Theater Latté Da Announces New Production of ‘GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!’ with Performances Beginning April 1; Tyler Michaels King Directs

Theater Latté Da - Gutenberg! The Musical!

(MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL) Theater Latté Da (Justin Lucero, Artistic Director; Elisa Spencer-Kaplan, Managing Director) announces complete casting and single ticket on-sale for Tony® Award nominee Gutenberg! The Musical! (April 1 - May 3, 2026). A bold and joyfully irreverent addition to Season 28, this hit two-man spoof transforms musical theater ambition into a full-throttle comic adventure, directed by Twin Cities theater artist Tyler Michaels King. “The primary goal of our production is to have a really great time at the theater” states King. “Gutenberg! is chock full of jokes, one-liners, silly bits and over 30 characters played by just two actors. But beyond the funny, is also a lot of heart—a touching story of ambition, striving for greatness and defying the odds. I think we can see ourselves in Bud and Doug, as they inspire us to chase our own dreams.” This new production brings the cult favorite to Minneapolis audiences in a fresh, high-octane staging that celebrates the power—and the absurdity—of dreaming big.

Fresh off its hit Broadway premiere, Gutenberg! The Musical! is a clever, offbeat, frequently absurd comedy that affectionately spoofs the world of musical theater. This love letter to new works is told through the lens of two aspiring writers earnestly pitching their wildly inaccurate musical about the invention of the printing press, blending infectious enthusiasm, witty songs, and irreverent historical twists. “This is one of those shows that you need to see live in the theater,” says King. “Seeing two actors play these 30 different characters using only hats, watching their silly and chaotic show come to life using only the sheer will of their imagination; you’ll leave the theater going ‘how did they do that?’” Equal parts satire and celebration, Gutenberg! is a fast-paced theatrical romp that revels in the art of making something out of nothing—one song and one dream at a time.

“Gutenberg! The Musical! is a joyful love letter to musicals—especially new musicals, which are at the very heart of what we do at Theater Latté Da,” said Artistic Director Justin Lucero. “The show feels like the perfect way to celebrate the culmination of our five-year NEXT 25 X 25 initiative, an ambitious commitment to developing brand-new musicals. It’s delightfully meta—my favorite kind of art is art about artists—and in this case we get to watch perhaps the most enthusiastic, maybe even too enthusiastic, artists ever to headline a musical! I’m also thrilled that this production marks the directorial debut of Tyler Michaels King, a beloved Twin Cities theater luminary and longtime Latté Da collaborator. Tyler’s deep experience as an actor, his passion for new work and his background in improv comedy make him the perfect artist to helm this wildly inventive piece.”

The complete cast for Gutenberg! The Musical! includes Tom Reed (Scotland, PA and Stones in His Pockets) and Dominic Schiro (Latté Da debut), with understudies Noah Hynick (Latté Da debut) and Carl Swanson (Scotland, PA).

Gutenberg! The Musical! is directed by Tyler Michaels King (directorial debut; To Let Go and Fall, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Assassins, Peter and the Starcatcher, Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, Cabaret, Spring Awakening). Music director is Jason Hansen. The design team includes scenic designer Sarah Bahr, costume designer Zamora Simmons-Stiles, lighting designer Grant Merges, sound designer Peter Morrow, props designer Madelaine Foster and hair and makeup designer Emma Gustafson. Shelby Reddig is stage manager and Meghan Gaffney is assistant stage manager.

The 2025/26 season opened October 8, 2025 with the original concert offering Journey On: A 100th Show Cabaret Celebration, marking the organization’s 100th production and the launch of a milestone year that will also bring the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Ritz Theater in Spring 2026 and the successful completion of the ambitious NEXT 25 X 25 initiative to support the development of 25 new musicals over a five-year period. The season continued in November with a hit reimagined production of the Lerner & Loewe classic My Fair Lady, led by Artistic Director Justin Lucero, followed by the Tennessee Williams masterwork The Glass Menagerie, also directed by Lucero. Following Gutenberg! The Musical! is the Latté Da-commissioned World Premiere of My Ántonia, adapted from the beloved Willa Cather novel, and the return of the annual NEXT Festival, dedicated to the development of new musicals and plays with music. 

TICKETS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS AT LATTÉ DA

Tickets for Gutenberg! The Musical! are now available for purchase, starting at just $35. A FLEXPack of 6 tickets is also available for purchase for $396, and may be used in any combination, for any available seat, to see shows throughout the 2025/26 season.

Tickets and FLEXPacks may be purchased online at www.latteda.org, by calling the Box Office at 612-339-3003, or in person at the Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis. Box Office hours are from 12 - 5 PM Tuesday to Friday, and from 12 - 5 PM on Saturdays during performance runs only.

A range of discounted attendance opportunities and physical access initiatives are offered for every production to ensure a welcoming experience for patrons of all backgrounds. Access offerings include ASL interpretation, open captioning and audio description at select performances, and services including braille and large-print programs, assistive listening devices, multiple accessible seating choices, wheelchair companion seating, bariatric chairs and physically accessible all-gender restrooms are available for every performance.

ABOUT THEATER LATTÉ DA

Theater Latté Da creates new and impactful connections between story, music, artist and audience—exploring and expanding the art of music theater. Now in its 28th season of presenting new and reimagined music theater, Theater Latté Da is the leading nonprofit professional theater in Minnesota that exclusively produces music theater. Some 40,000 people engage with Latté Da each season through four to five full productions, the NEXT Festival of New Musicals, special events and concerts, and a broad range of opportunities for music theater composers, lyricists and librettists to advance the creation of their new works. Since 2016, Theater Latté Da has made its permanent home in Northeast Minneapolis’s historic Ritz Theater, enabling uniquely intimate arts experiences for audience members.

The company has presented over 100 mainstage productions, including 17 world premieres and 17 area premieres. Each has garnered critical acclaim and earned its artists and the organization a host of awards and honors, including: seven IVEY Awards for overall excellence, multiple grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Gabriel Award for Broadcast Excellence, the American Theater Wing National Theater Company Award, and the 2019 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience for our Off-Broadway production of All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. Learn more at www.latteda.org.

Cara Sjodin and Scott Stensrud are Production Partners for Gutenberg! The Musical!. Theater Latté Da’s 2025/26 season is made possible in part by Actor’s Equity Foundation, Ameriprise Financial, the Archie D. & Bertha H. Walker Foundation, Elizabeth C. Quinlan Foundation, James B. Linsmayer Foundation, McKnight Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, The Nara Fund, The National Alliance for Musical Theatre, RBC, The Ruth Easton Fund of the Edelstein Family Foundation, The Shubert Foundation; the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund; and numerous generous individual contributors. 2025-26 Production Sponsors include Tom and Julianne Youngren for My Fair Lady and Dr. Tom Knabel and Kent Allin for My Ántonia. Stephen Bubul and Lee Lewis are Production Partners for The Glass Menagerie. Rita Olk is the Production Partner for Journey On. Gary Reetz is Production Sponsor for NEXT Festival 2026. Jean and Jim Hartman, along with Walter Tambor and Barry Berg are Production Partners for NEXT Festival 2026. The company’s 2025/26 Season Housing Sponsor is Fine Associates.

CASTING AND PERFORMANCE DETAILS

CAST (alphabetical order)

Tom Reed*- Doug
Dominic Schiro - Bud

Understudies: Noah Hynick, Carl Swanson*

*Member, Actors’ Equity Association

MUSIC (alphabetical order)

Kate Brown – Keyboard
Jason Hansen – Piano
Paul Hill – Percussion/Drums
Erik Schee – Percussion/Drums Sub

CREATIVE TEAM

Tyler Michaels King – Director
Grace Hillmyer – Assistant Director
Jason Hansen – Music Director
Sarah Bahr - Scenic Designer
Zamora Simmons-Stiles - Costume Designer
Grant Merges - Lighting Designer
Peter Morrow - Sound Designer
Mik Finnegan – Assistant Sound Designer
Madelaine Foster - Props Designer & Supervisor
Emma Gustafson - Wigs, Hair & Makeup Designer
Shelby Reddig* - Stage Manager
Meghan Gaffney - Assistant Stage Manager

KEY DATES (complete list at www.latteda.org)

Previews – April 1 - 3, 7:30 PM
Opening Night – April 4, 7:30 PM
Open Captioned – May 1 - 2, 7:30 PM; May 2 - 3, 2:00 PM
American Sign Language & Audio Described – April 23, 7:30 PM

POST-SHOW TALKBACKS

Thursday, 7:30 PM (April 9, 16, 23 & 30)
Sunday, 2:00 PM (April 5, 12, 19 & 26, May 3)