ACTING SHAKESPEARE: A ONE MAN MUSICAL to Play The Pocantico Center for Upstate Art Weekend
Kamran Saliani performs the 90-minute show at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center.
Kamran Saliani, actor-manager and founder of the Irvington Shakespeare Company, will bring Acting Shakespeare: A One Man Musical to the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center at Pocantico on Friday, June 26, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. The performance is presented in partnership with the Irvington Shakespeare Company as part of Upstate Art Weekend 2026.
An official revival of Sir Ian McKellen's legendary solo show of Shakespearean monologues and personal anecdotes, Acting Shakespeare: A One Man Musical has been reimagined by Saliani for contemporary audiences through music, history, humor, and an American lens. The 90-minute performance is presented with McKellen's personal blessing and enriched by insights from James Shapiro's Shakespeare in a Divided America, along with musical parodies inspired by the work of singer-songwriter and comedian Bo Burnham.
Pairing Shakespeare's scenes and soliloquies with storytelling, history, comedy, and song, the evening explores why Shakespeare still matters in America today and why great theater belongs to everyone.
"To bring this work to Pocantico during Upstate Art Weekend is deeply meaningful," said Saliani. "Sir Ian McKellen's Acting Shakespeare has become the center of my artistic mission. This version honors the original while asking what Shakespeare can reveal about our country, our divisions, our hopes, and our shared humanity right now."
Saliani founded the Irvington Shakespeare Company in 2021 and has since built the company around the belief that professional theater should be accessible, intimate, and rooted in community. His revival of Acting Shakespeare continues that mission, welcoming both lifelong Shakespeare lovers and audiences encountering the Bard for the first time.
The performance will take place outdoors on the terrace at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center. In the event of rain, seating will be moved indoors. The evening will be followed by a reception in the DR Center Gallery, currently showing Woven Wonders: Kykuit's Picasso Tapestries. Guests may also arrive early to enjoy the Sculpture Walk outside the DR Center.
Acting Shakespeare: A One Man Musical will be performed Friday, June 26, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center at Pocantico. Tickets are available through The Pocantico Center's event page.
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