It’s almost like the Guthrie Theater is breathing again after holding its breath because of the pandemic and budget woes.
For the first time in five years, Minnesota’s largest theater will produce a work in its Dowling Studio, activating its ninth-floor third stage that has been dark for professional shows since the coronavirus shutdown.
In September, patrons can take in the world premiere of George Abud’s “The Ruins: A Play Through Music,” a two-hander about young musicians reflecting on their lives as they confront imminent mortality.
The reactivation of the Dowling, even if it’s just for one play, is one of the headlines coming out of the theater’s 2025-26 lineup.
After a year of contraction because of fiscal woes, the Guthrie also is upping its number of mainstage shows by one, to nine. The roster includes Eboni Booth’s 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Primary Trust,” about a laid-off worker and tiki bar habitué coming out of his shell, and “Come From Away,” the musical about hospitality and resilience as a Canadian town rallied to host U.S.-bound airline passengers diverted on Sept. 11.
The upcoming season also includes Amy Herzog’s new version of Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House,” William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” Noël Coward’s comedy “Private Lives” and Lauren Gunderson’s adaptation of “Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.”
“Every year, we’re looking for a mix of classic and contemporary plays,” said artistic director Joseph Haj, adding that this year’s lineup offers a diverse mix that will satisfy the playhouse’s many constituencies and stakeholders even as he hopes to attract new fans.
The season kicks off with “Doll’s House,” Ibsen’s groundbreaking work about women breaking free of patriarchal strictures. Herzog’s Tony-nominated adaptation condenses the story and gives the female lead more agency. Tracy Brigden, who staged “Dial M for Murder” at the Guthrie, directs (Sept. 13-Oct. 12).
