Shakespeare & Company News

The London-based Shakespeare's Globe will bring their global touring production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet to Folger Theatre for three performances only on July 25 and 26, 2014, making it the only east coast stop for the company in the United States. Directed by Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst, the production is a fresh, pared-down version of the classic tragedy of deferred revenge.

Idealism, ambition, conspiracy, honor, greed, betrayal and the lust for power-echoes of our own modern politics-are all on tap in Shakespeare's potent and bloody Julius Caesar. Last performed at the Company in 1993, Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer delivers audiences her 'bare-Bard' production of Caesar, marking its final leg of a three city tour-Orlando, Florida, Prague in the Czech Republic, and now at home in Lenox, with Shakespeare & Company. With 7 actors playing multiple roles this poetry-filled psychological and political thriller follows the conspiracy and assassination of the omnipotent Roman leader, and the consequences that ensue from his brutal murder. Performances run in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre today, June 27 - August 30.Press Opening is Friday, July 4 at 8:00pm.

Freehold will tour The Flower of England's Face: William Shakespeare's Henry IV directed by Freehold Artistic Director Robin Lynn Smith, to unique locations across the greater Puget Sound area, June 30 - July 20, 2014.

Burning Coal Theatre Company of Raleigh, North Carolina announces its 2014/2015 mainstage season of plays.

The Los Altos Stage Company (LASC) announces its first-ever co-production and collaborative project with the Los Altos Youth Theatre (LAYT),

'What ho! Turns out, Jeeves and I belong on stage. I'm having a splendid time at the Duke of York's Theatre with Jeeves and we shall continue recounting the complex case of that ghastly girl Gussie Fink-Nottle, my Aunt Dahlia and that dastardly cow-creamer until 17 January 2015. Of course Jeeves will be in touch in due course to update everyone with any information you might require to enjoy a topping night at the theatre' - Bertie Wooster

The WEST END THEATRE SERIES is delighted to announce its third title; Richard Eyre's five-star, multi award-winning revival production of Ibsen's Ghosts. The Almeida Theatre production will be screened in over 200 cinemas across the UK and Ireland for one night only, today 26 June '14 (www.westendtheatreseries.com).

The Mirror Repertory Company, along with The Greensboro Arts Alliance and Residency (GAAR), presents Tony-nominee Marla Schaffel (Jane Eyre) in THE MIRACLE WORKER as part of its 2014 summer season in Greensboro, Vermont. With special events beginning over the 4th of July weekend, GAAR's 2014 summer season will also include a limited engagement of Rodgers + Hammerstein's CAROUSEL.

The Atlanta Shakespeare Company at The New American Shakespeare Tavern presents The Taming of the Shrew, July 3-20, 2014, directed by Jeff Watkins.

The Servant of Two Masters gets a fresh take in the deft hands of director and long-time Company artist Jenna Ware. Her fast-paced and hilarious adaptation of this classic Commedia dell'arte farce by Carlo Goldoni features an adroit and energetic cast, some of whom are Berkshire natives, and who trained with S&Co. as adolescents and are now acting, directing and teaching for the Company. Servant offers up a hearty dose of madcap'd mayhem, music, sword fighting and massive amounts of fun for our audiences of all ages to enjoy! This family-friendly show runs on the 200-seat, tented outdoor Rose Footprint Theatre from tonight, June 25 - August 23. Press Opening is Friday, June 27 at 5:30pm.

Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles (SCLA), under the artistic direction of Ben Donenberg, returns to the Japanese Garden at the Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare Campus for the third consecutive summer, with a Los Angeles-centric summer production of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet -- directed by Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre alum Kenn Sabberton -- for seventeen performances only, July 8 to 26 (press opening July 13).

The Shakespeare Theatre Company announces the addition of David Greig's Dunsinane from the National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Shakespeare Company to its upcoming 2014-2015 Season. This international production, which has toured Scotland, the U.K., Russia and China, will replace the previously announced production of Enrico IV, slated for spring 2015.

The National Theatre's acclaimed production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time will resume its run at the Gielgud Theatre tonight, 24 June 2014. With press night on 8 July, the production is currently booking at its new West End home to 14 February 2015.

Darren has it all. He's one of the biggest baseball stars on the planet. Millions of adoring fans. Endorsements. And then he decides to come out of the closet. This winner of the 2003 Tony Award for Best New Play and Pulitzer Prize finalist tackles homophobia and racism amidst America's most traditional pastime. Though it was first produced over a decade ago, in the current era of Michael Sam and Jason Collins Take Me Out is just as powerful, moving and relevant it was when it originally premiered.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) celebrated the enduring vitality of Shakespeare on Monday, June 16 with GALA 2014 at its home on Navy Pier, raising nearly $1.2 million for Chicago Shakespeare in Urban Communities. Three hundred and fifty of Chicago's civic, corporate and cultural leaders attended the event benefitting CST's civic engagement and education initiatives, including the citywide summer tradition Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks and Team Shakespeare education programs. The evening culminated in the presentation of the fourth annual Spirit of Shakespeare Awards to this year's Civic Honoree, The Boeing Company and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith and his wife Denise, and Artistic Honoree, Chicago theater legend Mike Nussbaum.

Christopher Plummer, the Canadian actor who is most widely known for playing Captain Von Trapp in the movie version of The Sound of Music, told MetroFocus about his intention of bringing his self-assembled one-man show, A Word or Two, to New York in the near future.

In a recent interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, Tony-winning director Darko Tresnjak revealed that he is already hard at work with his A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder collaborators on a new musical. Tresnjak has reunited with Robert Freedman and Steven Lutvak for The Campaign of the Century- a musical based on Greg Mitchell's book about Upton Sinclair.

It's often been observed of Shakespeare that his plays don't tell you what he thinks about most subjects. But it is hard to doubt that he believed in romantic love, that mad, intoxicating, all-encompassing feeling that inspires courtship and marriage. Many of his comedies are essentially love delivery vehicles, giddy confections that give the audience an extraordinarily broad license just to roll in the bliss of it. I think especially of Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. But the most love-mad of all is surely As You Like It. And thankfully, that love-mad champagne feeling is served up nearly full-force in the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's latest rendering of the play.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) will be celebrating its 35th season with a black-tie gala tonight, June 21. Congresswoman Nicola Tsongas will present the Paul Tsongas Award to UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan in recognition of his long-time personal support and his continued work to build and expand MRT's partnership with UMass Lowell. The event will also feature the Reduced Shakespeare Company presenting 'The Complete History of MRT (abridged),' a 10-minute sketch created especially for this event.

Shakespeare & Company's Artistic Director Tony Simotes sets his new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in the mysterious bayous of New Orleans just as the Jazz Era in America was exploding. The production features original music, live musicians, a Drama League partnership, and a cast of over a dozen seasoned Company actors and newcomers.