William Shakespeare News

Ensemble Theatre's TheatreCLE concludes its 2013-2014 season with VOODOO MACBETH in collaboration with the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival. Originally written by William Shakespeare and adapted by Orson Welles, the production will be directed by Celeste Cosentino and Tyson Rand, opening May 23. The production plays Thurs.- Sat. at 8pm; Sunday at 2pm through June 8th. Preview performance: tonight, May 22nd.

'To be, or not to be' at the play...definitely TO BE! Come see Boiling Point Players inaugural production of In Juliet's Garden, a play for Shakespeare fans and newbies alike!

Boiling Point Players, an exciting new theatre company founded by Autumn Clack, Melanie Martin, and Ruth S. McCleskey, has announced its inaugural season opening today, May 22, 2014.

From a cheesesteak eating competition to catcalling and personal love letters, the 5th annual SoLow Fest is in its biggest year with more than 40 solo performances.

The race is on to perform William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night tonight, May 21, 2014 at The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto. These Challengers have volunteered their time and talent, and have committed to selling 7 tickets each to their friends, family, and colleagues for the gala performance!

The Shakespeare Players program of the Rochester Community Players will present eleven performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare, July 5 to 19, 2014. Performances will be presented every night between July 5 and 19, except Mondays and Thursdays. All performance times are 8:00 PM. There is no admission charge for this FREE Shakespeare in the Park production (donations will be solicited).

South Coast Repertory's 2014-15 season moves from the Mediterranean island in Shakespeare's The Tempest to Cornwall in a new take on the classic Tristan & Yseult, from Mecca in Zealot by Theresa Rebeck to an updated look at the Land of Oz in OZ 2.5 by Catherine Trieschmann. SCR will present classic, contemporary and new works, including Mr. Wolf by Rajiv Joseph, Of Good Stock by Melissa Ross and Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice. Season subscriptions are available now; single tickets will go on sale on Aug. 1.

Beginning today, May 20, West Side Story will be available for an exclusive early download from iTunes.com/SFSymphony where it is now available for pre-order.

The Heights Players ('Yentl,' 'Doubt'), a not-for-profit theater company based in Brooklyn, closes its 58th season with the seminal theatrical piece WEST SIDE STORY, which features book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and original direction and choreography by Jerome Robbins. Thomas N. Tyler ('A Chorus Line,' 'Finian's Rainbow') directs this production, which runs until Sunday, May 25, at 26 Willow Place, Brooklyn, N.Y.

As one of the first fully produced Young Company productions, Fist Stage and their First Stage Theater Academy presents this premiere organization of high school talent in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at Milwaukee's Golda Meir School. The production marks a collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts and their program Shakespeare for a New Generation in an effort to expose teens to the wonders of the classic literature.

Harrisburg Shakespeare Company is celebrating its twenty-first year performing in Reservoir Park, and is bringing to the stage, William Shakespeare's ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. Performances will be held at the Levitt Pavilion in Reservoir Park, Harrisburg, May 30-31, June 4-7, and 11-14 at 7:30 p.m.

Bare Theatre concludes its bombastic ninth season with Two Noble Kinsmen: Fire & Shadows, a theatre/circus spectacle with food trucks in the beautiful outdoor setting beside the Raleigh Rose Garden. Following the critical and popular success of last summer's The Comedy of Errors, the company again teams up with Raleigh circus school Cirque de Vol Studios for a night of stunning drama, thrilling circus acts, pyrotechnics and shadow play. Alan Hall of CVNC said of The Comedy of Errors:

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival opens its outdoor theatre the weekend of June 13-15 with two Shakespeare productions, Richard III, directed by James Bundy, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona, directed by Sarah Rasmussen. Also opening is Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical Into the Woods, directed by Amanda Dehnert. The shows will close the weekend of October 10-12.

The 80th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon is being held this afternoon, May 16, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, where winners will be announced for Distinguished Production of a Play, Distinguished Production of a Musical, Distinguished Revival of a Play, Distinguished Revival of a Musical, and the much coveted Distinguished Performance Award. This year's event, which began at noon, is hosted by Broadway veteran Jesse Tyler Ferguson. BroadwayWorld is updating the winners live! Check back in to find out who took home the big awards!

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Diane Paulus, Artistic Director and William Russo, Managing Director; present the last production of its 2013/14 Season, THE TEMPEST, adapted and directed by Aaron Posner and Teller from the play by William Shakespeare, with magic by Teller, music by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, and movement by Matt Kent of Pilobolus.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST), the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District and Boeing partner to present the annual citywide summer tradition, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks. This summer, 26 performances of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream travel to 18 neighborhood parks across Chicago, FREE FOR ALL, July 18-August 17, 2014. From Hamilton Park and Garfield Park Conservatory to the South Shore Cultural Center and Gage Park, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks activates communities and breaks down barriers to arts participation, giving Chicagoans direct access to their City's cultural treasures. In its third year, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks returns to 18 communities, truly establishing the program as a Chicago summer tradition and deepening relationships with neighbors, community leaders and local businesses.

Although outside it still feels like winter in West Michigan, inside the Dog Story Theatre, it is midsummer! The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company has created a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream that is sparkling with vitality and physical energy.

Shrunken Shakespeare Company and Pulp Variety Streamcast members starred in new authorized adaptation of IDW's Graphic Novel Kill Shakespeare on Sunday, May 11 at The Kraine Theater. Cast members included Yvonne Cone (Shakespeare & Co, SSC, TBG), Jennifer Martina (SSC, PVS), Sam Parrott (Shakespeare & Co, SSC), Michael Moreno (Shakespeare Forum: Merchant of Venice; Shakespeare & Co.: All's Well...), Sketkh Williams (PVS), Robert Davenport (SSC, UCB), Eric Chase (One Life to Live, SSC, PVS), Amanda Baumler (SSC, PVS), Matt Golden (PVS), Equiano Mosieri (Shakespeare & Co: Romeo and Juliet; Berkshire Theatre Fest), Richard Templeton (PVS), and Adam Luke (PVS).

During the summer month weekends, the Royal Shakespeare Company's outdoor theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, The Dell, will play host to a range of lively student, community and semi-professional productions. Performances kick off on Saturday 7 June, and continue until Sunday 31 August.

Tonight at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Stratford-upon-Avon home, the RSC's Henry IV Part I will be filmed for "Live from Stratford-upon-Avon," the RSC program that screens the world's greatest classical theatre company from Shakespeare's home town around the world through a continued partnership with Picturehouse Entertainment. It will be seen in US cinemas from June 3 - July 3, and will be seen in 315 UK cinemas live tonight, with further screenings there tomorrow.