Classical Theatre to Present HAMLET & More for 2013-14 Main Stage Season

The Classical Theatre Company (CTC) is entering the company's sixth season, and is proud to announce the plays that make up its three full Mainstage productions in 2013-2014: William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, and finally The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. "We have an all-star line up of three of the greatest plays by three of the greatest English language playwrights," says CTC Executive Artistic Director John Johnston.

CTC is excited to be housed by Dance Source Houston at the Barnevelder Arts Complex for the company's 2013-2014 season. All of CTC's Main Stage productions will be performed at the newly managed complex located at 2201 Preston Street.

The Classical Theatre Company prides itself on producing only plays that are one hundred or more years old,

and is the only professional theatre company in the state of Texas devoted solely to the production of year round classical drama.

CLASSICAL THEATRE COMPANY'S 2013-2014 MAINSTAGE SEASON:

HAMLET
by William Shakespeare
Directed by John Johnston
September 11 - September 29, 2013
Barnevelder Arts Complex
2201 Preston Street

Without question Hamlet is the most examined, produced, and popular play in the western world. Packed with some of the most famous speeches and lines ever written, it is a play which has fascinated artists, scholars, and the general public since its first production in 1601. Regarded by most to be William Shakespeare's masterpiece, Hamlet will be CTC's first full production of the play, having produced a one-man adaption in 2008.

Hamlet is a play rife with scheming, murder, incest, and the supernatural. Shortly following his father's sudden death, Prince Hamlet's mother remarries with his uncle - setting forth a chain reaction of intrigue that launches Hamlet down the path to find his father's killer, and get vengeance upon hiM. Starring Classical Theatre Company Resident Acting Company member Matthew Keenan in the title role, Hamlet is a production not to be missed.

DOCTOR FAUSTUS
by Christopher Marlowe
January 29 - February 16, 2014
2201 Preston Street

A complex play exploring the complex nature of the relationship between man and God, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus follows the story of a Doctor who, fed up with scholarly pursuits, sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for 24 years of knowledge and power.

With a demon as at his beck and call and the dark arts at his disposal, Faustus travels the world satisfying his gluttonous need for power. His encounters with the likes of dragons, angels, Helen of Troy, and the Seven Deadly Sins, leads to both humorous adventures and heartfelt problems of faith and morality.

In the end, introspection does little to save the good doctor and as his 24 years come to a close, the debt collector comes knocking.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
by Oscar Wilde
Directed by Thomas Prior
April 9 - April 27, 2014
2201 Preston Street

Oscar Wilde's most famous, and most successful, play, The Importance of Being Earnest is an outrageously witty and implausibly farcical comedy about marriage and manners. Jack Worthington, known as Earnest in the city, struggles to keep his two lives separate as he juggles the affections of Gwendolen and Cecily. When Gwendolen unexpectedly visits the country, a romp of bewildered suitors, secret rendezvous, and witty wordplay ensues.

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