West Bay Community Theater, and Mixed Magic Theatre Present SHAKESPEARE IN THE SPIRIT

West Bay Community Theater, in collaboration with Mixed Magic Theatre, will present Shakespeare in the Spirit at the North Kingstown Town Beach Bandshell on Saturday, June 26th (8pm), featuring the Mixed Magic Exult Choir as well as a host of local actors.

West Bay Community Theater is proud to work with Jonathan Pitts-Wiley to bring his Shakespeare in the Spirit to North Kingstown for a return of large-scale live theater to the area. A joyous celebration of Shakespeare and gospel music, this production has charmed audiences for years.

Tickets to Shakespeare in the Spirit are $15 and can be purchased at the event, online at wbctheater.org, or directly through EventBrite at eventbrite.com/e/shakespeare-in-the-spirit-tickets-157123607941.

Pricing is the same for all attendees (audience members with limited-edition WBCT member buttons receive $5 off at the door). Tickets purchased online will have a processing fee of $2.55/ticket. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets. In the event of rain, the show will take place the following day - Sunday, June 27th.

MoreTeeth Theater reviews said about Shakespeare in the Spirit: "What we experience... is approximately an hour of some of the most profound and inspiring performance we have ever witnessed... each Shakespeare piece...is presented more or less simultaneously with a thematically appropriate gospel pairing. Interwoven musical lines underscore and punctuate soliloquies, scenes and sonnets. The choir lifts up with voice the fallen Ophelias and Elizabeths and march Henry V off to war. It's as if the plays alone were merely black and white outlines waiting for this gorgeous music to give them full color...This is imperative viewing for anyone and everyone. Yes, it makes Shakespeare "accessible", but that's almost beside the point. This is an emotional, soul-satisfying musical journey through some of the most eloquent dialogue in the English language."

Mixed Magic Theatre Artistic Director, and the Author/Director of Shakespeare in the Spirit, Jonathan Pitts-Wiley: "After such a challenging year of distance and a fair amount of disconnections, it's really exciting to get back to creating and connecting through live performance. It's all the more gratifying to be able to do so in North Kingstown-my hometown and a place very near and dear to my heart-with [current WBCT President] Terry Shea and the folks at West Bay Community Theater.

When Mixed Magic first developed this show in 2012, it really sprang from a desire to connect two forms of expression that seem dissimilar but, in fact, have more things in common than not.

At their best, both gospel and Shakespeare strike us to the quick emotionally and spiritually; both explore the human condition and are seeking to make sense of the experiences we share before spinning off this mortal coil.

After spending a year penned in by the suffocation of uncertainty and dread, everyone involved is just so grateful to connect with each other and with audiences in an incredible summer theater experience at a beautiful location."

Terrence Shea | President, West Bay Community Theater