 The new $125 million, three-stage Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. (AP Photo)
Posted: June 26, 2006
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- About 20,000 people crammed inside the new Guthrie Theater to get a first look at the three-stage complex on the banks of the Mississippi River, which officials hope will become a national leader in theatre.The building's 54-metre-long Endless Bridge and its spectacular view over the Mississippi River drew raves from visitors. The bridge juts out of the building toward the river, with a balcony at the end.
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"Our mission is to serve this region with the highest quality of theatre available," artistic director Joe Dowling said. "Everything else is secondary." Founded by Sir Tyrone Guthrie as a reaction to the commercialization of Broadway, the Guthrie was considered the first significant regional theatre in the United States when it opened in 1963. Before going to Minneapolis, Guthrie helped found the Stratford Festival in Ontario in 1953, reintroducing Shakespeare's thrust stage, a design concept to be echoed in theatres around the world. Minneapolis' new $125 million US building designed by French architect Jean Nouvel was five years in the making and replaces the Guthrie's first home next to the Walker Art Center, which needs the space for an expansion. Thomas Fisher, dean of the architecture college at the University of Minnesota, called the design innovative. "It'll be published all over the world. This is a very powerful project for (Nouvel)," Fisher said. "I think it'll have a huge effect on the way we think about theatres." People can move throughout much of the facility from the street without a ticket, though tickets are needed to enter the three theatres for performances. This allows people to gather for social events in addition to seeing plays, Dowling said. A world premiere adaptation of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, opening July 21, will be the first play on the main stage. |
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