OLIVER TWIST, TWELFTH NIGHT, PRIVATE LIVES and More Set for Cincinnati Shakespeare's 20th Anniversary Season

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has announced its 2013-2014 20th Anniversary Season schedule. All productions will feature Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's Resident Company of Artists. CSC's 20th season of bringing the classics to life in Cincinnati is generously sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. This season, CSC is proud to become one of only five theaters in the United States to "Complete the Canon" by producing all 38 plays by William Shakespeare. 20th Anniversary Season Subscription packages went on sale February 1, 2013 and experienced a record breaking first day of sales. Single tickets are now on sale and seats are filling up fast!

Cincinnati Shakespeare is proud to "Complete the Canon" by producing all 38 plays by William Shakespeare. This feat has only been completed by 4 other theaters in the United States. The final play needed to "Complete the Canon" is William Shakespeare's "The Two Noble Kinsmen", which CSC will produce in May 2014. The season also includes William Shakespeare's "Henry IV" which is the next installment of the epic 5 year, 8 play history cycle that CSC began this season with "Richard II". Other Shakespeare highlights of the 20th Anniversary season include the popular comedy "Twelfth Night" as well as William Shakespeare's greatest work "Hamlet". This will be a companion piece to the existential Tom Stoppard comic masterpiece, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead".

As Cincinnati's only stage for the classics, CSC is delighted to bring to life literary classics adapted for the stage such as the regional premiere of Charles' Dickens "Oliver Twist", adapted by Neil Bartlett and John Steinbeck's classic "Of Mice and Men." The season ends with the delightful Noel Coward comedy "Private Lives". As a bonus this July, audiences can also enjoy the West-End smash hit comedy "The 39 Steps" presented by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.

CSC's Producing Artistic Director Mr. Phillips, who has been a part of the company since 1999, is also celebrating a canon milestone by acting or directing in all 38 of Shakespeare's plays at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in the same year that he himself turns 38. Mr. Phillips says: "I love anniversaries. One of the unique traits that defines our humanity is an ability to acknowledge and celebrate the passing of time. To recognize achievement and honor the relationships that have thrived through the passing of the years. Anniversaries are opportunities for festivity and launching pads for our ambitions and future endeavors. The 2013/2014 season at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will be an Anniversary to remember! We will be celebrating our 20th season of being Cincinnati's Stage for the Classics. We will also accomplish a feat that all Shakespeare theatres aspire to. This special season, CSC will become one of only five theatres in the United States to produce the complete canon of William Shakespeare's dramatic works. All 38 plays staged here in our Queen City, by your resident ensemble." Mr. Phillips continues to say that "it is also quite a feat to be able to say that CSC is 'Completing the Canon', meaning that from the company's inception in 1993 through today, we will have produced all 38 plays by William Shakespeare. The entire body of Shakespeare's work has been available to Cincinnati audiences over the last 20 years, which includes audience favorites like 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' to obscure titles like 'The Life and Death of King John' and 'Timon of Athens'."

Over the past 20 years, CSC has had many proud accomplishments in addition to "Completing the Canon." Those accomplishments include CSC joining Actors Equity Association as one of the few professional theatres in Cincinnati, doubling the operating budget allowing the company to experience a period of significant artistic growth while maintaining strict fiscal responsibility, establishing an endowment fund through the Greater Cincinnati Foundation to ensure CSC's stability in the future, renewing a deep commitment to education and outreach through robust touring and educational offerings, being honored as a Small Business of the Year nominee at the 2012 Small Business Excellence Awards by the Cincinnati Regional Chamber, being awarded an increase in operating funding from ArtsWave for continued impact on the community and consistently planning an exciting line up of classics and Shakespeare leading to the imminent completion of the entire canon, truly making CSC Cincinnati's stage for the classics. "We have much to celebrate about where we've been, and we are also very excited and inspired about where we are going," says Mr. Phillips.

The 20th Anniversary Season line up is as follows:

September 6- 29, 2013
Charles Dickens'
Oliver Twist
Adapted by Neil Bartlett
Re-experience the harrowing adventures of the orphan boy who dared to ask for "some more". The regional premiere of this riveting new stage adaptation uses a large cast to create the sights, sounds, songs and spirit of Dickens' London, as well as a rogue's gallery of literature's most infamous ne'er-do-wells: the devious Fagin, the crafty Artful Dodger, and the murderous Bill Sikes. CSC kicks off its twentieth anniversary season with this unforgettable journey through the seamy side of Victorian England, seen through the eyes of a child.

October 18- November 10, 2013
Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck's tale of enduring friendship amidst unendurable hardship. Two down-and-out migrant workers travel through California during the Great Depression. As they pursue work and their dream of a piece of land to call their own, the pragmatic George struggles to protect the giant but simple-minded Lenny from his own mistakes and the world's cruelty. The creative team behind 2012'sTheGrapes of Wrath (one of the most critically acclaimed CSC productions of all time) reassembles for another great American masterpiece.

November 22- December 15, 2013
William Shakespeare's
Twelfth Night
In the wake of a shipwreck, Lady Viola washes up on the shores of Ilyria, penniless and alone. Disguising herself as a boy, she procures employment delivering love letters from the amorous Duke Orsino to the object of his infatuation, the aloof Lady Olivia. Things get sticky when Viola herself falls for the lovesick Duke, then stickier still when Lady Olivia falls for the disguised Viola. Add into the mix a drunken uncle, a prudish steward and a wise-cracking fool, and you've got a knot only time can untangle. Enjoy a traditional Elizabethan staging of this classic Shakespearean gender-bender.

January 10- February 9, 2014
William Shakespeare's
Hamlet
The King of Denmark's mysterious death, and the Queen's over-hasty marriage to her late husband's brother lead Prince Hamlet to the inevitable conclusion that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark." In his quest for retribution, the eponymous prince wrestles with morality, his own sanity and the very nature of existence itself. The greatest play ever written in the English language,Hamlet paints a startlingly poignant picture of what it means to be (or not to be) human.

February 14- March 9, 2014
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
by Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard's comedic tour-de-force turnsHamlet on its head, telling the tale from the bewildered perspective of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two minor characters in Shakespeare's tragedy. As the befuddled duo struggle to keep up with the events around them, they become increasingly aware of the possibility that they might just be fictional characters. Can these unlikely protagonists take control of their own destiny, or has their fate already been written? The entire cast ofHamlet returns for this delightfully erudite vaudeville that is part Abbot & Costello, part Locke & Hobbes, and all fun.

March 28- April 19, 2014
William Shakespeare's
Henry IV: Part 1 & 2
After usurping the throne from King Richard II, King Henry finds he has inherited a country in chaos. Rebellions abound, lines are being drawn and one false step could plunge the country into civil war. To make matters worse, his son Hal (now heir to the throne) has forsaken his duties at court and taken up with a band of brigands under the charge of that notorious drunkard and pot-bellied prankster, Sir John Falstaff. Don't miss the exciting second installment of CSC's history cycle, as Shakespeare's game of thrones continues.

May 2- 25, 2014
William Shakespeare's
The Two Noble Kinsmen
Captured and imprisoned during war, two friends become impassioned rivals as they fall in love with the beautiful princess Emilia. Deceit and fighting arise in this romance, as Palamon and Arcite both vie for the princess' love. Originally derived from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, do not miss out as CSC presents the final story in the quest to Complete the Canon!

June 6- 29, 2014
Private Lives
By Noel Coward
Amanda and Elyot's first marriage was so vicious it nearly killed them, so imagine their surprise when five years later, each remarried and on their respective honeymoons, they find themselves in adjacent suites. The sparks start flying, and soon reignite a passion too powerful to fight. Noel Coward's trademark wit sparkles in this urbane comedy about the fine line between love and loathing.

Special Events
These are additional productions happening during the 20th Anniversary Season that are not a part of the subscription series.

July 19- August 11, 2013
The 39 Steps
adapted by Patrick Barlow
from the novel by John Buchan
from the movie of Alfred Hitchcock
Crime. Conspiracy. Carnage. Comedy! Hitchcock's classic potboiler gets a tongue-in-cheek twist as four actors rocket their way through over 150 roles in a blood-tingling tale of espionage and murder. This runaway Broadway hit lands at CSC this summer, featuring some of your favorite ensemble members. If you enjoyed the madcap antics of Every Christmas Story Ever Told and The Hound of the Baskervilles, then you won't want to miss The 39 Steps. It'll be an evening of comedy... to die for.
(Not part of the subscription package- subscribers receive 15% off tickets!)

Oct. 25- Nov. 3, 2013
The Crucible
By Arthur Miller
Co-production with Xavier University Department of Music & Theatre
In Salem in the late 1600s, a group of young girls accuse others of witchcraft sparking an alarming series of events. The leaders of the church respond with suspicion and put those accused on trial for their lives ultimately leaving a town in fear, and the man at the center of it all questioning his faith and morality. One of the greatest American plays of all time and winner of the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play, this heart-pounding drama is both a gripping historical play and a timely parable of our contemporary society.
(Not part of the subscription package, tickets only available through the Xavier Box Office)

December 15- 29, 2013
Every Christmas Story Every Told (And Then Some!)
by Michael Carleton, James FitzGerald, and John K. Alvarez
All of your favorite Beloved Holiday Classics crammed into 90 minutes of high octane jollity and frivolity. Three actors (with the help of a slightly tipsy Santa) send up everything from Dickens to Dr. Suess in this ever-evolving CSC holiday favorite. Back for an eighth straight year!
(Not part of the subscription package)

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company continues to offer audiences great value with affordable, flexible subscriptions that include eight flexible tickets that can be used in any combination for any performance. Adult Subscriptions are $220, Senior Subscriptions are $186, and Student Subscriptions are $130. Budget-conscious patrons can also subscribe to the company's preview series. A Preview Subscription is just $125 and includes eight tickets that can be used for any preview performance, typically Wednesday and Thursday evenings before Opening Night. All subscriptions are currently on sale now and may be purchased through the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company website www.cincyshakes.com or box office by calling 513-381-BARD (2273) ext. 1. Single tickets for all shows in the 20th Anniversary season are also now on sale.

The theater is located at 719 Race Street, downtown Cincinnati, two blocks west of the Aronoff Center. Single ticket prices range from $22-$31 on Thursday Nights and Sunday Matinees and from $26-$35 on Friday and Saturday Nights. Weekday Matinees at 10am are available for $12 a ticket for school, community, retirement, home school and other groups. Please contact the education department at 513.381.2273 ext. 3202 for more information about these and other educational offerings. Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted. Discounts are available for students, seniors and groups as well as Enjoy the Arts, AAA members, and ArtsWave Fun Card holders. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the CSC Box Office at 513.381.BARD (2273) ext. 1, or go online at www.cincyshakes.com.

SUBSCRIPTIONS:
Each includes 8 Flexible tickets
Adult Subscriptions $220
Senior (60+) Subscriptions $186
Student Subscriptions $130
Preview Subscriptions $125

SINGLE TICKET PRICES
Thursday & Sunday
Adult $31
Senior $27
Student $22

Friday & Saturday
Adult $35
Senior $31
Student $26

The 20th Anniversary Season is generously sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company receives operating support from The Ohio Arts Council and is supported, in part, by the generosity of thousands of individuals and businesses that give annually to ArtsWave. The season design sponsor is Judge Mark Painter. Production dates and info on the 20th Anniversary Season are available online.

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is a professional theatre company dedicated to bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for audiences of all ages. Located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, CSC produces a dozen mainstage productions each season. CSC employs a resident company of actors and artists who live and work in Cincinnati year-round, and performs on a Small Professional Theatre contract with Actors' Equity Association. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's Education and Outreach Programs see an average of 18,000 students each season by taking Shakespeare into schools, parks, community centers and by hosting educational matinees of mainstage productions at its home on Race Street. This season, CSC is proud to become one of only five theaters in the United States to "Complete the Canon" by producing all 38 plays by William Shakespeare. CSC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.

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