William Shakespeare News

Main Street Theater collaborates for the second time with international partner Prague Shakespeare Company to present Shakespeare's Henry V. Featuring live Taiko drummers and an ensemble of 14 actors, the production will run in Houston in March and April and in Prague in the fall. MST and PSF produced Shakespeare's Richard III last season which was critically acclaimed both in Houston and in Prague.

Oak Park Festival Theatre continues its 2012-2013 season by staging Edward Albee's comedy/fantasy/satire, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Seascape at the Madison Street Studio Theatre. Directed by Stephanie Shaw, the production will feature Artistic Director Jack Hickey as Charlie, OPFT veteran Mary Michell as Nancy, Alee Spadoni as Sarah, and Dan Toot as Leslie.

Rehearsals are now in progress for the Off-Broadway premiere of Robert Brustein's THE LAST WILL, the final installment of his trilogy examining the life of William Shakespeare, with previews set to begin April 5, prior to its official opening on April 17 in the June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street).

The Award-Winning Epic Theatre Ensemble, now in their 12th year presents William Shakespeare's RICHARD III: Born With Teeth, part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national program of the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The production, directed by Ron Russell, begins previews Off-Broadway on Tuesday, April 16th and opens Saturday, April 20th at 8:00 PM at the Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street). The play will run through May 4th. Epic Theatre Ensemble's tickets are $25 for this production. Student Rush is also available. For tickets, please visit www.Ticketcentral.com or call (212) 270-4200. For more information, visit www.epictheatreensemble.org/R3.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director), dedicated to the production of new plays and bold interpretations of classics that make immediate connections to contemporary audiences, announces its 2013-14 season, which will begin with A Streetcar Named Desire, the Pulitzer Prize winning masterwork by Tennessee Williams, directed by Mark Rucker. OBIE Award winning resident director Evan Yionoulis will mark her thirteenth production at Yale Rep with Owners, the dark comedy by Caryl Churchill. Director Christopher Bayes and actor Steven Epp return for Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents the American premiere of Othello: The Remix, created by the Q Brothers, March 12-April 28, 2013 in the theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare. Othello: The Remix, the CST-commissioned hip-hop adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy, spun out and lyrically rewritten over original beats, returns home for a limited engagement following an acclaimed world premiere in London at Shakespeare's Globe and a tour to Germany and Edinburgh. Tickets for Othello: The Remix are on sale now for $20-$35. BroadwayWorld has a first look at highlights of the production below.

The Garden Theatre presents Beth Marshall Presents' production of the powerful drama, Children of a Lesser God by Mark Medoff sponsored by Progress Energy, tonight, March 15-30, 2013, at the Garden Theatre (160 West Plant Street, Winter Garden). On Friday, March 22nd at 8pm, there will be a fully interpreted American Sign Language performance in partnership with the Center for Independent Living.

Dallas Theater Center presents Neil Simon's classic American comedy, The Odd Couple, directed by DTC Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty. When two men with struggling relationships, neat and particular Felix Ungar and disheveled and rough-edged Oscar Madison, decide to live together, the results are funny and poignant. The Odd Couple opens with previews tonight, March 15 and runs through Sunday, April 14 at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

Yale Repertory Theatre presents Paul Giamatti in HAMLET by William Shakespeare, directed by James Bundy, at the University Theatre (222 York Street), tonight, March 15-April 13. Opening Night is Thursday, March 21, at 7:30PM.

Tina Packer, creator and star of the critically acclaimed Women of Will at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street @ Washington Square South), will appear on 'The Charlie Rose Show' tonight (Thursday, March 14), seen locally in the New York City area on WNET Channel 13 at 11:00pm. Ms. Packer was originally scheduled to appear as a guest on the talk show on Wednesday, March 13 but was preempted by coverage of the newly appointed Pope.

Shakespeare & Company's groundbreaking Shakespeare in the Courts program, which leads adjudicated young people in an exploration of Shakespeare's plays, is celebrating its 13th year. The program, which runs in both North Adams and Pittsfield, was launched in 2001 with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, and is generously supported this year by Massachusetts Cultural Council's YouthReach Initiative; Berkshire Life, A Guardian Company; Berkshire County District Attorney's Office; The Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire; and the Charles H. Hall Foundation. Led by S&Co.'s expertly trained arts educators, Shakespeare in the Courts program is a challenging, inspiring, and often revelatory program. For media interviews and information contact Communications Director Elizabeth Aspenlieder aspenlieder@shakespeare.org OR Associate Director of Communications and Marketing Director Jason Velazquez jvelazquez@shakespeare.org.

Artes de la Rosa has announced that Matt Ransdell Jr. will star as the coffee serving love sick rapping bodega owner, Usnavi in the Artes de la Rosa production of IN THE HEIGHTS receiving its Fort Worth Premiere this May at The Rose Marine Theater. Adam Adolfo and Elise Lavallee, who previously collaborated on the North Texas premiere of the tango operita Maria de Buenos Aires, reunite as Producer/Director and Associate Director/ Choreographer, respectively. Musical Direction is by Kristin Spires who conducts the 9-piece orchestra featuring the original tour orchestration.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents the American premiere of Othello: The Remix, created by the Q Brothers, March 12-April 28, 2013 in the theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare. Othello: The Remix, the CST-commissioned hip-hop adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy, spun out and lyrically rewritten over original beats, returns home for a limited engagement following an acclaimed world premiere in London at Shakespeare's Globe and a tour to Germany and Edinburgh. Tickets for Othello: The Remix are on sale now for $20-$35. BroadwayWorld has a first look below.

Seattle Shakespeare's LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST by William Shakespeare runs at Seattle Center's Center Theatre, opening March 15 and playing through April 7, 2013, directed by Jon Kretzu. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Lantern Theater Company presents William Shakespeare's Henry V under the direction of the Lantern's Artistic Director, Charles McMahon, as part of its record-breaking 19th season. Performances will run tonight, March 14 through April 14, exactly 600 years after Henry's ascension to the British throne in 1413, and will include the popular Scholars: In Conversation series as a companion to the performances. This year's series, The Spark of War: Politics, Leadership & the Psyche of a Nation, will use the powerful themes of Shakespeare's play as a catalyst to explore modern issues of leadership, politics, and how mythmaking shapes national identity.

One of the most well-known operatic adaptations of a classic tale by William Shakespeare will be performed by the vocal division at The Catholic University of America's Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, tonight, March 14 to 17.

Tina Packer, creator and star of the critically acclaimed Women of Will at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street @ Washington Square South), was scheduled to be a guest on 'The Charlie Rose Show' tonight, Wednesday, March 13, but the appearance has been preempted by coverage of the election of Pope Francis. Information regarding a new air date will be announced at a later date.

The Alabama Shakespeare Festival's touring production of William Shakespeare's hilarious comedy Twelfth Night will be coming home for a limited run in the theatre's intimate Octagon stage, March 26-30. There will be additional performances on April 30 and May 9.

Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls presents the revival of the rarely-produced Measure for Measure-William Shakespeare's 'last comedy and his blackest-pitched' in which the 'unquenchable influence of sex in society is a central theme' (New York Times). This production marks Falls' first return to Shakespeare's work since his critically-acclaimed 2006 revival of King Lear, starring Stacy Keach in the title role. BroadwayWorld has a first look at highlights of the production below.

Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls presents the revival of the rarely-produced Measure for Measure-William Shakespeare's 'last comedy and his blackest-pitched' in which the 'unquenchable influence of sex in society is a central theme' (New York Times). This production marks Falls' first return to Shakespeare's work since his critically-acclaimed 2006 revival of King Lear, starring Stacy Keach in the title role. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below.