Hawaii Shakespeare Festival Returns With RICHARD II, PERICLES, & MERRY WIVES

By: Jun. 15, 2009
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The Hawaii Shakespeare Festival (HSF) returns to The ARTS at Marks Garage in the heart of the downtown arts district to celebrate its eighth season with "Richard II," opening July 10; "Pericles," opening July 24; and "Merry Wives of Windsor," opening August 14. Each play runs two weekends.

The ARTS at Marks Garage, already known for edgy, independent productions, will be transformed into an intimate, 80-seat in-the-round theatre with the audience completely surrounding the action and no seat farther than 10 feet from the stage.

The 2009 season begins with an all-female production of "Richard II," one of Shakespeare's greatest, and most intimate, tragedies. King Richard II, heir to an ancient line of kings, rules England with a decadent arrogance. When his rebel cousin Henry Bolingbroke lays claim to the throne, Richard must come face to face with his own weaknesses. In this lyrical and rarely performed play, Shakespeare confronts questions about the nature of power that still haunt us today. "Richard II" is directed by Harry Wong III and stars Katherine Aumer-Ryan as King Richard and Elizabeth Wolfe as Henry Bolingbroke.

The season continues with of "Pericles," a romp of a play about the title character's search for a wife (whom he finds, then loses) and later his daughter (whom he loses, then finds). Along the way there is a shipwreck, pirates, a kidnapping, treacherous monarchs, a pageant of (Greek) knights, a sleazy brothel and an eccentric wizard. "Pericles" has long held a reputation as one of Shakespeare's hidden gems. "Pericles" is directed by R. Kevin Garcia Doyle and stars Jason Quinn as Pericles, Julia Nakamoto as Marina and Eden-Lee Murray Jellinek as the narrator, Gower.

The festival concludes with an all-male production of the slapstick domestic comedy, "Merry Wives of Windsor" - probably the closest Shakespeare ever got to writing an episode of "I Love Lucy." The play hinges on Falstaff's attempts to woo two faithful wives of the town and their revenge on him. Falstaff, the scene-stealing rogue from "Henry IV, parts 1 and 2" is one of Shakespeare's greatest comic inventions, and "Merry Wives of Windsor" was supposedly written at the specific request of Queen Elizabeth who wanted to see "Falstaff in love." "Merry Wives of Windsor" is directed by Tony Pisculli and stars Chris Riel and Shawn Thomsen as the titular wives with Jeremy Dowd as Falstaff and Stephen Mead as the jealous husband, Ford. Featuring original, live music by Damned Spot Drums.

Tickets for individual shows are $10 on Wednesday evenings, $15 on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons and $20 on Friday and Saturday evenings with no other discounts. Tickets for all HSF shows are available through Brown Paper Tickets by calling 1-800-838-3006 or online at HawaiiShakes.org. For more information, including maps and directions, visit HawaiiShakes.org.

Photo: Julia Nakamoto, Eden-Lee Murray, Jason Quinn

Photo Credit: Brad Goda

 

 

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