Guthrie Theater

The Guthrie Theater is a venue for staging plays in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the result of Sir Tyrone Guthrie's desire for a new kind of theater that would provide an atmosphere which would encourage the production of great works of literature and cultivate actors' talents away from the more commercial environment of Broadway where increasing production costs demanded profitability over artistic content. The Guthrie Theater first opened its doors on May 7, 1963 with a production of Hamlet with George Grizzard playing the lead and directed by Tyrone Guthrie himself.

Related Topics:
Minneapolis - Minnesota - Tyrone Guthrie - Theater - Literature - Broadway - May 7 - 1963 - Hamlet - George Grizzard

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Paired with an innovative philosphy that included a resident acting company with high professional standards was a unique design concept in the stage itself.

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Guthrie selected architect Ralph Rapson to design the new theater. Rapson was a leading contributor to architecture's modern movement on the East Coast from the late 1940s through the 1950s, and served as head of the University of Minnesota School of Architecture in the late 1950s. Rapson had also worked on some preliminary sketchs of the Walker Art Center, who donated some land for the Guthrie's construction. Guthrie and Rapson selected a modified theater in the round design that featured a thrust stage projecting from a back wall with seating surrounding nearly two thirds of it.

Related Topics:
Ralph Rapson - East Coast - 1940s - 1950s - University of Minnesota - Architecture - Walker Art Center - Theater in the round - Thrust stage

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