Dee Roscioli To Perform in Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival's Finale Cabaret

The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival's season culminates in a fresh and lively evening of songs, scenes, Shakespeare and more in a Finale Cabaret, playing one night only on Sunday, August 1st, at 7:30pm on the Main Stage - and Dee Roscioli, who recently starred as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway, will also perform.

A native of Easton who has close ties to the professional PSF company and who graduated from DeSales University, Roscioli adds even more electricity to a lively event, says Patrick Mulcahy, producing artistic director [who will also perform]. "The eclectic nature of the cabaret is as much fun for the performers as it is for the audience, and it allows the audience to see their favorite actors in a different light," he says.

Members of PSF's 2010 acting company who will perform include Philadelphia-based PSF favorites and real-life husband and wife Greg Wood and Susan Riley Stevens, currently appearing as Lord and Lady Capulet in Romeo & Juliet. They will be joined by another PSF veteran husband-wife team, Jim Helsinger and Suzanne O'Donnell, here this summer playing Master and Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, which Helsinger also directed.

Broadway veteran John Ahlin, currently appearing as the iconic Falstaff in Merry Wives, will be performing a special piece featuring members of the Festival's acting intern company.

Nathan Diehl, musical director and conductor for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum earlier this season at PSF, serves as accompanist.

Also joining the fun are long- time festival favorites and Merry Wives cast members Grace Gonglewski and Anthony Lawton. Lawton, who performed his two-actor interpretation of The Screwtape Letters earlier this season, will be presenting a piece from his one man show, C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce. Fellow Merry Wives cast members Allison DeCaro (Mistress Quickly), Michael Daly (Sir Hugh Evans), and Michael Gill (Slender) will also perform, as will Ezra Barnes, who has returned to the Festival after last season's 1776 to play the Prince in Romeo & Juliet. The evening will also feature a peek at the Festival's new children's show, Shakespeare for Kids, featuring Andrew Kane, Michael Gill, and acting intern Chelsea Anne Carle.

Tickets are $25 and are available by calling the PSF Box Office at 610-282-WILL [9455] and online at www.pashakespeare.org. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts is the 2010 Season Sponsor. Associate Season Sponsors are the Harry C. Trexler Trust, The Morning Call and Service Electric Cable TV & Communications. Director Sponsors are Linda Lapos and Paul Wirth.

The 2010 Festival continues through August 8 with The Merry Wives of Windsor and Romeo and Juliet and through August 7 with Robin Hood and Shakespeare for Kids.

The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University is the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth and a professional, not-for-profit theatre company. An independent 501 c 3 organization, PSF receives support from DeSales University and relies on contributions from individuals, government agencies, corporations and foundations. PSF is a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, and a member of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, the Shakespeare Theatre Association of America, the Lehigh Valley Arts Council, and Discover Lehigh Valley.