Guthrie's 'Skeleton Crew' interrupted by medical emergency on opening night

"Doctor! Doctor! Lights! Lights!"

Concerned theater patrons sitting in the dark at the Guthrie Theater yelled those urgent words Friday as a medical emergency developed in the audience of the opening night production of "Skeleton Crew," the Dominique Morisseau play that is the theater's latest offering.

A patron was in acute medical distress.

Two Twin Cities physicians immediately came to the patron's assistance. Shariska Petersen Harrington, wife of Ordway president and CEO Chris Harrington, rushed to the man while Tadashi Allen, husband of Guthrie board member Susan Allen, literally leapt over a row to offer help.

"We have an unbelievably caring community, and these doctors didn't hesitate to jump in immediately," said Guthrie managing director Trisha Kirk.

Fellow patrons, family members and Guthrie staff also joined in the effort.

The entire audience was evacuated from the McGuire Proscenium Stage before emergency medical personnel arrived to help the patron.

On Saturday morning, Kirk said that the theater "received an email saying that things were looking very good for this person, and they were expected to be discharged from the hospital overnight."

Emergencies are not unusual in the theater but are usually not enough to stop a performance. Kirk added that the Guthrie maintains safety protocols to deal with a range of contingencies.

Friday's interruption happened with about three minutes left in the performance of "Skeleton Crew," a production that generally runs two hours and has a 15-minute intermission. The emergency caused a 35-minute delay.

After the audience was ushered back into their seats, Guthrie artistic director Joseph Haj stood up in front of the stage to thank patrons for sticking around and the doctors, staff and crew who helped. He added that director Austene Van had asked the four-member ensemble if they wanted to continue, and the actors agreed.

The cast completed the show to a standing ovation. Performances of "Skeleton Crew," about an auto plant facing foreclosure, continue through June 9.