Divaria Opera Returns With THE SHAKESPEARE RIOTS

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts will welcome the Divaria Productions opera, The Shakespeare Riots, to the Bay Street stage on Saturday, October 8, at 8 p.m. The historical show brings to life one of the bloodiest incidents in New York history, the infamous 1849 Astor Place Riot, and promises audiences a dramatic, enthralling evening unlike any other.

Starring Ron Menzel and Michael Nansel, the show captures 19th-century class and nativist tensions that come to a head when a riot breaks out over a British actor playing Macbeth instead of a favorite local American actor. Directed by J.A. Diaz, the opera will also feature Nicholas Simpson and Ashley Galvani Bell, with Gregory Moomjy as the show's musicologist. The incredibly talented and accomplished cast has performed in operas across the United States and Europe, and are thrilled to bring this one-of-a-kind show to Sag Harbor.

The opera is a welcome return for Divaria Productions to the Bay Street stage where for the past six years it has presented sell-out shows, with productions of La Traviata, Don Giovanni in New York, and Othello, to name a few. The New York City-based company is dedicated to educating audiences about the historical circumstances surrounding classic works and watershed moments in operatic history.


Tickets are on sale now starting at $35 and are available online 24/7 at baystreet.org or by calling the Box Office at 631-725-9500, open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Bay Street Theater is a fully vaccinated company. All attendance is available via touchless ticketing. Masks are optional upon entry to the theater and when seated. For full list of COVID-19-related safety procedures and guidelines for in-person events, please visit us online at baystreet.org.

Bay Street Theater is a year-round, not-for-profit professional theater and community cultural center, which endeavors to innovate, educate, and entertain a diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. It serves as a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, and a home for a community of artists.