Kevin Gudahl, Diane D'Aquila Photo

From: Photo Flash: First Look at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's ELIZABETH REX

Chicago Shakespeare Theater's (CST) 25th Anniversary Season includes Elizabeth Rex, directed by CST Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and playing in CST's Courtyard Theater now through January 22, 2012. Set in Shakespeare's time, Timothy Findley's Elizabeth Rex is a fictional drama based on an obscure historical fact: on the eve of the beheading of her court favorite and rumored lover, the Earl of Essex, Queen Elizabeth was entertained with a royal command performance by William Shakespeare and his company. Findley's daring and original play imagines the troubled Queen's impassioned confrontation with an ailing actor-who dares to reveal the woman buried beneath the role of the 'Virgin Queen.'