The Guthrie Theater is staging a production based on the bestselling book, ?Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.? Author Barbara Ehrenreich documents her experiences while trying to make ends meet on the type of low-wage, service-sector jobs that are beginning to dominate the American economy.

"Nickel and Dimed" runs from Aug. 13 through Aug. 31 at the Guthrie Lab, 700 N. First St. In conjunction with the production, Ehrenreich will speak Aug. 19 at the Guthrie Theater.

The book and play are based on Ehrenreich's real-life struggles as a low-wage worker in three states. In Minnesota, she worked at a suburban Wal-Mart. The Twin Cities? affordable housing crunch and the Minneapolis hotel strike in spring 2000 framed her experiences here. She also writes about working ?under cover? as a waitress, hotel maid, home cleaning woman and nursing home aide in Florida and Maine.

Minnesota Public Radio host Katherine Lanpher will join Ehrenreich onstage Aug. 19, part of a series the Guthrie calls ?In Conversation.? The audience will be able to ask questions. Tickets for this pre-show program are $10 each. The event takes place at the Guthrie Main Stage, 725 Vineland Place.

Ehrenreich is expected to participate in a post-play discussion later that night at the Guthrie Lab.

Single performance tickets to the Guthrie Lab staging are $22-$30, depending on the date. Tickets to either event are available at the Main Stage box office, by phone at 612-377-2224, or through the web at www.guthrietheater.org

Reprinted from The Union Advocate, the official newspaper of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. Used by permission. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org