StarTribune.com
kushner052209

Home | Entertainment | OnStage

Latest role for famed playwright: Dr.

Rohan Preston, Star Tribune

Guthrie Theater artistic director Joe Dowling, left, and Patricia Simmons, chair of the University of Minnesota's Board of Regents, right, applaud humbled playwright Tony Kushner, as he was presented with an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of Minnesota on May 21 2009.

Playwright Tony Kushner is awarded an honorary doctorate

Last update: May 22, 2009 - 12:10 PM

Tony Kushner can add another plume to his cap. On Thursday, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters by the University of Minnesota.

"Using a style at once experimental and traditional, Mr. Kushner's work mingles contemporary and historical politics with keen psychological insight into the complexities of interpersonal relationships," said Paula Rabinowitz, chairwoman of the university's English Department. "His work is big and messy ... like the nation."

He "represents the soul of the liberal arts -- or, as we might say, the liberating arts," said James Parente Jr., dean of the university's College of Liberal Arts. "He challenges audiences ... to see what has been hidden, face what has been feared, and open their minds and hearts to what has been shunned."

The honor came a day before the Guthrie Theater premiere of Kushner's latest play, "The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures."

Kushner first used that title for a speech he delivered at the University of Minnesota in 1998.

"I planned to write a speech but that plan and that speech became a rewrite for the last scene of 'Intelligent Homosexual,'" he said Thursday. "I'm certain that I wouldn't have written this play had there not been a safe holding environment, a nest, the Guthrie."

Kushner lauded the "civic cohesion" of the Twin Cities in front of an audience that included the Guthrie's Joe Dowling, arts boosters George and Sally Pillsbury and physician Patricia Simmons, chairwoman of the University of Minnesota's Board of Regents.

He also was humble. "I'm sick of the subject of myself," he said, quoting his adaptation of Pierre Corneille's 17th-century play "The Illusion."

ROHAN PRESTON

Recent OnStage stories

Spotlight: Movement Architecture - May 22, 2009
Spotlight: Movement Architecture - Opens Friday: With "Ode to Dolly, The Sheep, Inter Alia," Debra Jinza Thayer/Movement Architecture explores the politics and ethics of cloning. More

Comment on this story   |   Be the first to comment   |  Hide reader comments

Subscribe
Your Photos and Video

Share photos and videos now

Local Music & Events

Karen Vieno Paurus at the Ritz Theater in N.E. Minneapolis. (photo by Leslie Plessar)

See thousands of photos from other StarTribune.com readers and share your own photos and video today.

StarTribune.com: Steals + Deals & Classifieds

FYI Offers e-mails

Sell Your Own Car

If you're a private party seller, you'll find CarSoup easy to use to sell your vehicle online!
Half Price Deals

Double your money

Buy gift cards at 50% off. Restaurants, spas and activities. Check back often.

Win tickets to see Taken By Trees and El Perro Del Mar at Cedar Cultural Center.

Vita.mn presents Taken By Trees and El Perro Del Mar at Cedar Cultural Center on Feb. 23.

See all contests