GUTHRIE THEATER TO OFFER FILMED PERFORMANCE OF SHAKESPEARE’S HAMLET TO MINNESOTA SCHOOLS DURING 2024–2025 SCHOOL YEAR

The new Theater in Focus initiative brings the Guthrie’s 60th-anniversary production and an accompanying curriculum guide to Minnesota classrooms at no cost

(Minneapolis/St. Paul) — The Guthrie Theater (Joseph Haj, Artistic Director) today announced it will offer a filmed performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and accompanying curriculum guide at no cost to Minnesota schools during the 2024–2025 school year. Directed by Guthrie Artistic Director Joseph Haj on the Wurtele Thrust Stage, Hamlet was captured on film in May 2023 during the theater’s 60th season by Chicago-based HMS Media for educational distribution. Educators may register online to preview the film performance and receive resources at www.guthrietheater.org/theaterinfocus.

Artistic Director Joseph Haj said, “Each year, we welcome more than 30,000 young people to our student matinees, and for many, it’s their first theatrical experience. While there’s no substitute for the excitement of a live performance, we are thrilled to expand access to Shakespeare’s vital work through this stunning film and comprehensive curriculum — at no cost to schools and educators. We hope Theater in Focus will be a celebrated source of joy and discovery in Minnesota classrooms.”

Theater in Focus is a free resource for educators designed to amplify subjects from literature and speech to social science and world history by exploring the context, characters and themes of a play. The Guthrie brings the thrill of live performance to classrooms with a timestamped curriculum that guides educators and students through the experience. Hamlet, one of Shakespeare’s most famous works, is often cited as one of the greatest plays in the English language. Its central themes of grief, revenge, love and loyalty — and its existential question “to be or not to be” — have endured throughout the centuries, remaining relevant and resonant to the human experience.

In Hamlet, the young prince of Denmark returns home to mourn his father’s death and begrudgingly attend the wedding of his mother, Queen Gertrude, to his uncle Claudius, who has all too willingly taken his brother’s throne. When the former king’s ghost appears and cries murder, Hamlet’s grief turns to obsessive revenge as he seeks to uncover evidence and unmask Claudius. Tension builds and plots spiral out of control, leading to a deadly final showdown.

The cast of Hamlet features Michael Braugher (Guthrie: debut) as Hamlet, Dustin Bronson (Guthrie: To Kill a Mockingbird, Juno and the Paycock) as Guildenstern/Fortinbras/Barnardo, John Catron (Guthrie: A Christmas Carol, Romeo and Juliet, Sense and Sensibility) as Claudius/Lucianus, Grayson DeJesus (Guthrie: The Glass Menagerie) as Laertes, Ray Dooley (Guthrie: debut) as Polonius/Gravedigger, Daniel Petzold (Guthrie: The Importance of Being Earnest, Sally & Tom) as Horatio, James Rodríguez (Guthrie: debut) as Voltemand/Francisco/Priest/Prologue, William Sturdivant (Guthrie: The Tempest, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet) as Rosencrantz/Marcellus, David Whalen (Guthrie: King Lear) as Ghost/Gravedigger/Player King, Anya Whelan-Smith (Guthrie: debut) as Ophelia, Regina Marie Williams (Guthrie: A Christmas Carol, Into the Woods, The Tempest) as Gertrude/Player Queen and Max Wojtanowicz (Guthrie: ‘Art’, Into the Woods, As You Like It) as Osric.

The creative team for Hamlet includes Joseph Haj (Director), Jan Chambers (Scenic Designer), Trevor Bowen (Costume Designer), Robert Wierzel (Lighting Designer), Darron L West (Sound Designer), Francesca Talenti (Projection Designer), Jack Herrick (Composer/Musician), Carla Steen (Resident Dramaturg), Rebecca Clark Carey (Vocal Coach), Casey Kaleba (Fight Director), Alli St. John (Intimacy), Denise Prosek (Music Consultant), Jennifer Liestman (Resident Casting Director), Tree O’Halloran (Stage Manager), Olivia Louise Tree Plath (Assistant Stage Manager), Willie E. Jones III (Assistant Director) and McCorkle Casting, Ltd. (NYC Casting Consultant).

HMS Media is a critically acclaimed, 25-time Emmy Award-winning media production company that creates broadcast and digital content for, with and about arts, education and social service organizations, whose subjects and clients include Broadway shows, national tours and resident performing companies and nonprofit institutions. Learn more at www.hmsmedia.com.

The Guthrie gratefully acknowledges U.S. Bank as Presenting Sponsor and Faegre Drinker as Co-Sponsor of its 2023 Hamlet production as well as Huntington Bank for their support of the Guthrie’s educational programs. 

Land Acknowledgment
The Guthrie Theater acknowledges that it resides on the traditional land of the Dakota People and honors with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations, including the Ojibwe and other Indigenous nations. 

The GUTHRIE THEATER (Joseph Haj, Artistic Director) is an American center for theater performance in Minneapolis, Minnesota, dedicated to producing a mix of classic and contemporary plays and cultivating the next generation of theater artists. Under Haj’s leadership, the Guthrie is guided by four core values: Artistic Excellence; Community; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility; and Fiscal Responsibility. Since its founding in 1963, the theater has continued to set a national standard for excellence in the field and serve the people of Minnesota as a vital cultural resource. The Guthrie houses three state-of-the-art stages, production facilities, classrooms and dramatic public spaces. guthrietheater.org