Tracie Bennett to Perform at Guthrie's 50th Anniversary Gala

The Guthrie Theater today announced that Oliver Award winner and Tony Award nominee Tracie Bennett, best known for her tour-de-force performance as Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow, will appear in BEHOLD: A Gala Performance celebrating the Guthrie's 50th anniversary on June 22, 2013. Bennett returns to the Guthrie stage following the play's electrifying run at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway and at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles this spring.

Since her show-stopping performance on the Guthrie's McGuire Proscenium Stage in the 2011-12 season, Bennett has made her Broadway debut garnering a 2012 Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play, a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play, an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play, a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance and a Broadway World Award. This spring she reprises the role at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, playing now through April 21, 2013. A film adaptation of End of the Rainbow, also starring Bennett, is currently in development.

Guthrie Director Joe Dowling said "It was an absolute thrill for Twin Cities theatergoers to see Tracie bring such a beloved Minnesota figure and American icon to life on our stage last season. With her wildly acclaimed run on Broadway and in Los Angeles in the past year, there couldn't be a better time than our 50th anniversary to welcome Tracie back and celebrate her successes with this very special performance."

Tracie Bennett (Judy Garland). West End theater: Jacqueline in La Cage Aux Folles (Playhouse Theatre, for which she received the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical); Velma von Tussle in Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre, for which she received the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance and the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical); Madame Thenardier in LES MISERABLES (Queen's Theatre, London); Ray Cooney's Cash on Delivery (Whitehall Theatre, London); and She Loves Me (Savoy Theatre, London, for which she received the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance). Television: Tracie most recently completed filming ITV's drama series "Scott & Bailey," in which she plays a series regular. She has played leading roles in numerous programs, most recently: "Candy Cabs," "Doctors," "Dalziel and Pascoe," "Casualty," "Northern Lights," "Vincent" with Ray Winstone, "The Royal," "The Court," Judy Garland in "The Long Firm," "MIT," "The Bill," "Heroes and Villains," "Keen Eddie," "Burn It," "Mersey Beat," "Where the Heart Is," "The Ambassador," "Verdict," "Heartburn Hotel," "Heartbeat," "Next of Kin," "Joking Apart," "Making Out," "The Gingerbread Girl," "Rich Tea and Sympathy," "Ruth Rendell Mysteries," "Made in Heaven," "The Bretts," "The Ritz," "The Refuge," "Unnatural Causes," "The Rector of Stiffkey," "Boon," "The Courtroom," "Brush Strokes," "Coronation Street," "The Upper Hand," "Alias Smith and Jones," "Black Silk," "Relative Strangers," "Going Out," "Educating Marmalade" and "Jackanory." Tracie also won "Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes" as Judy Garland and played God in "Harley's Angels." Presenting: Anchorwoman for "Soap Fever," "The Bombing of Manchester" (Documentary), OKTV for Carlton and had her own show called "Tracie Goes to Hollywood." Film: Shirley Valentine (Paramount); Knights and Emeralds for David Puttnam; Deep Red Instant Love; Lofty Life (animated short) and F2.8. Tracie also produced a short - French Fries on the Golden Front - which won "Best Short" at the Miami Film Festival. Concerts: An Evening With Cy Coleman (St David's Hall, Cardiff); An Evening of Gershwin (Royal Albert Hall); and An Evening With Tommy Steele (tour). Recordings: Forever England, People Like Us and The Snowfield. Tracie is the recorded voice of Bridget Jones for both books of Bridget Jones' Diary and The Edge of Reason for which she received the International Audi Award for Comedy Best Actress. Tracie has a Green Card and splits her time between London and Los Angeles.

As previously announced, BEHOLD: A Gala Performance will he co-hosted by Guthrie favorites Greta Oglesby and Sally Wingert. Peter Flynn-whose extensive credits include directorial work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in regional theaters and other gala events-will direct. The award-winning male vocal ensemble Cantus is slated to perform an original arrangement of a classic from the American musical canon. Further information about artists and guests appearing in BEHOLD will be announced in the weeks to come.

A star-studded performance featuring actors, composers and writers with ties to the Guthrie's past and future, BEHOLD: A Gala Performance will be held on June 22, 2013, on the Wurtele Thrust Stage and is a part of the Guthrie's 50th season weekend celebration (June 22-23, 2013). BEHOLD will be presented in conjunction with Anniversary Weekend celebration dinners the Golden Soirée and Fête 50, which will include tickets to the performance and are on sale now through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.225.6350.