Peter Michael Goetz

During this time when productions all over the world have been put on pause, we are coming together to celebrate plays that have left their mark on theater history. This week we will be focusing on the plays of Neil Simon. Today's play, Brighton Beach Memoirs!

On Saturday night, BEHOLD: A Gala Performance, honoring 50 years of the Guthrie, took place on the theater's Wurtele Thrust Stage before a packed house. The performance featured a glittering array of contributors including actors and artists linked to all aspects of the Guthrie's past and its vision for the future. BEHOLD, the centerpiece of a weekend that captivated the Twin Cities and marked the long and vital relationship between the Guthrie and the community that it calls home, marked the half-century milestone for the flagship of the American regional theater movement that first opened its doors in 1963.

The Guthrie today announced that 17 accomplished local actors and vocalists who have all appeared on the Guthrie's stages during their careers will complete the artist line-up as the vocal ensemble for BEHOLD: A Gala Performance, honoring 50 years of the Guthrie, on Saturday, June 22, 2013. Accompanied by a 12-piece orchestra helmed by Musical Director Andrew Cooke, the ensemble will perform songs from some of the greatest musicals of all time, in unexpected ways.

The Guthrie today announced that two-time Tony Award nominee and Obie and Drama Desk Award winner Brian d'Arcy James joins the artist line-up for BEHOLD: A Gala Performance, honoring 50 years of the Guthrie, onSaturday, June 22, 2013. James is slated to sing an original song based on excerpts of text from Hamlet, as previously announced, which is being composed by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown specifically for the celebratory evening.

The Guthrie today announced that eight artists who have graced the Guthrie's stages during its 50-year history, from the first season in 1963 to the theater's current season, are slated to participate in the Guthrie's 50th anniversary on June 22, 2013. Exclusive interviews with the legendary Zoe Caldwell and Christopher Plummer will be unveiled as part of a poignant and celebratory multi-media tribute, while stage veterans Barbara Bryne, Peter Michael Goetz and Stephen Yoakam; two graduates of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program, Matthew Amendt and Valeri Mudek; and an alum of A Guthrie Experience for Actors in Training, Erik Heger; will perform live for the one-night-only event.

The Guthrie today announced that actor Peter Michael Goetz will be stepping away from subsequent performances of his acclaimed portrayal of James Tyrone in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night; Goetz will return to his California home in order to attend to a personal matter that requires his immediate attention. Raye Birk will assume the role of James Tyrone for upcoming performances.

The Guthrie Theater today announced complete casting for its production of Eugene O'Neill's semi-autobiographical masterwork Long Day's Journey into Night. For the first time in its 50-year history, the Guthrie will present this Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning family drama under the direction of Artistic Director Joe Dowling. The production will star actors Peter Michael Goetz and Helen Carey in the roles of James and Mary Tyrone. James is an aging actor and Mary is his rambling, morphine-addicted wife-both struggle to helm a dysfunctional family racked by addiction, despair and festering guilt.

The world premiere production of the Frank McGuinness adaptation of James Joyce's The Dead plays Dublin's Abbey Theatre, under the direction of former Abbey and current Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling. The Dead opens tonight, December 11 and will play through January 19, 2013.

The world premiere production of the Frank McGuinness adaptation of James Joyce's The Dead will play Dublin's Abbey Theatre, under the direction of former Abbey and current Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling. The Dead will begin previews tonight, December 5, will open December 11 and will play through January 19, 2013.

The world premiere production of the Frank McGuinness adaptation of James Joyce's The Dead has begun rehearsal at Dublin's Abbey Theatre, under the direction of former Abbey and current Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling. The Dead will begin previews on December 5, will open December 11 and will play through January 19, 2013.

The Guthrie Theater today announced that lifetime Board Director Polly Grose will be on hand at the theater on October 21 following the matinee performances to sign copies of her book Guthrie Theater: The First Fifty Years. A collection of essays selected and compiled by Grose, the book provides compelling first-hand perspectives from luminaries throughout the Guthrie's history and members of the Twin Cities community, spiced through with no-holds-barred opinion and curated by Grose's own affectionate and knowledgeable viewpoint on the Guthrie.

The Guthrie Theater presents a special In Conversation with Broadway producer Emanuel "Manny" Azenberg. The event will be held tonight, Monday, August 27 at 7:30 p.m. on the Wurtele Thrust Stage at the Guthrie. Artistic Director Joe Dowling will lead the conversation that will be joined by actor Peter Michael Goetz, currently performing as Willie Clark in the Guthrie's production of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys.

The Guthrie Theater today announced a special In Conversation with Broadway producer Emanuel "Manny" Azenberg. The event will be held on Monday, August 27 at 7:30 p.m. on the Wurtele Thrust Stage at the Guthrie. Artistic Director Joe Dowling will lead the conversation that will be joined by actor Peter Michael Goetz, currently performing as Willie Clark in the Guthrie's production of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys. Tickets for the event are $15 and are on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6244 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

Overall, the forecast for The Sunshine Boys is clear and breezy. Audiences can expects sunny laughter, clear plotlines and gusts of slapstick. With a chance of a light drizzle (if you're not into hardy-har-type comedy) this show is daffy and fun.

The Guthrie Theater currently presents The Sunshine Boys-acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon's sidesplitting comedy. Directed by Gary Gisselman (Guthrie: A Christmas Carol, Lost in Yonkers), The Sunshine Boys features veteran actors Peter Michael Goetz and Raye Birk as Willie Clark and Al Lewis, respectively, a pair of crabby, retired vaudeville comedians persuaded to reunite after 11 years apart-despite the fact that they hate each other. Hilarity ensues when these seasoned stage partners return to the stage for a CBS television comedy special. Get a first look at Goetz and Birk in The Sunshine Boys in the photos below!

The Guthrie Theater today announced the full cast and creative team for The Sunshine Boys-acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon's sidesplitting comedy. Directed by Gary Gisselman (A Christmas Carol, Lost in Yonkers), The Sunshine Boys will feature Guthrie favorites Raye Birk (Faith Healer, Third) and Peter Michael Goetz (1776, The Government Inspector) as Al Lewis and Willie Clark, respectively, a pair of crabby, retired vaudeville comedians persuaded to reunite after 11 years apart - despite the fact that they hate each other. When these seasoned stage partners are convinced to reunite for a CBS television comedy special, hilarity ensues. The New York Times called The Sunshine Boys "an evening that keeps you laughing and then leaves you surprisingly moved." The production also features a special cameo from renowned improvisational comedian and Brave New Workshop founder Dudley Riggs as Sketch Patient.

Who would think to deem Eugene O'Neill as one of the original forefathers of reality television? But perhaps we should - to add it to his long list of artistic achievements as one of the great playwrights of our time. Especially in the context of Long Day's Journey Into Night, one of O'Neill's brilliant constructions now playing at Arena Stage through May 6th, 2012.

Guthrie Director Joe Dowling today announced 11 mainstage productions of the theater's 2012-2013 season. The theater's 50th season and seventh on the Mississippi River looks ahead to a vital future with highlights including three new commissioned plays and works that deal vigorously with themes of war, race and politics through history and contemporary times.