The Guthrie Theatre stands both as a testament to Minneapolis' long dramatic heritage and as a bold vision for civic architecture in the new millennium.
The Twin Cities are a metropolitan pair fizzing with drama, widely known as one of the epicentres for live theatre in the US. Only New York has more of its citizens catching the bright lights. So you'd expect its flagship performing venue – the Guthrie Theatre – to be something of grand statement. But this futuristic theatre is something more than grand – it's breathtaking. Only built in the last decade, this audacious building has become something of a star in itself.
Designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, its dusky-blue glass exterior deliberately sets out to echo the agricultural past of Minneapolis. At one end, a half-circle buttress rises like a grain silo. Behind it are two “chimney”-topped towers, which look like 21st-century versions of the flour mills that once crowded this stretch of the Mississippi River. Each of these three buildings houses a spectacular stage. And each comes alive at night, when ghost-like images from the Guthrie's illustrious past are projected onto their indigo surfaces.
The original Guthrie Theatre was founded back in the 1960s by Sir William Tyrone Guthrie. This famous director worked tirelessly to see regional theatre thrive, and helped raise money for the first building in 1963. This building also broke new ground due to its innovative “thrust stage” with seating on 3 sides, allowing audiences to get closer to the drama on stage. Today's Wurtele Thrust Stage is a reconstruction of that original, and it still stages the Guthrie's hallmark Shakespeare plays.
There is also a more traditional theatre stage for 19th and 20th-century works, and a stage given over to experimental contemporary theatre. The new Guthrie's fantastic reputation has drawn many of the most interesting and highly rated shows here, from across the globe. It's all enough to have the committed theatre-goer itching to head to central Minneapolis. But even if the smell of greasepaint doesn't make your pulse race, there is plenty to see at the Guthrie. Perhaps the most viewed is the “Endless Bridge”, with its 55-metre leap out over the Mississippi – a stunning ring-side seat from which to watch the sun set over Minneapolis.
