Yesterday evening, June 26, was a beautiful night for the opening of a Shakespeare in the park production. The Shakespeare Players program of the Rochester Community Players launched the first of two Shakespeare history plays, Henry IV, Part 1 on a cool clear evening, a show enjoyed by an audience of 150.
Apparently not everyone was a fan. Sometime after midnight, one or more vandals went onto the outdoor stage at the Highland Park Bowl, 1200 South Avenue, and tore half of the set apart. A friend of the theater company was jogging by this morning (Saturday morning), saw the damage, and sent a text to Mark Casey, the set designer and construction supervisor for the production. The co-directors, Stephanie Roosa and Brad Craddock, went over to the scene, called the Rochester Police Department and filed a report. See the damage in the photo below.
"In 19 years of free Shakespeare at the Highland Bowl, we have never seen anything like this", said Peter Scribner, President of the Rochester Community Players. Larry Staub, Director of the Monroe County Parks Department, which co-sponsors the production, sent Scribner a text which said, in part, "That's just sad".
The performance for Saturday evening, June 27, has been cancelled, and the next scheduled show is Sunday evening, June 28. Volunteers will reconstruct the set over the weekend.
The free Shakespeare program opened a week early this year, to accommodate an extended schedule. The group is presenting two separate Shakespeare plays, Henry IV, Part 1, which opened yesterday (June 26) and Henry IV, Part 2, which opens this coming Friday July 3. The two shows will be presented on alternative nights through July 18 (no shows on Mondays or Thursdays, or on July 4). The full schedule and additional information about the production is on the Rochester Community Players website, rochestercommunityplayers.org.
Photo credit: Rochester Community Players.
Anyone with information about the vandalism is encouraged to contact the Rochester Police Department.
