The Wooster Group Returns to Minneapolis After 25 Years with Timely Sci-Fi Satire Symphony of Rats
“Mesmerizing … sci-fi satire underscored like a merrily suspenseful summer blockbuster.” —Los Angeles Times
For the first time in 25 years, the legendary Wooster Group returns to the Twin Cities with a reimagining of Symphony of Rats, the 1988 play by fellow experimental theater maestro Richard Foreman.
At the story’s center is a megalomaniac US president who is losing his mind. From his perch on a toilet throne, he fields illusory alien transmissions, while a series of surreal vignettes unfolds. Grand in scale and meticulous in design, the Wooster Group assembles a sweep of hallucinatory fragments into a sci-fi satire of power and delusion.
Directed by Elizabeth LeCompte and Kate Valk.
The Wooster Group: Symphony of Rats
February 25–28, 7:30 pm
February 28, 3 pm
McGuire Theater
ABOUT THE WOOSTER GROUP
The Wooster Group, led by founding member and director Elizabeth LeCompte, is a company of experimental theater and media artists.
Since 1975, the Group has created more than 40 theater works and 22 media pieces. Productions include: Rumstick Road (1977), the dance For the Good Times (1982), L.S.D. (…Just the High Points…) (1984), Brace Up! (1991), The Hairy Ape (1996), House/Lights (1999), To You, the Birdie! (Phèdre) (2002), Hamlet (2006), the opera La Didone (2008), Vieux Carré (2009), The Room (2015), The Town Hall Affair (2017), A Pink Chair (In Place of a Fake Antique) (2018), and The Mother (2021), all directed by LeCompte.
Media pieces include: White Homeland Commando (1992), Wrong Guys (1997), the 360° video installation, There Is Still Time . . Brother (2007), and the Dailies (2010-2020), an online series of short original and archival videos.
Associate director Kate Valk directed Early Shaker Spirituals: A Record Album Interpretation (2014), as well as two collaborations with Eric Berryman: The B-Side: Negro Folklore from Texas State Prisons (2017) and Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me (2024).
The Group has been included in numerous museum and gallery exhibits, among them three Whitney Biennials, “The Body Electric” at the Walker Art Center, and an exhibition devoted to the Group’s work at carriage trade in 2019–20. Past Wooster productions presented by Walker Performing Arts are North Atlantic (2000) and House/Lights (1997), both with Guthrie Theater, and Brace Up! (1991) with Northrop.
The Wooster Group founding members are Elizabeth LeCompte and Spalding Gray with Ron Vawter, Jim Clayburgh, Willem Dafoe, Kate Valk, and Peyton Smith.
TICKETS
Ordering tickets is easy: visit walkerart.org/tickets or call 612-375-7600. Box office is open Wednesday–Sunday and one hour before performances.
ACCESSIBILITY
For more information about accessibility, visit our Access page.
For questions on accessibility or to request additional accommodations, call 612-375-7564 or email access@walkerart.org.
STUDENTS COME EARLY
Students own the rush line! Get in line an hour before showtime for $15 rush tickets. One ticket per person with student ID. (Some restrictions apply.)
GET TOGETHER
Experience these performances in a group of 10 or more people and save 15% on tickets. Purchase group tickets online, over the phone, or in person. The discount is automatically applied at checkout on orders of 10 or more tickets to the same performance.
MEMBERS DO MORE
Become a member and enjoy a 20% discount on performance tickets, receive unlimited free gallery admission, and more. Call 612-375-7655 or visit walkerart.org/membership.
ABOUT THE WALKER ART CENTER
The Walker Art Center is a renowned multidisciplinary arts institution that presents, collects, and supports the creation of groundbreaking work across the visual and performing arts, moving image, and design. Guided by the belief that art has the power to bring joy and solace and the ability to unite people through dialogue and shared experiences, the Walker engages communities through a dynamic array of exhibitions, performances, events, and initiatives. Its multiacre campus includes 65,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, the state-of-the-art McGuire Theater and Walker Cinema, and ample green space that connects with the adjoining Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The Garden, a partnership with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, is one of the first urban sculpture parks of its kind in the United States and home to the beloved Twin Cities landmark Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Recognized for its ambitious program and growing collection of more than 16,000 works, the Walker embraces emerging art forms and amplifies the work of artists from the Twin Cities and from across the country and the globe. Its broad spectrum of offerings makes it a lively and welcoming hub for artistic expression, creative innovation, and community connection.
Program support provided by AJT Fund, the David and Leni Moore Family Foundation, Elizabeth and Mike Sweeney, and John L. Thomson.