The Guthrie's "H.M.S. Pinafore," directed by Joe Dowling, opens Friday at the Minneapolis theater and runs through Aug. 28. Sneak peek in the clip, above. Cast includes Christina Baldwin, Robert Berdahl and Barbara Bryne.
Also this weekend, the Guthrie marks the five-year anniversary since the opening of its new Jean Nouvel-designed, three-theater building on the Minneapolis riverfront.
To mark the anniversary, the theater has a handful of $5 specials going all weekend, including ticket discounts, happy-hour specials at Sea Change, gift-shop souvenirs and a backstage tour. Also, there's a free champagne reception following Saturday night's performances of "Pinafore" and "God of Carnage."
To see a great photo slideshow of plays that have been seen at the theater since 2006, go here.
When it opened in June 2006, then architecture critic Linda Mack opened her review of the building like this:
One building can define a generation's legacy.
For the last generation, it was the Guthrie Theater on Vineland
Place. Ralph Rapson's facade of rhythmic openings framed people
moving inside the theater lobby and created a surge of anticipation.
For this generation, it will once again be the Guthrie Theater,
the new one opening next weekend. The powerful building establishes
a cultural anchor on the formerly blighted Minneapolis riverfront.
In homage to its environs, French architect Jean Nouvel's
monumental blue box looks industrial on the outside. Inside, it's
dazzling.
