Casting Announced For Michigan Shakespeare Festival's 2018 MainStage Season

The Michigan Shakespeare Festival, the Official Shakespeare Festival of the State of Michigan, has announced their casts for the 2018 MSF Season consisting of Shakespeare's The Tempest and Measure for Measure and Aphra Behn's Restoration Comedy The Rover.

Returning to the Festival are Artistic Associates: Alan Ball as Caliban, Elbow, and Cassis. Alan is best known for his brilliant portrayals of Shakespeare's clowns (Feste, Dogberry, Bottom, Don Armado) and character turns like General Hood in The Killer Angels and Doolittle in Pygmalion; Janet Haley as Prospera, The Abbess and Mistress Overdone, and Angelica. Haley has been a mainstay of MSF's summer seasons for years and has thrilled audiences in silly comedies and heavy drama winning multiple Wilde Awards for her work; and Brandon St. Clair Saunders as Ariel and Lucio. Saunders, the poster model for the 2018 brochure and imaging, has been with the Festival for 8 seasons playing roles such as Horatio, Tranio, Lysander, Benvolio, Fabian, Dumaines, and Claudio.

Also returning are Michigan favorites Tobin Hissong (Dexter, MI, previously Baptista in The Taming of the Shrew and Gen. Lee in The Killer Angels) as Gonzalo, The Provost, and Blunt, and Destiny Dunn (Flint, MI previously Constance in She Stoops to Conquer and Ensemble in King John), Ian Geers (previously Constantine in the Seagull, Octavius in Caesar, Bushy in Richard II, and the Troubadour in The Killer Angels) as Vincentio and Fredericke; and 2016's breakout favorite Robert McLean (Duke Frederick in As You Like It, Gen. Longstreet in The Killer Angels and Bolingbroke in Richard II) as Stephano, Angelo, and Willmore, aka. the Rover.

Joining MSF for the first time are Claire Jolliffe (Bloomfield Hills, MI) as Francisca, Mariana, and Florinda, Jason Briggs (Flint, MI) as Alonso, Stephan, and Froth; Cody Robison (Detroit, MI, 2018 Hilberry grad) as Trinculo and Don Antonio; and Zach Fischer (of Chelsea, MI, and Theatre Department Chair / Assistant Professor at Albion College) as Antonio, Escalus, and Don Pedro.

Regional newcomers include Diana Coates as Adriana, Isabella, and Valeria; Kevin Tre'Von Patterson as Ferdinand, Pompey, and Officer; and Laurence Stepney as Sebastian, Claudio, and Belvile.

The Festival Jackson previews begin with THE TEMPEST on Thursday, June 12, and Aphra Behn's THE ROVER on Saturday, July 14, and MEASURE FOR MEASURE on Thursday, July 19. The shows continue in Jackson at the Potter Center through July 29 and reopen in Canton at the Village Theatre on August 3 and run through Sunday, August 19.

Tickets for THE TEMPEST, THE ROVER, and MEASURE FOR MEASURE are available online at www.MichiganShakespeareFestival.com.

By Phone in Jackson at 517-796-8600

By Phone in Canton at 734-394-5300

Jackson Run: Baughman Theatre

Preview performance of THE TEMPEST -- July 12 at 7:30 pm

Preview performance of THE TEMPEST -- July 13 at 7:30 pm

Preview performance of THE ROVER - July 14 at 2:00 pm

OPENING NIGHT performance of THE TEMPEST - July 14 at 7:30 pm

Preview performance of THE ROVER - July 15 at 3:00 pm

Preview performance of MEASURE FOR MEASURE - July 19 at 7:30 pm

Preview performance of MEASURE FOR MEASURE - July 20 at 7:30 pm

THE TEMPEST-- July 21 at 2:00 pm

OPENING NIGHT performance of THE ROVER-- July 21 at 7:30 pm

OPENING performance of MEASURE FOR MEASURE-- July 22 at 3:00 pm

MEASURE FOR MEASURE-- July 26 at 7:30 pm

THE ROVER-- July 27 at 7:30 pm

THE TEMPEST-- July 28 at 2:00 pm

MEASURE FOR MEASURE-- July 28 at 7:30 pm

THE TEMPEST-- July 29 at 3:00 pm

Canton Run: Village Theatre

THE TEMPEST-August 3 at 7:30 pm

THE ROVER: August 4 at 2:00 pm

MEASURE FOR MEASURE: August 4 at 7:30 pm

THE TEMPEST: August 5 at 3:00 pm

THE ROVER: August 9 at 7:30 pm

THE ROVER: August 10 at 7:30 pm

MEASURE FOR MEASURE: August 11 at 2:00 pm

THE TEMPEST: August 11 at 7:30 pm

THE ROVER: August 12 at 3:00 pm

THE TEMPEST: August 16 at 7:30 pm

MEASURE FOR MEASURE: August 17 at 7:30 pm

THE TEMPEST: August 18 at 2:00 pm

THE ROVER: August 18 at 7:30 pm

MEASURE FOR MEASURE: August 19 at 3:00 pm

Reduced price Flexpasses for all three shows are available by calling the venue in which you plan to attend the productions (cannot be used across sites, good at one venue only).

Please note Saturday matinees are at 2 pm, Sunday matinees are at 3 pm.