CYMBELINE Revealed as 2023 Shakespeare In The Park Touring Production

Milwaukee's Free Shakespeare in the Park (SITP) has announced its 2023 summer production will be the romantic-tragic-comedic Cymbeline. Building upon the success of the company's first two fully touring shows, A Midsummer Night's Dream: The Lovers' Tale (2021) and Twelfth Night: Or, What She Will (2022), this year's production will also travel the greater Milwaukee area.

Cymbeline is set to open July 9 and close on Aug. 13 with 10 outdoor matinee performances in the greater Milwaukee area. SITP will bring Shakespeare to neighborhoods throughout the city and beyond with a fully mobile set. Locations include Alverno College, Forest Home Cemetery, the Marcus Performing Arts Center lawn, and Washington, Humboldt, Sherman, Mitchell, Lincoln, Lake and King Parks. As always, performances will be free to attend, and online registration is strongly suggested.

Due to the success of the first 2 seasons of their touring production, demand for seating at most locations now far exceeds capacity. Optimist encourages audiences to come early in the season and consider performances in neighborhoods outside where they live.

New in 2023, the mobile set will showcase 30 feet of specially designed backdrops. Inspired by the Book of Kells, founding artistic director Ron Scot Fry designed and individually drew each of the 15 panels that will comprise the full set. His artwork will be vectored to scale and printed locally.

Cymbeline will be directed by M.L. Cogar, Optimist Theatre's resident dramaturg. Veteran Optimist team member Melissa Wanke* will return as Stage Manager. As with previous touring shows, Cogar has crafted a shorter version of the play for a smaller cast of actors, some playing multiple roles.

Speaking of the show's new take on the classic tale, M.L. Cogar said, "Cymbeline is often described as a dark fairy tale-a wronged princess, young lovers torn apart, an angry king who needs to learn kindness, and a cast of characters who suffer from their own mistakes. Ours will begin as dark fairy tale, but in true Shakespeare in the Park form, it will highlight the story that centers on the characters and their relationships, allowing our 8-actor cast to tell this epic whirlwind of a story in 90 minutes and to revel with our audience in the giddy movement from that dark fairy tale to the riotous and surprisingly modern comedy of the play's second half."

Optimist Executive Director Susan Scot Fry added, "Cymbeline is not one of Shakespeare's more frequently produced plays and we love a challenge. Is it a comedy - tragedy - romance? Digging into the script, it became apparent that Optimist's format for abridging plays to their essence works perfect for Cymbeline. Distilling and streamlining the storytelling turns this rom-trag-com into a great and engaging journey. As ML Cogar says it best: 'We don't teach people to love Shakespeare. We make Shakespeare people can love.'"

More information on the production is available on the Optimist Theatre website at www.optimisttheatre.org. For the very latest developments, follow Shakespeare in the Park on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ShaxParkMKE or sign up for the e-newsletter on the website. For more information on Optimist Theatre and all its various programs, email Susan Fry at ssfry@optimisttheatre.org.

Shakespeare in the Park is productions of Optimist Theatre, a 501(c)3 nonprofit theatre company whose roots date to 1993. Since 2010, SITP has presented free, professional live theatre to a cumulative audience of more than 25,000. These productions have employed more than 300 Wisconsin-area actors, crew, suppliers and vendors, primarily from the greater Milwaukee area.

All shows are free to see, yet all cast and crew are paid, thanks to donations from individuals who believe that Shakespeare in the Park is important - to Milwaukee, to the community - and a vital element of a city with a rich theater tradition. They are also supported by grants from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation's Marvin W. Haesle Fund for the Arts, Bader Philanthropies, The Bradley Foundation, Herzfeld Foundation, Milwaukee Arts Board, the United Performing Arts Fund, and others.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association