FRANK THEATRE PRESENTS BERTOLT BRECHT’S
“MR. PUNTILA AND HIS HIRED MAN MATTI”

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DIRECTIONS: The performance is held in the Bridge Inspection building of the City of Minneapolis Public Works yard, which is visible from Hiawatha Ave (Hwy. 55) and 26th St. East, just north of the new Greenway bridge. To get to the space, enter the Public Works yard from 27th St. East and Longfellow Ave., one block west of Hiawatha and one block south of 26th. There is a gate that you will enter, and there is free parking available on-site.

FROM THE SOUTH: Take 35W north to the Lake St./31st St. exit. Turn right on 31st St., and head east to Cedar Ave. Turn left (north) on Cedar Ave., to 28th St. E., turn right on 28th, go a few blocks to Longfellow Ave, turn left one block, and the entrance will be on your right. FROM THE NORTH or WEST: Take 94 E (or if you are coming from downtown, take 8th St.) to Hiawatha Ave., and head east (south) to 26th St. Turn right on 26th, go a few blocks to Longfellow Ave., turn left one block, and the entrance is on your left.
FROM THE EAST: Take 94 E to the Riverside Ave/25th Ave exit. Go to the second stoplight; turn left on to 25th Ave. S., and go to 26th St. E. Turn right, cross Hiawatha, and turn left on Longfellow. Go one block, and the entrance is on your left.

Frank Theatre plans to present Bertolt Brecht’s MR. PUNTILA AND HIS HIRED MAN MATTI March 20-April 13 at the Bridge Building in the City of Minneapolis Public Works yard located at 26th and Hiawatha in south Minneapolis. Performances are March 20-April 13, Thurs-Sat. at 8:00, and Sundays at 2:00. (Sunday, March 23 is a pay-what-you-can performance, with a suggested donation of $12.) The Sunday performances are followed by a post-show panel discussion with members of the community. Tickets are $14-20; for reservations and information, call (612) 724 3760, or visit the theatre’s website at www.franktheatre.org.

Frank Theatre’s production of MR. PUNTILA AND HIS HIRED MAN MATTI features a cast led by Grant Richey (as Mr. Puntila), Carson Lee as his hired man “Matti,” Emily Zimmer as his daughter “Eva,” Patrick Bailey as the “Attaché,” and an ensemble that includes Maria Asp, Jake Endres, Celeste Taylor, Jennifer Phillips, Aaron Coker, and others. Frank Artistic Director Wendy Knox directs the production, with musical direction by Jake Endres, set design by John Bueche, costuming by Kathy Kohl, and lighting is by Michael Wangen.

MR. PUNTILA AND HIS HIRED MAN MATTI revolves around a wealth landowner, Mr.
Puntila, who is humane, caring and generous when he is inebriated, but when he suffers his “attacks of sobriety” becomes mean, petty and selfish. His hired man, Matti, navigates his through various adventures, in the end, proving that he is the intelligent one. PUNTILA echoes Charlie Chaplin’s The Tramp and the Millionaire in City Lights. With it’s broad humor, and the way in which the play turns issues of class upside down. A bawdy comedy
subtitled “A People’s Play,” PUNTILA was based on a story by Finnish writer Hella Wuolijoki, whom Brecht met while living in exile in Finland.

Frank Theatre is a professional theatre company committed to producing unique work which stretches the skills of the artists who create the work while simultaneously challenging the everyday perceptions of the audience through the exploration of ideas and issues of social, political and/or cultural concern. Recent work includes Martin McDonagh’s THE PILLOWMAN, Suzan-Lori Parks’ VENUS, Shakespeare’s THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, Carson Kreitzer’s THE LOVE SONG OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER, Marc Blitzstein’s THE CRADLE WILL ROCK and Bertolt Brecht’s MOTHER COURAGE.

For further information, please contact Frank Theatre at (612) 724 3760, or at info@franktheatre.org.

"God bless her, because if it weren't for Knox, Twin Cities audiences would never get to see Brecht, the wild and woolly German playwright who saw theater as political energy and a platform to invite the masses in for a slap in the face." Graydon Royce, StarTribune

"Frank Theatre's production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui manages to make theater matter again and address the fear of the nation. In a moment when the policies of the U.S. government can have such a profound effect on the world, Brecht's political views could not be more appropriate." OBJECT MAGAZINE

"Wendy Knox didn't wait for someone to build her a space. This fall, she demonstrated again the vital role Frank Theatre plays in the theatre ecosystem, staging the difficult ARTURO UI at Metro State's St. Paul campus." StarTribune, year end, 2001

"As the driving force behind Frank Theatre, Wendy Knox is the ideal mix of pragmatist and dreamer: She is as artistically adventurous as any director in town, but also sensible enough never to let her ambition overleap her company's resources. Last year's Frank production of Brecht/Weill's The Threepenny Opera was proof positive of Knox's talent. Set in the gloomy warren of the Southern Theater and suffused with hellish red light, Frank's Threepenny created an atmosphere of amplified gloom. From the very first scene, in which the cast posed in lurid tableaux of sexual congress and violence, it was clear that Knox knew exactly how to play this tricky script. This was Brecht as Brecht would have had it: a throng of thoroughly despicable characters floundering in an industrial morass. Dark stuff, to be sure, but illuminating as well. Though Brecht's play is famous for alienating its audience with uncomfortable truths, Frank's Threepenny had us bewitched from the very start."
CITY PAGES, BEST STAGE PRODUCTION, 1999