Skip to main content Skip to footer site map

San Francisco Shakespeare Festival Announces Play and Director For Summer 2023 Season

The summer 2023 Free Shakespeare in the Park production will be Shakespeare's rarely produced Cymbeline.

San Francisco Shakespeare Festival Announces Play and Director For Summer 2023 Season

San Francisco Shakespeare Festival has announced that its summer 2023 Free Shakespeare in the Park production will be Shakespeare's rarely produced Cymbeline.

The play will be directed by Festival Resident Artist Maryssa Wanlass.

Maryssa's numerous Free Shakespeare performances include Much Ado About Nothing (2022); Pericles, Prince of Tyre (2021); As You Like it (2019), Hamlet (2017);The Winter's Tale (2016); and Macbeth (2013).

Maryssa began work at SF Shakes as Lady M in the school and community tour of Macbeth (2011-2012), and since then has been drawn to the many ways that SF Shakes engages with communities.

Additionally Maryssa is a member of the SF Shakes Engagement team, currently working with Shakespeare for All Neighbors, a storytelling workshop series taking place at The Healing Well in San Francisco's Tenderloin. "We believe that everyone has a story to tell that is as important as William Shakespeare's," says Wanlass. "With Shakespeare for all Neighbors, we help connect people with their creativity to experience the joy of storytelling."

Cymbeline, Shakespeare's epic romantic adventure, is believed to be one his final plays and is widely considered one of his greatest achievements. It features a dazzling mix of comedy, tragedy, and fairy tale that concludes with inventive scenes of revelation and reconciliation. The play was selected by the company's Resident Artists, who felt that this play's sweeping story would help remind us of the power of live theater and the joy of coming together to share an epic experience.

Cymbeline returns to perform in Cupertino, Redwood City, and San Francisco (see dates and times below.) In this tale King Cymbeline of Britain has banished Posthumus who has secretly married his daughter, Princess Imogen. A series of unimaginable misadventures ensue that test the strength of their commitment to each other.

This will be the company's second production of Cymbeline, having previously staged it in 2011. Director Wanlass is interested in the fairytale quality of this story, and wants to lean in to the archetypal characters and set the play in an alternate universe fantasy realm. Casting will reflect the many communities for which SF Shakes performs, and the main love story between Imogen and Posthumus will be told with a queer lens.

Expect big performances, music, delicious villains and ultimately a family-friendly coming of age story.

Free Shakespeare in the Park returns this summer. All are invited to attend at no charge. We look forward to seeing you there!

Shows will take place at:

Cupertino's Memorial Park:

July 22-August 6 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 6:00 pm

Redwood City's Red Morton Park:

August 12-27 on Saturdays and Sundays at 6:00 pm

San Francisco's McLaren Park: September 2-10, on Saturdays, Sundays, and Labor Day Monday at 2:00 pm.



Video: SIX Tour Queens Sing National Anthem for San Francisco Warriors Photo
Watch as The Queens of SIX's Aragon Tour performed the National Anthem for the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, March 11, 2023.

Review: FANNIE - THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Photo
What did our critic think of FANNIE - THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley?

Front Porch to Present A Showcase Of Local Musical Talent Photo
Town Hall Theatre will kick off a quarterly performance series featuring local musicians performing well-known as well as original songs in an entertaining evening for the whole family. Entitled Front Porch Presents, the first show will happen on Friday, April 7th at 7:00pm on the stage at Town Hall Theatre and will feature special guest, Lafayette's Stevie Coyle of The Quitters, along with eight other musical acts. 

Bay Area Cabaret to Welcome FUNNY GIRLs Julie Benko with Jason Yeager in April Photo
Bay Area Cabaret will present the highly anticipated cabaret debut of Julie Benko, Broadway's sensational Funny Girl standby-to-breakout star as Fanny Brice, and Jason Yeager, the highly praised jazz pianist-composer, in their new hit show, Hand in Hand, on Sunday, April 16 at 5 p.m., at the elegant Venetian Room.


More Hot Stories For You


Bay Area Cabaret to Welcome FUNNY GIRL's Julie Benko with Jason Yeager in AprilBay Area Cabaret to Welcome FUNNY GIRL's Julie Benko with Jason Yeager in April
March 18, 2023

Bay Area Cabaret will present the highly anticipated cabaret debut of Julie Benko, Broadway's sensational Funny Girl standby-to-breakout star as Fanny Brice, and Jason Yeager, the highly praised jazz pianist-composer, in their new hit show, Hand in Hand, on Sunday, April 16 at 5 p.m., at the elegant Venetian Room.

Diablo Regional Arts Association Names Paige Hernandez as First-Ever Artist in ResidenceDiablo Regional Arts Association Names Paige Hernandez as First-Ever Artist in Residence
March 17, 2023

Diablo Regional Arts Association has named acclaimed performer, director, choreographer, and playwright Paige Hernandez as its first-ever Artist in Residence.

San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program's Schwabacher Recital Series Continues in AprilSan Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program's Schwabacher Recital Series Continues in April
March 17, 2023

The 39th season of the Schwabacher Recital Series, presented by San Francisco Opera Center and the Merola Opera Program, continues Wednesday, April 12 with a program by countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen and pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson at San Francisco's Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater in the Veterans Building.

The Mountain Play Presents INTO THE WOODS For Their 110th Season, May 21- June 18The Mountain Play Presents INTO THE WOODS For Their 110th Season, May 21- June 18
March 16, 2023

The Mountain Play, the San Francisco Bay Area's most magical outdoor theater experience, will present INTO THE WOODS for its 110th Season, May 21 through June 18.

Support The Arts At Bay Area Children's Theatre's Blue Moon BallSupport The Arts At Bay Area Children's Theatre's Blue Moon Ball
March 16, 2023

On May 20th at 4 PM, come out and shake your tail feather along with the cast of Giraffes Can't Dance at Bay Area Children's Theatre's Blue Moon Ball.