Matthew F. Lewandowski II Joins Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival As Director Of Production

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival has announced the appointment of Matthew F. Lewandowski II as its Director of Production. With a distinguished career spanning continents and encompassing an array of director roles in the performing arts, Lewandowski brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his new position.

Having traversed the Americas, the Far East, and Europe, Lewandowski has served in pivotal roles for the National Tours of Cats, Crazy for You, and Disney on Ice. His contributions extend beyond the realm of theatrical tours, having also acted as Director of Production and Lighting Designer for the New York City-based, international dance company, Shen Wei Dance Arts.

His additional lighting design credits feature collaborations with Harlem's Apollo Theater for the New York City Hip-Hop Theater Festival; New Year's Eve at the prestigious Hammerstein Ballroom with the indie-rock band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah; various productions at Ballet Hartford, and the University of Hartford; and Shen Wei's world premiere of “Collective Measures” at the American Dance Festival.

His notable production director credits include the acclaimed chamber music festival Music@Menlo, based in the San Francisco Bay Area; the New York Musical Theatre Festival; American Repertory Ballet; North Carolina Theatre; Philadelphia Theatre Company; Performance Garage; and the Tony Award-winning Crossroads Theatre Company.

Lewandowski holds a degree in Music Direction and Conducting from Connecticut's The Hartt School, the internationally acclaimed performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford. Hailing from Philadelphia, he is eager to bring his passion for the arts and his wealth of experience to the esteemed Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.

“We are thrilled to have Matthew join PSF. His experience, values, knowledge, and passion for theatre-making align perfectly with our mission and our vision,” said Jason King Jones, Artistic Director. “With Matthew on the team, we are sure to create some incredible performances for the Valley.” 

For more information about the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and its upcoming Summer 2024 productions, visit pashakespeare.org.

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, the official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, features acclaimed actors from Broadway, television, and film, and is summer home to over 200 artists from around the country, including winners and nominees of the Tony, Obie, Emmy, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Jefferson, and Barrymore Awards.

About Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival is the only professional Equity theatre of its scope and scale within a 50-mile radius. PSF is one of only a handful of theatres on the continent producing Shakespeare, musicals, classics, and contemporary plays, all of which can normally be seen in repertory and in multiple spaces within a few visits in a single summer season. Similarly, PSF was among just a handful of theatres on the continent in recent summers to produce three Shakespeare plays in a single summer season. A patron would have to travel seven to nine hours from PSF to find a comparable range of offerings at a single theatre within a few weeks' time.

The Festival's award-winning company of many world-class artists includes Broadway, film, and television veterans, and winners and nominees of the Tony, Emmy, Obie, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Jefferson, Hayes, Lortel, and Barrymore Awards. A leading Shakespeare theatre with a national reputation for excellence, PSF has received coverage in The Washington Post, NPR, American Theatre Magazine, Playbill.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The New York Times identified PSF as one of the leading summer theatre festivals in the nation. “A world-class theater experience on a par with the top Bard fests,” is how one New York Drama Desk reviewer characterized PSF.

Founded in 1992 and the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, PSF's mission is to enrich, inspire, engage, and entertain the widest possible audience through first-rate productions of classical and contemporary plays, with a core commitment to Shakespeare and other master dramatists, and through an array of education and mentorship programs. A not-for-profit theatre, PSF receives significant support from its host, DeSales University, from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Traditionally, with 150 performances over ten weeks, the Festival attracts patrons each summer from 30+ states. In 32 years, PSF has offered 200+ total productions (82 Shakespeare), and entertained 1,000,000+ patrons from 50 states, now averaging 34,000-40,000 in attendance each summer season, plus another 13,000 students each year through its WillPower Tour to schools. PSF is a multi-year recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts: Shakespeare in American Communities, and is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group, and the Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA). In 2013, leaders of the world's premiere Shakespeare theatres gathered at PSF as the Festival hosted the international STA Conference. The Festival's vision is for world-class theatre.

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