadership, the Guthrie enjoyed unprecedented growth. Subscriptions are at an all-time high of more than 32,000, up more than 50% from the beginning of Dowling's tenure. Dowling's time at the Guthrie Theater has been marked by a return to regional touring, co-productions by visiting international theater companies (WorldStage Series), collaborations with local theater companies, and his own dynamic productions of the classics.
Dowling retired in 2014. The eighth artistic director of the Guthrie is Joseph Haj, who took over in 2015.
Vineland Place
Paired with an innovative philosophy that included a resident acting company with high professional standards was a unique design concept in the stage itself.
The Guthrie's design arose out of Ralph Rapson's work with the Walker Art Center, and concepts the Walker was considering for a small auditorium near their museum. The result was a theater designed by Rapson, that seated 1,441 people when it first opened its doors in 1963. Its irregularly-shaped stage, designed by Tanya Moiseiwitsch, had 7 sides and took up 1120 square feet (104 m²). Seating radiated outward and upward, and the ceiling was hung with acoustical panels that carried the asymmetrical theme to the top of the theater. The design concept encouraged the minimal use of large set pieces. In 1974 the distinctive exterior screen, which had suffered from corrosion by the elements over the years, was removed.[6] In 1980, Artistic Director Liviu Ciulei redesigned the stage. The stage itself was modified so that its size, shape and height was adjustable, and he opened up the back wall to create more depth.[7]
In 2002, the National Trust for Historic Preservation put the old Guthrie building on its list of the most endangered historic properties in the United States in response to plans announced by the Walker Art Center to expand on the land occupied by the theater.[8] However, demolition started in late 2006 beginning with the common area between the old Guthrie building and the Walker. The site has been turned into green space and an extension of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.
On the river
In 2006, the Guthrie finished construction of a new $125 million theater building along the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis. The design is the work of Jean Nouvel, along with the Minneapolis architectural firm Architectural Alliance and is a 285,000-square-foot (26,500 m2) facility that houses three theaters: (1) the theater's signature thrust stage, seating 1,100, (2) a 700-seat proscenium stage, and (3) a black-box studio with flexible seating. It also has a 178-foot cantilevered bridge (called the "Endless Bridge") to the Mississippi which is open to visitors during normal building hours. The outside of the building's walls are covered in large panels which display a large mural of photographs from past plays visible clearly at night. Jean Nouvel was in association with dUCKS scéno and Jacques Le Marquet for the scenography of the theaters and the acousticians of The Talaske Group and Kahle Acoustics.
The first Guthrie production at the new location, The Great Gatsby (adapted for the stage by Simon Levy and directed by David Esbjornson), opened on July 15, 2006.
Auditoriums
- 1,100-seat Wurtele Thrust Stage
- 700-seat McGuire Proscenium Stage
- 199-seat Dowling Studio
Dining and retail
- Sea Change, a seafood restaurant
- Level Five Cafe, pre-show dining
- Level Five Express, coffee bar
- Guthrie Store
Public spaces
- The Endless Bridge
- Target Lounge
- Theater lobbies on levels 4, 5, and 9
- Street lobby on level 1
Semi-public spaces
- The Guthrie Learning Center - education classrooms
- Kitchak Lounge (donor lounge)
Alternate stages
- Crawford Livingston Theater (1968–1969)
- The Other Place (1968–1971)
- Guthrie 2 (1976–1979)
- Guthrie Lab (1988–2005)
Artistic directors
- Tyrone Guthrie (1963–1966)
- Douglas Campbell (1966–1967)
- position not filled (1968–1970)
- Michael Langham (1971–1977)
- Alvin Epstein (1978–1980)
- Liviu Ciulei (1980–1985)
- Garland Wright (1986–1995)
- Joe Dowling (1995–2015)
- Joseph Haj (2015–present)
2021-2022 season
- What the Constitution Means to Me – by Heidi Schreck
- A Christmas Carol – by Charles Dickens, adapted by Lavina Jadhwani
- A Raisin in the Sun – by Lorraine Hansberry
- The Tempest – by William Shakespeare
- Emma – by Kate Hamill, based on the novel by Jane Austen
- Sweat – by Lynn Nottage
See Guthrie Theater production history for previous seasons.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Theater History". Archived from the original (PDF) on April 23, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0897812924.
- ^ Marsh, Steve (October 13, 2020). "Curtain Call: A Brief History of Theater in Minnesota - Here's how the drama we currently miss so terribly came to be such an essential part of our community". Mpls. St. Paul Magazine. MSP Communications. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ "Shaping a 'Dream' Far More Bitter Than Puckish". The New York Times. July 6, 1986. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2006.
- ^ "Guthrie Theater: Overview". Minnesota History Center. Archived from the original on March 9, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- ^ Hession, Jane King (January 13, 2015). "The Tyrone Guthrie Theater". Docomomo US. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ^ "Venues: Guthrie Theater". Minnesota Twins Tickets. Archived from the original on November 26, 2006. Retrieved November 17, 2006.
- ^ "D.C. Hospital, Minnesota's Guthrie Theatre Among Endangered Places, National Trust Says 6/6/2002". Engineering News-Record. June 6, 2002. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
Further: reading
- Bartlett, Jeff (November 16, 2009). "Designing a Life in the Theater, by Accident". Minnesota Playlist. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ISBN 978-0688100803.
- ISSN 0011-5266.
- Dowling, Joe (September 2006). "Inside the New Guthrie". American Theatre online. Archived from the original on March 23, 2007. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
- Futagawa, Yoshio, ed. (September 2006). Jean Nouvel: 3 Buildings. GA Document. Vol. 93. Tokyo: A.D.A. Edita. ISBN 4-87140-193-6.
- Grose, Polly (2012). Guthrie Theater: The First Fifty Years. Edina, Minnesota: Beaver's Pond Press. ISBN 978-1-59298-538-8.
- Guilfoyle, Peg (2006). The Guthrie Theater: Images, History, and Inside Stories. Minneapolis: Nodin Press. ISBN 1-932472-39-8.
- LCCN 64022458.
- Guthrie, Tyrone (2008). A New Theatre. expanded edition. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-5360-7.
- Guthrie, Tyrone; Ralph Rapson; H. Frederick Koeper (1963). "Architecture for the Stage: Tyrone Guthrie Theatre, Designed by Ralph Rapson, AIA". Design Quarterly. No. 58.
- Hession, Jane King; Rip Rapson; Bruce N. Wright (1999). Ralph Rapson: Sixty Years of Modern Design. Afton, Minnesota: Afton Historical Society Press. ISBN 1-890434-14-0.
- Kamin, Blair (March 31, 2008). "Guthrie Theater architect Nouvel wins Pritzker Prize". Chicago Tribune.
- Lion, Eugene, ed. (1976). Guthrie New Theater. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0-394-17907-2.
- Miranda, Carolina A. (June 2, 2015). "A photo tour of Jean Nouvel's must-see Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
- Morrison, Bradley G.; Kay Fliehr (1968). In Search of an Audience. New York: Pitman. LCCN 68018783.
- O'Quinn, Jim (June 16, 2015). "Going National: How America's Regional Theatre Movement Changed the Game". American Theatre. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
- Preston, Rohan (May 31, 2015). "Guthrie's Joe Dowling takes a final curtain call at theater he reinvented". Minneapolis Star Tribune.
- Quinn, Robert J. (January 2007). "Setting the Stage". Civil Engineering. 77 (1): 40–49.
- Rossi, Alfred (1970). Minneapolis Rehearsals: Tyrone Guthrie Directs Hamlet. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520017191.
- Scales, Robert R. (Summer 2014). "The Guthrie Theatre, Old and New: A Personal Recollection and Reflection". Theatre Design & Technology. 50 (3).
- Steel, Mike (October 1993). "The Not So Empty Stage". American Theatre.
- Sullivan, Dan (May 8, 1963). "Compelling 'Hamlet' is Traditional (review)". Minneapolis Tribune. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014.
- Viagas, Robert (August 11, 2017). "Annette Garceau, Last Surviving Guthrie Theater Founder, Dies at 103". Playbill. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
- Zeigler, Joseph Wesley (1973). Regional Theatre: The Revolutionary Stage. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-1452911427.
Further: viewing
- "Guthrie Theater: Miracle in Minnesota". Guthrie Theater. 1963. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021.
- "Guthrie Theater: Our History". Guthrie Theater. 2017. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021.