Commonweal Theatre Company

The heart of the Commonweal’s programming is the mainstage season. This balanced yet challenging repertory is traditionally comprised of five plays with more than 180 performances, chosen from among the world’s finest classic, contemporary, and emerging playwrights. Because Lanesboro is located amidst a high concentration of Norwegian-American families, the Commonweal produced the works of Henrik Ibsen for 20 consecutive years, culminating in 2017 with a production of Ibsen’s final play, When We Dead Awaken. The company boasts a distinctive organizational model with resident ensemble members (who have come from all over the country to make their home in the Lanesboro area) fulfilling the day-to-day artistic and operational needs of the company as artist/administrators. The Commonweal Theatre maintains that each artist is most fully realized when engaged simultaneously in creating, teaching, and learning. Every year, we reach hundreds of students through educational outreach. We offer student matinees and pre-show workshops for middle and high school students. Commonweal’s apprenticeship program immerses new and recent graduates in the artistic and administrative operation of a professional theatre company. 2019—our 31st season of continuous operation—bore several significant milestones for the Commonweal. Perhaps best of all, we hit a near-record number of patrons in our mainstage season attendance—our all-time 2nd-highest mark!