SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTIONTheater
Photo by Peter Jennings
Energetic. Electrifying. Thought-provoking. A gem of the Twin Cities, Penumbra Theatre was founded in 1976 to unleash the African-American voice in the theater community.
“For 32 years, our theater has created a safe place for audiences to engage with the basic questions of humanity while celebrating difference,” says Sarah Bellamy, education director.
Producing artistically excellent, award-winning theater, Penumbra received this year’s top honors from local media including, Outstanding Play, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Actor, and Artist of the Year from Star Tribune for Fences and The Piano Lesson, Best Set Design from City Pages for Gem of the Ocean, and Best Holiday Show, for Black Nativity—Hear Again the Christmas Story! from Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine.
Recognized for its cutting edge theater, Penumbra stages both classic and contemporary plays.
An exciting new playwright, Matthew Lopez, brings to the Penumbra stage his riveting story of the birth of American freedom in The Whipping Man. A powerful drama, this play unveils the violence, passion and hope surrounding the war that ended slavery in the United States. Caleb, the son of a wealthy slave owner confronts Simon, the former slave who raised him, when they face one another for the first time as free men. February 19 through March 8, 2009.
Joining forces with the Guthrie, Penumbra will stage A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this American classic. This moving story explores social mobility, family responsibility, poverty, racism, and the abundant power of the human spirit. March 13 through April 11, 2009 on the Guthrie’s McGuire Proscenium Stage.
