Name: Cabaret
Start: 2025-08-24T00:00:00
Location: Guthrie Theater

As the curtains rise at the Guthrie Theater, audiences are invited to embark on a theatrical journey that spans from the whimsical woods of Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' to the bustling Kit Kat Klub of 'Cabaret.' This year's lineup promises a blend of classic literature, poignant comedies, and riveting musicals. With performances like 'A Christmas Carol' celebrating its 50th anniversary and 'The Heart Sellers' exploring immigrant experiences, the Guthrie Theater continues to be a beacon of culture and creativity. Join us as we explore what makes this season truly unforgettable.

Guthrie Theater's Enchanting Season: A Celebration of Classic and Contemporary Theater

Step into a world where the boundaries of reality and fiction blur, as the Guthrie Theater presents a spellbinding series of performances in 2025. From the whimsical chaos of Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' to the suspenseful twists of Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap,' each play promises a unique journey. This season also celebrates the cultural richness of African American society in 'The Nacirema Society' and explores the complexities of identity and love in the musical 'Cabaret.' Join us for a theatrical experience that captivates and inspires.

A Season of Intrigue and Revelry at Guthrie Theater

Step into a world of intrigue, heritage, and musical allure with three captivating productions at the Guthrie Theater. Experience Agatha Christie's suspenseful 'The Mousetrap,' a glimpse into African American society's history with 'The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence,' and the daring escape of 'Cabaret.' Each play offers a unique narrative, from murder mysteries and societal expectations to a musical escape amidst political unrest. Join us as we explore these stories and the creative minds behind them.

A Theatrical Journey: Unraveling Mysteries, Celebrating Heritage, and Embracing Decadence

This season, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis is bringing audiences a diverse lineup of theatrical experiences. From the gripping mystery of Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap,' to the delightful comedy in 'The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence,' and the iconic musical numbers in 'Cabaret,' there's something for every theater enthusiast. Each production offers its own unique blend of storytelling, character depth, and thematic exploration, making this season an unforgettable experience for audiences.

A Theatrical Journey at Guthrie Theater: From Intrigue to Laughter to Musical Extravaganza

Joseph Haj

Guthrie Theater

Beneath a lonely tree on a country road, two companions wait for the mysterious Godot. As time moves along, Vladimir and Estragon fill their day circling the largest of questions: Why are we here? What are we here for? Who are we to be? Samuel Beckett’s tragicomedy uses wit and poignant dialogue to create an existential world that is both humorous and heartbreaking. Staged at the Guthrie for the first time in over 50 years, this seminal play explores the human impulses to want more, to understand why and to keep showing up — even when nothing seems to change.

Waiting for Godot

In post-apartheid South Africa in 2019, Lunga Kunene, a no-nonsense Black caregiver with little patience for privilege or hubris, finds himself providing in-home care for Jack Morris, a celebrated (and stubborn) white actor facing a life-changing diagnosis as he rehearses for the title role in King Lear. The two men are different in every way — race, class and politics, to start — yet they find unexpected common ground in the words of Shakespeare. This refreshingly funny and vital new play by Tony winner John Kani, who also plays Kunene, traces the fragile work of truth-telling in a nation still shaped by its history and reveals how transcending the past may allow us to truly see one another.

Kunene and the King

The curmudgeonly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited one cold Christmas Eve by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, who warns Scrooge to turn from his callous, hard-hearted ways. That night, three spirits carry Scrooge through time — into the shadows of his past, the fragile realities of the present and the lonely fate that awaits if he doesn't have a change of heart. Featuring original music and bursts of festive joy, this faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic novella brings the streets of Victorian London to life, celebrating the transformative power of compassion and second chances.

A Christmas Carol

On a remote island off England’s Devon coast, 10 strangers gather after receiving mysterious invitations. Each guest is hiding a dark secret, and while they wait for the hosts to arrive, a chilling gramophone recording accuses them of crimes they thought were long buried. One by one, the guests begin to die in eerie accordance with a sinister nursery rhyme. Trapped by stormy weather, suspicions turn inward: The killer must be among them. Based on the bestselling mystery novel of all time and adapted by Agatha Christie herself, this thrilling tale invites audiences to unravel the deadly riddle. Will the killer be revealed before it’s too late?

And Then There Were None

In turn-of-the-century New York, Esther, a skilled African American seamstress, stitches beautiful undergarments for women whose glamorous lives she glimpses only in passing. After receiving an eloquent note from a charming stranger, her deep longing to be married is kindled, and she embarks on a long-distance courtship. Yet the man behind the letters is not whom she expects, and Esther is forced into a new reality far from what she imagined. Set against a city shaped by divisions of class, race and religion, this achingly beautiful drama from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage reveals the strength of claiming one’s own self-worth.

Intimate Apparel

A group of teenage girls makes an unsettling discovery after reading a celebrated American drama in class: The “hero” of the tale doesn’t match the person they see on the page. As the discussion turns to rumors within their own social circle, the girls confront the ideas of truth, heroism and villainy in a startlingly modern light. Set in a high school in Appalachian Georgia, this fiercely funny and urgent new work applies a youthful lens to a classic in the literary canon — questioning what it means when institutions protect men at the expense of girls’ safety and credibility.

John Proctor Is the Villain

London and Paris. The best of times and the worst of times. As the tinderbox of a bloodthirsty revolution ignites, this epic historical saga explores a world of doubles — two cities, mirrored lives and hidden identities. When French aristocrat Charles Darnay and English defense attorney Sydney Carton both fall for Lucie Manette, they are drawn into a web of love, war and loyalty that leads to a costly decision. This Guthrie-commissioned, world-premiere adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher preserves Charles Dickens’ narrative voice and upholds the novel’s timeless themes of sacrifice and redemption. 

A Tale of Two Cities

An uproarious satirical comedy
Inclusion and consensus guide every decision at private school Eureka Day in Berkeley, CA — until a mumps outbreak throws the liberal bastion into turmoil. Devoted to fairness and social justice, the school board tries to host civil conversations about safely returning students to class. But when they encounter a wide range of opinions and increasingly scathing live chats, the once-unified community begins to fracture. Mumps cases rise, chaos ensues and the school's future is put at risk. This Tony Award-winning comedy juxtaposes well-intentioned ideals with the complications of reality, revealing the fallout that can occur when doing good is anything but simple.

Eureka Day

A swashbuckling musical delight
As young Frederic approaches his 21st birthday and the release from his unlikely apprenticeship to a band of tenderhearted pirates, a twist of fate (and a leap-year birthday) pulls him into a whirl of heroics, hilarity and the lovely Mabel, who captures his heart. Can Frederic find a way to live happily ever after without abandoning his post? Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta employs swaggering pirates, an indomitable Major-General and a beloved musical theater patter "song" to playfully lampoon respectability and utterly delight audiences. Embark on a high-spirited romp helmed by Tony Award-winning director Darko Tresnjak where nothing escapes unscathed — least of all propriety.

The Pirates of Penzance

Inside Berlin’s sultry Kit Kat Klub, a flamboyant Master of Ceremonies invites patrons to partake in a decadent underworld of musical numbers, kicklines and torrid affairs — a welcome reprieve from the ever-growing Nazi influence just outside its doors. As the political unrest nears a tipping point, the beautiful life the cabaret promises slowly begins to fade, putting love, friendship and loyalties to the test. This Tony Award-winning sensation, featuring masterful hits such as “Willkommen,” “Don’t Tell Mama” and “Maybe This Time,” is a daring and dazzling musical escape you won’t want to miss.

Cabaret

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