Mays, Cumpsty and Strathairn Discuss Cross-Dressing in Shakespeare, Feb. 13

By: Jan. 18, 2006
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The Shakespeare Society will present Boys Will Be Girls, an evening of discussion and performance dedicated to the mysteries of cross-dressing in Shakespeare. With commentary by Dympna Callaghan (author of Shakespeare Without Women), the evening will feature Golden Globe-nominee David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck), Tony Award-winner Jefferson Mays (I Am My Own Wife), Broadway star Michael Cumpsty (The Constant Wife), and members of The Queen's Company performing highlights from their acclaimed all-women production of The Taming of the Shrew. The event will take place on Monday, February 13th at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College from 6:30 to 8:00 PM.

Boys Will Be Girls, "is an irreverent examination of cross-dressing and sexual role-playing in Shakespeare. In an intimate 90-minute performance and commentary event, the actors and audience will examine how single-sex casting informs our understanding of the plays and how Shakespeare and his actors originally attempted to portray, understand, and invent what it means to be a woman. During the course of the evening, a man will play Lady Macbeth as she unsexes; a man will play a woman playing a man as Rosalind lets Orlando know what women want; and in a contemporary twist, members of The Queen's Company will offer highlights from their acclaimed all-women 2005 production of The Taming of the Shrew," according to press notes.

Strathairn received acclaim this year for his portrayal of Edward R. Murrow in the film Good Night, and Good Luck (Golden Globe nomination, Screen Actors Guild nomination). His other film credits include Eight Men Out, Passion Fish, Silkwood, The Firm, The River Wild, A League of Their Own, Dolores Claiborne, LA Confidential and Twisted, among others. His extensive stage career includes The Three Sisters with Billy Crudup and Amy Irving, Dance of Death with Sir Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren and Salome with Al Pacino. Strathairn had a recurring character on "The Sopranos."

Mays recently appeared on Broadway in I Am My Own Wife (Tony Award winner). His other New York credits include Moe's Lucky Seven, Lydie Breeze, Quills, Culture of Desire and Orestes. Regional credits include I Am My Own Wife (La Jolla Playhouse, Sundance Theatre Institute); Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (WTF); Misalliance, The Importance of Being Earnest (Long Wharf); The Winter's Tale (Center Stage); Twelfth Night, Macbeth (La Jolla); Hamlet (San Diego Repertory); Miss Julie, and Private Lives (Actors Theatre of Louisville).

Cumpsty most recently starred in The Constant Wife on Broadway and in Hamlet in the title role at the Classic Stage Company. His other Broadway credits include Democracy, Enchanted April (Outer Critics Circle nom.), Copenhagen, 42nd Street (Outer Critics Circle nom.), Electra, 1776, The Heiress, Timon of Athens (Bayfield Award) and La Bete. His Royal Shakespeare Company credits include The Winter's Tale and he performed in numerous productions for the New York Shakespeare Festival.

The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College is located at 68th Street between Park & Lexington Avenues. Limited tickets, priced at $25-$40, are available from The Kaye Box Office at (212) 772-4448.

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