Guthrie announces 2016-17 mainstage season

Guthrie Theater Artistic Director Joseph Haj on Friday released details of the 2016-17 mainstage season — the first he has molded from scratch.

The nine-play season includes adaptations of Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" and Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye." Haj will direct Shakepeare's "King Lear" and the Sondheim musical "Sunday in the Park with George."

Two Twin Cities directors, Sarah Rasmussen of the Jungle Theater and Dominique Serrand of The Moving Company, will present works as part of the season. Serrand will direct a world premier production by The Moving Company called "Refugia."

"We wanted a rich tapestry of work that we felt can touch the community most broadly and most deeply," Haj said.

Haj, who became the Guthrie's leader at the beginning of this season, said he's been meeting with as many people as possible since arriving — including those who don't go to the theater.

What he learned fed into the selection of plays.

"We think that it'll be a season that is deeply attractive to the current folks in our universe and may also be attractive to some of the folks that we have not attracted in the past and we are really excited about that," he said.