Guthrie Theater adds two shows, subtracts one

The Guthrie Theater is showing some admirable flexibility in order to make room for more new theater in its 2010 season.

Tricycle Theatre's "The Great Game: Afghanistan" is not really a play so much as it is a cultural festival and theatrical event aimed at raising awareness of Afghan people and history. When it was originally staged in London, it included not only three different stage productions, but numerous movie screenings, post play discussions and art exhibitions. It will be interesting to see what the Guthrie arranges in conjunction with its three-week run beginning September 29 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage.

Not as ambitious, but certainly likely to resonate with Guthrie ticketholders is

the regional premiere of Steven Dietz's "Shooting Star," which will run on the McGuire Proscenium Stage from July 31 through September 5. The play focuses on a man and a woman, once young lovers, who run into each other at an airport thirty years later. The two are brought back in touch with their dreams of youth, which contrast starkly with where they've ended up.

Because of these additions to the calendar, Guthrie droping "She Stoops to Conquer" from the season line-up and is moving "A Streetcar Named Desire," originally slated to run on the McGuire Proscenium Stage to the Wurtele Thrust Stage.

Now if you're a theater buff you might know that different stages are better suited to different plays. While Shakespeare is considered a thrust stage natural, modern plays are more often shown on the proscenium stage. Not that it hasn't been done before -

Sir Tyrone Guthrie

Alan Schneider directed Tennessee Williams' Glass Menagerie on the thrust stage. Let's just hope they weren't too far along in the set design when they made the change.

Patrons holding tickets to "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "She Stoops to Conquer" will be contacted by the Guthrie Theater about changes to the calendar and ticket exchanges. Tickets for "Shooting Star" and "The Great Game: Afghanistan" go on sale March 26.

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