Although it will be difficult for many to watch the old Guthrie building go, the construction of a new facility on the Mississippi River will offer expanded facilities for the nationally-recognized theater.

Unfortunately, many of us who don't plan to stay in the Twin Cities after we graduate will miss out on the new Guthrie Theater on the River when it opens in 2006.

French architect Jean Nouvel was selected to design the facility, a 250,000-square-foot theater center located in the historic Mills District in downtown Minneapolis. The new complex will include three theaters, offices, production and rehearsal support spaces, classrooms and a restaurant.

Further, underground parking will be constructed for 400 cars, and a City of Minneapolis-owned ramp across the street will provide an additional 600 spaces. (Plus, the theater will be more easily accessible for those of us who lack a car and rely on the bus!)

Nouvel's plan creates a building that will house all the Guthrie's institutional needs as well as providing an architectural landmark in a part of the downtown that is ready for development. The new Guthrie on the River will provide both a cultural center and an engine for considerable economic stimulus for the area.

The Guthrie Theater originally opened on May 7, 1963, with a production of Hamlet directed by the theater's founder, Sir Tyrone Guthrie. The idea of this theater started in 1959 in conversations between Guthrie and two colleagues, Oliver Rea and Peter Zeisler. The three had become disenchanted with Broadway and desired to create a theater with a resident acting company that could perform the classics in rotating repertory with the highest professional standards. The Guthrie ended up becoming a prototype for a new kind of theater that contrasted with the commercial environment of Broadway.

Today, the theater boasts a record 32,000+ subscribers and an annual audience of nearly 400,000. Joe Dowling, Guthrie Theater Artistic Director, says that the theater has proven that a "major not-for-profit theater, believing in the power of great drama as a social and educational force, can survive and prosper in an era dominated by a variety of competing media."

Restrictions imposed by the theater's design, however, prevent it from competing with other major regional theaters. While Guthrie board members wanted to continue in the vein of the Guthrie's original vision, they also realized the need to expand their repertoire to include more contemporary work and to address facility needs.

"The growth in popularity and the quality of the work has happened in spite of the limitations of the current facility, and it is no longer possible to ignore the serious lack of audience facilities and the continuing shortcomings of our staff conditions," Dowling said during a speech in 2002.

The new facility will alleviate what many see as the current theater's limitations, while also offering an amazing new structure. The new three-theater center will afford the institution an expanded ability to perform a wider range of plays and engage the public in a stronger way than is possible in their cramped and separated existing facilities.

The complex will include a 1,100-seat thrust theater that is very similar to the existing Guthrie Theater, but with improvements to sightlines and expanded legroom. There will also be a 700-seat proscenium theater that will serve the needs of modern plays, and also be adopted for regional, national and international productions. Lastly, a 250-seat studio theater will provide a venue for experimental productions.

Besides the internal advantages, developers promise that the new complex will become a landmark for downtown Minneapolis and benefit from views of the Mississippi. Theater patrons can also expect a stunning view, as the new facility's lobby will project out to near the edge of the bluffs in a bridge-like cantilever over the park. The design of the Theater was influenced by the size and scale of the historic mills adjacent to the new site.

"Much as all of us dislike the idea of losing any theaters, it is unrealistic to expect that the Walker Arts Center should continue to operate a theater that can have no long-term commercial potential," Dowling explained. "In spite of what is being suggested, we are not losing the Guthrie, nor does it need to be saved. It is a healthy organization eager for its future and determined to serve its audiences with better facilities."

Nonetheless, these new facilities won't exist for several more years—at least not until the late 2005 or 2006. Until then, we can continue to enjoy the theater's quality productions at its current residence in its Vineland Place Theater.