Best actress: Katie Guentzel - Best of MN 2016

It's clear that Guentzel, who won an Ivey Award for playing the Bohemian title character of the stage adaption of Willa Cather's "My Antonia," is a performer of rare range and depth. In "Antonia," she embodied a free-spirited and big-hearted immigrant who clung to her dreams. Guentzel also played the love-hungry "The Heiress" at the Jungle Theater. But it is her recent eruptive turn as Lula in "Dutchman" at Penumbra Theatre that told us something about her commitment and ambition. Guentzel disappeared totally into her character. Such commitment in a psychologically complex performance made hers one of the most spellbinding turns of the season.

Best of Minnesota 2016