Shakespeare Downtown to Present Free Performances Of New Stage Adaptation Of THE LADY OF THE CAMELLIAS

Lower Manhattan's Shakespeare Downtown will present a new adaptation of Alexandre Dumas fils' "The Lady of the Camellias." Adapted by Billie Andersson, "The Lady of the Camellias" combines dialogue from Dumas' novel (considerably different from Dumas's stage play) with text and structural concepts from the libretto of the opera "La Traviata." The fully-realized production is performed inside the open-air walls of Castle Clinton. The show is free and plays Thursdays-Sundays at 6:30 p.m. from June 15 - June 25, 2023 at Castle Clinton National Monument at The Battery. Tickets are available at the door at 5:45 p.m. on the day of the performance. Directed by Geoffrey Horne.

In this new adaptation, Dumas' novel and parts of the libretto from the opera "La Traviata" are combined to tell the tragic love story between Marguerite Gautier (Billie Andersson), a courtesan suffering from consumption, and Armand Duval (Zack Ignoffo), a young bourgeois.

Set in mid-19th century France, a courtesan suffering from consumption named Marguerite (and nicknamed "The Lady of the Camellias" because she wears a red camellia when she is indisposed, and a white camellia when she is available to her lovers), and Armand, a young bourgeois, fall in love. After Armand convinces her to leave her courtesan life to live with him in the countryside, their plan is interrupted by Armand's father Georges Duval who is concerned with the scandal created by the illicit relationship that will destroy his son's future. Marguerite agrees to sacrifice herself for Armand's family and leaves him. When Armand shows up at her deathbed thinking she left him for another man, he pledges to love her even after her death.

The company includes: *Billie Andersson (Marguerite Gautier), Zack Ignoffo (Armand Duval), *Craig Braun (Georges Duval), Chantal van Zyl (Prudence Duvernoy), Sanna Izmirlian (Nanine), Evan Olson (Gaston Rieux), Rickard Claeson (Baron de Varville), Jazz-Ella Reveilleau (Flora Bervoix), Archie Colville (Comte de Giray), Prabal Panjabi (Doctor Grenvil).

*Member of Actors' Equity Association / AEA approved showcase