Sweet William, a tribute to William Shakespeare, is described as "part biography, part analysis and part performance." The one-man show will play the Guthrie's McGuire Proscenium Stage Dec. 11-22. "Weaving together the world of Shakespeare while giving a rare and personal insight into his own life," press notes read, "[Pennington] takes audiences on a memorable journey." The production features speeches from Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra and Richard III as well as pieces from Timon of Athens and The Winter's Tale and Richard of Gloucester's rarely performed speech from Henry VI Part III.

Actor-director Michael Pennington's career has spanned more than four decades. He has played leading roles for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and the English Shakespeare Company, which he co-founded with Michael Bogdanov in 1986. Pennington may be best known for his role as Moff Jerjerrod in "Star Wars—Return of the Jedi."

The Guthrie is located at 818 South 2nd Street (at Chicago Avenue), in downtown Minneapolis. Tickets, priced $25 to $45, are available by calling (612) 377-2224. For more information visit www.guthrietheater.org.