SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE is Available For Licensing to Schools

Samuel French has announced that Shakespeare in Love is now available for licensing to schools across the United States and Canada. This new high school edition, developed in conjunction with the Disney Theatrical Group, includes an accompanying Production Handbook.

The original version of the play was adapted by Tony Award-winning playwright Lee Hall from the Academy Award-winning film by Tony and Academy Award-winning playwright Tom Stoppard and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Marc Norman. Premiered in the West End, produced by Disney Theatrical Productions and Sonia Friedman Productions, Shakespeare in Love went on to become the most-produced play in America during the 2017-2018 season, as reported by Theatre Communications Group.

This new edition of Shakespeare in Love was developed with high schoolers in mind. It includes changes that affect content and music performance to make it more suitable for teens and young adults. The Production Handbook features dramaturgical and historical resources, curricular lesson plans, structured audience engagement opportunities, along with tips on casting, design and staging, and more! Available for free at samuelfrench.com, the handbook aims to make producing the show as easy and rewarding as possible, maximizing engagement with the world of the play. In June, this high school edition of Shakespeare in Love will be performed in Lincoln, Nebraska at the prestigious Educational Theatre Association's International Thespian Festival by J.J. Pearce High School of Richardson, Texas.

"For us, creating Shakespeare in Love was a genuine valentine to the Theatre," said Thomas Schumacher, President & Producer, Disney Theatrical Productions. "It will now be thrilling see how High School students realize their own versions of this joyous and romantic play."

For more information on licensing Shakespeare in Love, visit here for the original version available to professional and community groups, restrictions apply, and here for the high school edition.