Lantern Theater Company Announces Filmed Version Of 2019's MEASURE FOR MEASURE

Lantern Theater Company continues its reimagined 2020/21 season with a filmed version of its 2019 mainstage production of Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare, directed by Lantern Artistic Director Charles McMahon, and streaming April 6 - May 2, 2021.

Part of the company's new Plays from the Lantern Archives program that celebrates some of the finest productions from recent seasons brought vividly back to life on screen, Measure for Measure was professionally filmed with a live theater audience by the Lantern's Emmy Award-winning partners at Natural Light Films during its original 2018/19 season run.

The production features an ensemble cast of Lantern veterans, including Chris Anthony, Kirk Wendell Brown, Ben Dibble, Adam Hammet, Claire Inie-Richards, Anthony Lawton, Jered McLenigan, and Charlotte Northeast.

Tickets and additional information are available online at www.lanterntheater.org.

This major play in the Bard's canon will surprise and move modern audiences with its timely insights into human motivation and resilience. When the power of the State is put in the service of one man's lust, Shakespeare creates one of his greatest heroines to combat the abuse. Isabella's courage and brilliance are called upon to fight back against power, corruption, and sexual blackmail. Regarded as one of Shakespeare's "problem plays," Measure for Measure is ostensibly a comedy, but with plotting that is far darker and more nearly tragic than in his more conventional comedies. While Measure for Measure defies easy characterization, its themes of political hypocrisy, gendered power dynamics, and bodily autonomy remain disturbingly relevant today.

"The urgency of the human problems on display in Measure for Measure is immediately recognizable to modern audiences," noted Charles McMahon during the production's original 2019 run. "We wrestle with these issues in almost every one of the powerful institutions in which generations of Americans have entrusted their good faith and life's labors. Church, government, the legal system, and industry have been exposed as riven with systemic corruption, sexual harassment, and grotesque self-interest. This is the world that Shakespeare examines, and it is the world we confront when we read the morning news."

Measure for Measure played to sold-out houses throughout its 2018/19 season run and was a smash hit with audiences and theater critics alike. For The Philadelphia Inquirer, Toby Zinman wrote: "A brilliant production. Problem solved. Measure for Measure is one of Shakespeare's 'problem plays,' troubling directors and scholars for four centuries, and each production, each reader, each audience arrives at its own interpretation. Charles McMahon has found one solution, and it's brilliant." Writing for Broad Street Review, Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey said, "While I won't give away how McMahon handled the (actually textually important) turn at the conclusion of the play, I will tell you that I found it very, very satisfying. An excellent ensemble... a fresh, modern take on Measure for Measure that nods to the present day without shoehorning it into the text." PlayShakespeare.com's Jennifer Kramer gave Measure for Measure five stars, calling it "a clear-eyed and engaging exploration of a cynical society, funny and biting without succumbing to cynicism itself."

Tickets for Measure for Measure are $15 per household/device and are available online at www.lanterntheater.org or by calling the Lantern Box Office at (215) 829-0395. Ticket buyers will receive an email confirmation with full instructions and a private ticket access link, which will provide on-demand access to Measure for Measure for one viewing during the April 6 - May 2, 2021 streaming period.

The play can be viewed on most internet-connected devices with email/web browser access, including desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and select smart TVs. The Lantern Box Office will be accessible by phone and email for extended hours throughout the streaming period to provide assistance. A new Digital Shakespeare Pass is also available for $39, which includes one ticket for Measure for Measure, The Tempest (streaming May 4 - 30, 2021), and Coriolanus (streaming June 1 - 27, 2021).

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