Directed by Wendy C. Goldberg, previews will begin Oct. 5 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage with an official opening Oct. 11. Performances will continue through Nov. 10.

John McGinty, who is himself deaf, will appear in the role of Billy. He will be joined by Stephen Schnetzer as Christopher, Hugh Kennedy as Daniel, Tracey Maloney as Sylvia, Anna Reichert as Ruth and Sally Wingert as Beth.

"Billy is a young man born deaf and raised in an opinionated and intellectually raucous family that talks constantly," according to press notes. "Not only have his parents and siblings never learned sign language, neither has Billy, who has had to adapt to the hearing world. Then he meets Sylvia, a young woman from a Deaf family who introduces him to sign language. Billy feels a confidence and sense of belonging he's not known before and finally understands what it means to be understood."

On writing the play Nina Raine said in a statement, "I first had the idea of writing Tribes when I watched a documentary about a deaf couple. The woman was pregnant. They wanted their baby to be deaf. I was struck by the thought that this was actually what many people feel, deaf or otherwise. Parents take great pleasure in witnessing the qualities they have managed to pass on to their children. Not only a set of genes. A set of values, beliefs. Even a particular language. The family is a tribe: an infighting tribe but intensely loyal."

The artistic team includes Alexander Dodge (set designer), Anne Kennedy (costume designer), Josh Epstein (lighting designer), Leah Gelpe (sound and projection designer), Lucinda Holshue (voice and dialect), Carla Steen (dramaturg), Chris A. Code (stage manager) and Meaghan Rosenberger (assistant stage manager). Single tickets start at $29 and are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at (612) 377-2224 and online at www.guthrietheater.org.