American Shakespeare Center Announces Fall Season

American Shakespeare Center (ASC) finishes its 35th Anniversary Season and its celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio with a flourish, with vivid portrayals of two of Shakespeare's most complex and compelling characters: the bitter, tortured prince Hamlet and the proud, relentless warrior Coriolanus.

The players will also continue the merry run of Much Ado About Nothing through November 19. All performances will take place in the beautiful Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, the world's only re-creation of Shakespeare's original indoor theater.

"Again and again, we turn to Shakespeare for the words to describe the workings of the heart," said ASC Artistic Director Brandon Carter. "In the rage of Hamlet and the unbending pride of Coriolanus we find the emotions that sear our souls--only to find our hearts melting as all-healing love finds the reluctant couples of Much Ado About Nothing. Imagine the poverty of our language without Shakespeare! In the company of these indelible and all-too-human characters, enrapt by Shakespeare's immortal words, we close our 35th Anniversary season."

HAMLET

SEPTEMBER 28-NOVEMBER 18, 2023

A royal family unravels in this thrilling drama. Shattered by his father's death and horrified by his mother's hasty remarriage to his scheming uncle, Denmark's Prince Hamlet plots revenge, feigning madness that soon consumes him. Plot and counterplot build to a devastating finale as Hamlet's obsession finally destroys everyone around him. Cameron Knight (Utah Shakespeare Festival) makes his ASC debut as director of this engrossing production, which features an intriguing casting twist at its heart: ASC veteran actor Meg Rodgers plays Hamlet and Artistic Director Brandon Carter plays Ophelia.

CORIOLANUS

OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 18, 2023

Class war and the struggle for equity and justice were unlikely themes for a theater company called the King's Men, but Shakespeare's Coriolanus pits a leader whose pride places him so far above his subjects that he can scarcely hide his disdain. When hunger drives the people to sedition, Coriolanus wins back their regard in feats of battle-only to lose their faith and his life. Unbending pride and untrammeled power make a deadly mix in this riveting tragedy. Coriolanus is an "Actors' Renaissance" production, with the players staging the show with no director. Like the actors in Shakespeare's day, it falls to them find the pace and passion in every line, creating a bond between the players as well as with the audience. For the audience, it's an experience that led Washington Post theatre critic Peter Marks to declare: "I arrived a skeptic, I left a believer."

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

THROUGH NOVEMBER 19, 2023

One of Shakespeare's most beloved romantic comedies! You'll feel joy of love won and the ache of love lost as this story makes you laugh, breaks your heart, and then somehow puts it back together again. This merry play, staged in ASC's "Actor's Renaissance" tradition, has been delighting audiences since July-don't miss the final performances this fall!

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