Kentucky Shakespeare Announces 64th Season of Free Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Central Park

Kentucky Shakespeare, the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth, has announced the 64th annual free Kentucky Shakespeare Festival May 29-August 11, 2024, at the C. Douglas Ramey Amphitheater in Old Louisville's Central Park. 

“We are delighted to share an exciting season in Central Park, full of comedy, romance, and magic for the 64th season of your Kentucky Shakespeare Festival! The 2024 eleven-week season features sixty-two performances, seven productions, all presented absolutely free to audience members,” said Matt Wallace, Producing Artistic Director. “We'll kick off the main stage season with a beautiful production of Romeo and Juliet, followed by the hilarious hijinks of the farce The Comedy of Errors, and Shakespeare's magical final play, the comedy The Tempest. The season will again feature two weeks of rotating repertory in July in which all three productions will rotate nightly.”

In addition to the three main stage productions, Kentucky Shakespeare will present Julius Caesar by their Globe Players professional training program for high school students, plus Shakespeare in Dance: Lady Lear from Louisville Ballet. Late-night performances return with Late Night Shakes, a Shakespearean improvisation comedy show from the Louisville Improvisors and GLOBE Arm Wrestling from the Louisville Fringe Festival featuring Shakespeare characters going arm-to-arm in a unique live theatrical experience. The Kids' Globe tent will open an hour before every performance during the summer with free interactive arts-based activities tied to the production, and various community groups will perform pre-shows at 7:15PM nightly throughout the summer.

All performances are presented free of charge at Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Central Park, the longest-running non-ticketed Shakespeare festival in the United States.

A variety of 60+ food trucks from the Louisville Food Truck Association will rotate nightly throughout the summer with 2-3 per night, plus Will's Tavern (a Brown-Forman Bar) and Will's Gift Shop.
 

Nightly Schedule

6:00pm Food Trucks Open

7:00pm Will's Tavern, Will's Gift Shop, and Kids' Globe open

7:15pm Community Pre-Show Performance

8:00pm Production Begins

Please visit kyshakespeare.com for more information and schedules.

 

The 2024 Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Central Park:

Romeo and Juliet

by William Shakespeare

Directed by Matt Wallace

May 29-June 16; July 17, 20, 23, 26 (no performances on Mondays or Tuesdays in June)

“Did my heart love till now?”

The season kicks off with the beloved, timeless tale of star-crossed lovers caught between two worlds. Romance leads to loss, then grace, in this beautiful and tragic love story.

 

The Comedy of Errors

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Amy Attaway

June 20-30; July 16, 19, 24, 27 (no performances on Mondays or Tuesdays in June)

“I to the world am like a drop of water

That in the ocean seeks another drop.”

Laughter abounds in this madcap comedy - a farcical tale of long-lost siblings, mistaken identities, love at first sight, and happily-ever-afters.

 

The Tempest

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Matt Wallace

July 5-14; July 18, 21, 25, 28 (no performances on Mondays)

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on.”

Shakespeare's final play is a testament to the redeeming power of love and forgiveness – featuring fools, spirits, monsters, shipwrecks, and magical spells. 

 

Kentucky Shakespeare's Globe Players

Julius Caesar

Directed by Kyle Ware

July 31-August 4

Kentucky Shakespeare's Globe Players professional training program take the stage, directed by Director of Education Kyle Ware. The cast is comprised of students from multiple area high schools and the production is the culmination of a five-week training program.

 

Louisville Ballet

Shakespeare in Dance: Lady Lear

August 7-11

The final week of the summer season, Louisville Ballet returns for an eighth season to present Lady Lear, an original dance piece with choreography by Roger Creel and score by Scott Moore. Inspired by Shakespeare's King Lear, the piece premiered on the Festival stage in 2017.

 

Louisville Improvisors

Late Night Shakes

Improvised Shakespeare

10:15PM on June 8, June 29, and July 20 

The Louisville Improvisors return for a ninth year with Late Night Shakes on select Saturdays, bringing late night improvised Shakespeare plays created from audience suggestions.

 

Louisville Fringe Festival presents

GLOBE Arm Wrestling

10:15PM on June 15, July 13, and July 27

Louisville Fringe Festival returns for a second season, presenting this hilarious late night show featuring Shakespeare characters and professional wrestling style antics, going arm-to-arm in this unique live theatrical event.

ASL interpretation will be provided for the following performances: Thursday, June 6 for Romeo and Juliet, Thursday, June 27 for The Comedy of Errors, Thursday, July 11 for The Tempest, and Thursday, August 1 for Globe Players production. (For all ASL scheduled performances, the makeup rain date will be the following evening.)
 

DESIGNERS

Designers include Eric Allgeier (Scenic Designer), Casey Clark (Lighting Designer), Laura Ellis (Sound Designer), Donna Lawrence-Downs (Costume Designer), Megan Bliss (Choreographer, Romeo and Juliet), Alfie Jones (Choreographer, Comedy of Errors and The Tempest), Eric Frantz (Fight Choreographer, Romeo and Juliet), Hannah Pruitt (Intimacy Director), and Gregory Maupin (Dramaturg/Editor).

 

2024 ACTING COMPANY

The 2024 Acting Company features Mary Audrey Baunjoko, Tajleed Hardy, Brian Hinds, Jon Huffman, Justin Jackson, Ebony Jordan, Georgette Kleier, Tom Luce, Abigail Bailey Maupin, Gregory Maupin, Mollie Murk, Brittany “BeeBee” Patillo, Jennifer Pennington, Jennifer Reyes, Neill Robertson, Krystal Waller, Kyle Ware, Nick Wills, and Crystian Wiltshire.

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