BLACKLIST Star Harry Lennix Releases Statement in Support of Michigan Shakespeare Festival

Actor Harry Lennix (MAN OF STEEL, THE BLACKLIST) released a statement supporting the Michigan Shakespeare Festival and their new expansion to Wayne County.

"The Michigan Shakespeare Festival's expansion to the Village Theater in Canton is as much a sign of a mandate as it is proof of a mission," says Lennix. "It is proof that Shakespeare is forever our contemporary, and that a fresh vision of his masterful work can and will continue to sustain new generations in The Living Theater. Bravo to you, MSF! And long may you thrive."

A noted Shakespearean, Lennix famously starred as Aaron the Moor in Julie Taymor's TITUS. He currently appears as Director Harold Cooper on the hit TV series THE BLACKLIST, and plays General Swanwick in the upcoming BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. He is has just finished filming H4, a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry IV, which the MSF performs this season, alongside A Midsummer Night's Dream and Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedic romp The Rivals.

"Not content to merely brush off classical plays and mount museum pieces," adds Lennix, "MSF confirms my long held belief that the greatest classics need not be made relevant to us, rather we must make ourselves relevant to them. The Canton expansion is a manifest sign, yes, but the expansion is also metaphysical. It will broaden the souls and thoughts of Michiganders and attract all who love great theater from the region and the world."

Lennix joins the ranks of Dame Judi Dench, Stacy Keach, Julianna Margulies, Olivia Hussey, and Leonard Whiting, all of whom have voiced support for the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, the Official Shakespeare Festival of the State of Michigan.

"I cannot express what Harry's support means to us," says MSF Artistic Director Janice L Blixt. "It's rare to find such talent and gravitas mixed with such generosity and grace. Having him as a festival champion is priceless."

The most award-winning theatre in the state, the Michigan Shakespeare Festival's current season has received rave reviews during its July performances in longtime home of Jackson. Of the expansion to the Village Theatre, the Detroit Free Press says, "There is now no excuse for not seeing what remains the area's best and most consistent staging of history's greatest playwright."

From July 29 through August 16, the MSF performs William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Henry IV, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals, at the Village Theatre of Cherry Hill in Canton, Michigan. Encore Michigan calls these shows "top-drawer", "epic", and "a thing of beauty." The Detroit Free Press calls the MSF "the state's premier place to experience Shakespeare."

Tickets and more information are available at www.MichiganShakespeareFestival.com. Or call the Village Theatre box office at 734-394-5300.

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