For its 60th season, Guthrie goes big with 'Into the Woods,' 'Hamlet'

A season announcement from the Guthrie Theater is a big deal in normal times. But as the Twin Cities flagship prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary on the heels of the fading pandemic, its 2022-23 lineup plants a flag of hope.

The 10-show roster includes a world premiere by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks, a commission of the western "Shane," and a production of Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods." The theater also will revive "Hamlet," its inaugural play, and produce works by Pearl Cleage and Agatha Christie for the first time.

The message is that the Guthrie is back with strength after the theater's abrupt shuttering and letting go of most of its staff because of the pandemic, artistic director Joseph Haj said.

"This is a big, ambitious season with works of joy, imagination and conscience," he added.

The Guthrie opened in 1963 under the leadership of Irish director Tyrone Guthrie, who had been invited by forward-looking Minnesotans. Its founding galvanized the regional theater movement across the country, and the theater, which won a regional Tony Award in 1982, continues to be hailed a leader today.

Things kick off in the fall with "Vietgone," Qui Nguyen's celebrated 2015 play. The raucous comedy is about his parents' flight from Asia to America and the surreal clashes of culture. A director has not yet been announced (Sept. 10-Oct. 16).

Playwright Parks' "In the Blood" was produced at the Guthrie in 2001. Her newest play, "Sally & Tom," is about a theater couple working to put on a production of a play about founding father Thomas Jefferson and his teenage captive, Sally Hemings. In the play, the couple also depict the title characters. "Sally & Tom" will be produced in collaboration with New York's Public Theater (Oct. 1-Nov. 6).

The Guthrie also will stage "The Little Prince," Rick Cummins' and John Scoullar's adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's 1943 children's book about an aviator who crashes in the Sahara and is visited by a boy.

"It's a work of staggering beauty that takes on the shape of a children's tale, but all of its lessons are for adults," Haj said (Dec. 10-Feb. 5, 2023).

"Blues for an Alabama Sky," playwright Cleage's 1995 drama about the dreams, challenges and longings of a group of tightly knit friends in Depression-era Harlem, will run Jan. 28-March 12, 2023.

"Hamlet" has become a touchstone in the Guthrie's history. It opened the theater under the direction of its founder in 1963 and was the last play staged at the Guthrie's old facility on Vineland Place in 2006. Haj will add his name to that roster of directors when he stages Shakespeare's ghost-infused drama (April 8-May 21, 2023).

The Guthrie also will produce an Agatha Christie mystery, "Murder on the Orient Express," for the first time in its history. It's adapted by Ken Ludwig, who also makes his Guthrie debut (May 13-July 2, 2023).

The Guthrie wraps up its season with a new work by "Native Gardens" playwright Karen Zacarías. She adapts "Shane," Jack Schaefer's 1949 novel in a co-commission and co-production with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (July 15-Aug. 27, 2023).

The theater will announce its last mainstage show at a later date.