![The north side of the Guthrie Theater, with the faces of George Bernard Shaw, left, and Eugene O'Neil, is pictured Wednesday night. ] (Aaron Lavinsky | StarTribune) As Guthrie Theater director Joe Dowling opens one of his final productions this weekend, the theater's board is moving swiftly to name his replacement. Publicly, the Guthrie says only that someone will be hired before March. That person would likely start in April for two months of transition before Dowling leaves in early June. We d](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/NLYGXNIEHK5GSZYRDJ6ZVFRLZ4.jpg?&w=1080)
The Guthrie Theater reported a small surplus in fiscal 2014-15, on its largest annual budget ever.
One of the largest nonprofit theaters in the nation, the Guthrie spent $29 million in the past year — during which former artistic director Joe Dowling retired and Joseph Haj took over. The surplus was $24,171.
The budget was up $3.2 million, or 12 percent, from the previous year, as earned income rose 8 percent and contributed income went up by a very significant 23 percent.
"The fact that we are sound [financially] is a credit to Joe [Dowling], to our board, our staff, to nearly 20,000 season ticket-holders and the thousands of donors who continue to demonstrate their generosity," Haj said in a prepared statement.
Attendance in Dowling's final season rose 6 percent, to 378,538. That contributed to an 11 percent increase in revenue from performances.
Dowling's three final productions — "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "The Crucible" and "Juno and the Paycock" — all were received well critically and at the box office.
At the annual meeting, Y. Marc Belton, a retired General Mills executive who founded Wisefellows Consulting, was named chairman, succeeding Lee Skold.
