Tunie, Robins Lead The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Fall Season

Two of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's leading ladies will take the stage during the fall portion of the Theatre's 2010 season. The Theatre has announced that Tamara Tunie will join the cast of William Shakespeare's comedy All's Well that Ends Well (September 15 through October 10) in the role of the Countess of Rossillion, and Laila Robins will play Queen Eleanor in The Lion in Winter by James Goldman (October 20 through November 14). For tickets or more information, call the box office at 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org. Discount 4-play and 3-play ticket packages are also available.

Tamara Tunie last appeared on The Shakespeare Theatre stage in Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 2005. Fans of Law and Order will recognize her as medical examiner Melinda Warner on the NBC hit television show Law and Order:SVU. Her Broadway credits include Calphurnia in Julius Caesar opposite Denzel Washington, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music with Lena Horne, and Oh Kay! At The Shakespeare Theatre, she also appeared in Tartuffe, Antony and Cleopatra and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. As a Broadway producer, Ms. Tunie produced the Tony Award and Drama Desk award-winning musical Spring Awakening and Radio Golf. Ms. Tunie directed the upcoming film See You In September.

Not seen on The Shakespeare Theatre stage in more than a decade, this new vision of Shakespeare's mercurial romance All's Well That Ends Well features an ensemble cast of nine actors switching identities as the play moves from Rossillion to Paris to Florence and back again. Whether the story ends well or not is often a matter of debate and that has made this tale compelling to audiences for more than four centuries. All's Well that Ends Well begins performances on September 15 and continues through October 10.

Laila Robins returns to The Shakespeare Theatre for her twelfth season to play Queen Eleanor in The Lion in Winter. Most recently she appeared in Noises Off, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Cherry Orchard. Her Broadway credits include Heartbreak House, The Herbal Bed, The Real Thing and Frozen for which she received a Lucille Lortell nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Most recently, Ms. Robins appeared in the critically acclaimed production of That Face at Manhattan Theatre Club. Her film credits include The Good Shepherd directed by Robert De Niro, True Crime, and Planes Trains and Automobiles. Her television credits include Bored to Death, 30 Rock, In Treatment, The Sopranos, and Sex and the City.

The Lion in Winter, a wickedly biting "domestic comedy" of a dysfunctional family dynasty in the year 1183 was nominated for two Tony Awards when it opened on Broadway in 1966. It was later made into an Academy Award-winning film. Few families can boast a more ferocious power struggle than that of the Plantagenet family. In The Lion in Winter the battlefield is a psychological one where the weapons of choice are sharp-edged words, acerbic humor and emotional grenades packed with the bitter shrapnel of the past. The Lion in Winter begins performances on October 20 and runs through November 14.

Additional casting will be announced shortly.

Tickets
Full price single tickets are now on sale and range in price from $31 to $54 depending on performance day and time. Single ticket prices include a $2 facility fee not subject to discount. For tickets, call the box office at 973-408-5600, visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org or email boxoffice@shakespearenj.org.

Save with Discount Ticket Packages
4-play and 3-play choose-your-own discount ticket packages are now on sale. The discount ticket packages feature up to 40% percent savings off the cost of regular tickets, the best seats to all Main Stage productions; free, easy and unlimited ticket exchanges should schedules change; discounts on additional tickets; and the convenience of having tickets in hand and dates scheduled in advance. Choose-your-own 4-play and 3-Play ticket packages start at $80. Call The Shakespeare Theatre Box Office at 973-408-5600. Call the box office at 973-408-5600. Look for more information at www.ShakespeareNJ.org.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Main Stage, the 308-seat F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, is conveniently located in Madison at 36 Madison Avenue (Route 124) at Lancaster Road (on the Drew University campus), just minutes from routes 287, 78 and 10. Parking is free.

The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre is barrier free with access into the Theatre via a ramp and elevator access to all floors. Wheelchair seating and transfer seating is available. Braille and large print programs are available. Infrared listening devices are available free of charge. Some performances are audio described. Contact the theatre for more information. For more information, or to purchase tickets, call 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org.

The acclaimed Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is an independent, professional theatre company located on the Drew University campus. One of the leading Shakespeare theatres in the nation, serving 100,000 adults and children annually, it is New Jersey's only professional theatre company dedicated solely to Shakespeare's canon and other world classics. Through its distinguished productions and education programs, the company strives to illuminate the universal and lasting relevance of the classics for contemporary audiences.

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