Kentucky Shakespeare Offers Free Outdoor Performances

Kentucky Shakespeare celebrates its 54th summer season of free featuring eight productions over 10 weeks totaling 56 performances. This is the oldest fhttp://kyshakespeare.comree Shakespeare festival in the United States. Kentucky Shakespeare is also the largest, in-school education provider in the Commonwealth.

This year celebrates the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, so it is fitting that Shakespeare in the Park presents comedies, tragedies and histories across the summer months. Overall, the summer will include:

Three productions with an ensemble cast of 17 professional actors. It's been 25 years since three professional productions have been mounted in one season by the company.

A Globe Players student production.

New this summer is Community Partners Weeks: Walden Theatre, Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company, Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble and ShoeString Productions will each present a different Shakespeare play.

Commonality Across the Performance Weeks:

Where: C. Douglas Ramey Amphitheatre; Central Park in Old Louisville; (1300 block South 4th Street - 40208)

Time: 7:15 p.m. pre-show entertainment; 8:00 p.m. production start

Cost: FREE, no ticketing required

Refreshments: Food available for purchase by L'ville Food Truck Assoc.; Full-service bar provided by Brown-Forman spirits

Information: (502) 574-9900 and http://kyshakespeare.com

The Season Schedule:

Three Kentucky Shakespeare professional productions start the season in Central Park.

A Midsummer Night's Dream (Director: Matt Wallace): Preview: June 11th; Nightly: June 12th - 22nd, July 16th, 19th, and 24th

Henry V (Director: Amy Attaway): Preview: June 26th; Nightly: June 27th - July 6th, 17th, 20th, and 22nd

Hamlet (Director: Matt Wallace): Preview: July 10th; Nightly: July 11th - 13th, 15th, 18th, 23rd, and, 27th

NOTE: A marathon evening of Shakespeare is scheduled for July 26th: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Henry V and Hamlet will be done all in one evening.

There is more.

A special student production by the Globe Players is Love's Labour's Lost.

Preview: July 30th
Nightly: July 31st - August 3rd

Community Partners Productions

New this summer is four productions, performed in rotating repertory over two weeks -- each by a different Louisville theater company.

Le Petomane presents As You Like It on August 5th, 7th and 9th.

Walden Theatre presents Pericles on August 6th, 8th and 10th.

Savage Rose presents King Lear on August 13th, 15th and 17th.

Shoestring Productions presents Women of Will on August 12th, 14th and 16th. This play is a compilation of scenes and monologues of Shakespeare's women characters from comedies to tragedies.

Mark your calendars now for enjoying summer evenings under the stars with great theater presented by Louisville's great theater companies.