quintons@guthrietheater.org

TWO-TIME TONY AWARD NOMINEE AND OBIE AND DRAMA DESK AWARD WINNER
BRIAN DARCY JAMES
TO PERFORM IN GUTHRIES 50^TH GALA

The award-winning theater, film and television actor known to audiences of NBCs Smash, will perform an original song based on text from Hamlet,
composed by Jason Robert Brown for Guthrie gala.

Mr. dArcy James, a remarkably versatile actor equally at home in splashy musicals like Shrek and the chiaroscuro delicacies of Conor McPhersons

Port Authority. The New York Times

(Minneapolis/St. Paul) The Guthrie today announced that two-time Tony Award nominee and Obie and Drama Desk Award winner Brian dArcy James joins the artist line-up for BEHOLD: A Gala Performance, honoring 50 years of the Guthrie, on Saturday, June 22, 2013. James is slated to sing an original song based on excerpts of text from Hamlet, as previously announced, which is being composed by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown specifically for the celebratory evening.

Brian dArcy James is an award-winning theater, film and television actor as well as a recording artist. His Broadway credits include Time Stands Still, Next to Normal, Shrek the Musical (Tony nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award), The Apple Tree, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Sweet Smell of Success (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations and Drama League Award), Titanic (Drama League nomination), Carousel and Blood Brothers. Off-Broadway credits: Giant (The Public, Drama Desk nomination), The Wild Party (Manhattan Theatre Club), Port Authority (Atlantic Theater Company), The Pavilion, Flight and Ancestral Voices (Lincoln Center), Public Enemy by Kenneth Branagh and Floyd Collins (Playwrights Horizons). James television and film credits include the role of Frank Houston in NBCs Smash, the pilot of a new NBC version of Ironside, CBSs The Good Wife, Showtimes The Big C, the pilot of JJ Abrams Person of Interest, ABCs Cashmere Mafia, FXs Rescue Me, Admission starring Paul Rudd and Tina Fey, HBOs Emmy-winning Game Change with Julianne Moore and Ed Burns Fitzgerald Family Christmas. An accomplished concert performer, highlights include performing for President Clinton at the Kennedy Center Honors as well as a 2010 White House performance for President Obama and the First Family for PBSs Broadway at the White House.

As previously announced BEHOLD: A Gala Performance will be co-hosted by Guthrie favorites Greta Oglesby and Sally Wingert, and will feature Matthew Amendt, Tracie Bennett, Jason Robert Brown, Barbara Bryne, Daniel Gerroll, Peter Michael Goetz, Whoopi Goldberg, Erik Heger, Patricia Kalember, T.R. Knight, Valeri Mudek, Stephen Yoakam, and male vocal ensemble Cantus, as well as multimedia tributes with theatrical legends Zoe Caldwell and Christopher Plummer. BEHOLD features musical direction by Andrew Cooke, choreography by Brian Sostek, set design by Michael Hoover, costume design by Christine A. Richardson, lighting design by Tom Mays, sound design by Scott W. Edwards and is written by Mark Benninghofen. Peter Flynnwhose extensive credits include directorial work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in regional theaters and other gala eventswill direct. Further information about artists and guests appearing in BEHOLD will be announced in the weeks to come.

A star-studded performance featuring actors, composers and writers with ties to the Guthries past and future, BEHOLD: A Gala Performance will be held on June 22, 2013, on the Wurtele Thrust Stage and is a part of the Guthries 50^th Anniversary Celebration Weekend (June 22-23, 2013). BEHOLD will be presented in conjunction with Anniversary Weekend celebration dinners the Golden Soirée and Fête 50, which include tickets to the performance and are on sale now through the Guthries Anniversary Line at 612.225.6350. For more information, visit www.guthrietheater.org/50.

The GUTHRIE THEATER (Joe Dowling, Director) was founded by Sir Tyrone Guthrie in 1963 and is an American center for theater performance, production, education and professional training. The Tony Award-winning Guthrie Theater is dedicated to producing the great works of dramatic literature, developing the work of contemporary playwrights and cultivating the next generation of theater artists. With annual attendance of nearly 500,000 people, the Guthrie Theater presents a mix of classic plays and contemporary work on its three stages. Under the artistic leadership of Joe Dowling since 1995, the Guthrie continues to set a national standard for excellence in theatrical production and performance. In 2006, the Guthrie opened its new home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, the Guthrie Theater houses three state-of-the-art stages, production facilities, classrooms and dramatic public lobbies. www.guthrietheater.org

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