"Macbeth" at the Guthrie Theater

Someone is getting murdered in a castle in Scotland, and I'm not talking about the new season of The Traitors. In the Guthrie Theater's new production of Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth, it's the king who gets murdered, and we all know who the traitor is - the title character, who then becomes the king. The Guthrie's previous Artistic Director Joe Dowling returns to direct this play, which he also directed in 2010 (just before I started this blog, and the play made it onto my first annual favorites list), and he has once again crafted a compelling and action-packed continuous two hours of storytelling with no break to catch our collective breath. But the world is much different in 2026 than it was in 2010, and this story of a country and its citizens who are hurt, desperate, and disillusioned by their corrupt leadership hits a lot closer to home. Shakespeare's evergreen tale of unchecked power and greed has resonance in any era, but perhaps never more so in my lifetime than right now. Macbeth is a dark tale, but eventually the true citizens of the beleaguered country band together to create a better future. See this powerful, visually stunning, and excellently cast production of a classic on the Guthrie's thrust stage through March 22.

The History Plays: "Richard II," "Henry IV," and "Henry V" in rep at the Guthrie Theater

Once in a lifetime, if you're lucky, you'll have a chance to experience an epic theater event at your home town theater, which just happens to be one of the best respected and most highly acclaimed regional theaters in the land. That was April 13, 2024, a day I will never forget, a day in which I consumed more theater than I ever have in a single day. Some 8 1/2 hours of theater, more than seeing Tony Kushner's epic two-part Angels in America on Broadway, more than the longest day at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Sometimes known as The Henriad, Shakespeare's Richard II, Henry IV (two plays here condensed into one), and Henry V tell the stories of three English kings in the late 14th and early 15th Centuries. But this was not some boring slog through ancient history and archaic language. It was a living, breathing, dynamic, compelling, thrilling, jaw-dropping, heart-stopping, laugh-inducing, thoroughly engaging binge-watch of some of the best plays in the English cannon, brought to life by some of our best theater artists from the Twin Cities and around the country. Each play has a somewhat different tone or look or feel, but all are cut from the same cloth so that when knit together, they form a whole much grander than the sum of its parts. If you have the financial means and physical stamina to do so, I highly recommend attending the one remaining marathon day on May 18. It's a rare shared community experience, with artists and patrons joining their energies together for some 14 hours in the same space. Or you can take in the trilogy in a more reasonable manner - see all three plays in a weekend, or more spread out over time. But if you're a #TCTheater fan (and if you're not, why are you reading this blog?), see it you must. This is something we'll be talking about for generations. Click here for details and tickets.