Casting and New Venues Announced: Wooden O Free Summer Shakespeare in the Parks

Casting is announced for Seattle Shakespeare Company's free Wooden O productions of King Lear and The Merry Wives of Windsor which start performances on Thursday, July 12. Both productions will perform in park venues throughout King and Pierce Counties (please see attached schedule). This summer marks the 25th Anniversary for Wooden O productions in the parks.

George Mount, Artistic Director of Seattle Shakespeare Company and founder of Wooden O, will direct King Lear featuring David Pichette in the title role. R. Hamilton Wright will play Gloucester, and Vanessa Miller, Jonelle Jordan, and Nabilah S. Ahmed will play Lear's daughters Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia.

London during the swinging 1960s comes to the parks in Corey McDaniel'sproduction of The Merry Wives of Windsor. The production features Charles Leggett playing Falstaff, Eleanor Moseley as Mistress Page, Annie Lareau as Mistress Ford, Reginald Jackson as Master Ford, and Vince Brady as Master Page.

The full cast for King Lear includes Nabilah S. Ahmed (Cordelia), Mike Dooly (Albany), Jennifer Ewing (Oswald), Meme Garcia (Fool), Anais Gralpois (Ensemble), Ivan Guillermo (Burgundy), Jonelle Jordan (Reagan), Jason Marr (Cornwall), Vanessa Miller (Goneril), Conner Neddersen (Edgar), Adrian Alonzo Padilla (France), Arjun Pande (Edmund), David Pichette (King Lear), Alyson Scadron Branner (Kent), R. Hamilton Wright (Gloucester).

The Merry Wives of Windsor full cast includes Megan Ahiers (Host of the Garter Inn), Vince Brady (Master Page), Anu Brown (Nym/ensemble), Susanna Burney (Shallow), Marianna de Fazio (Evan Hughs), Brandon Felker (Dr. Caius), Reginald Jackson (Master Ford), Annie Lareau (Mistress Ford), Charles Leggett (Falstaff), Lamar Lewis (Slender), Imogen Love (Mistress Quickly), Sienna Mendez (Pistol/ensembles), Eleanor Moseley (Mistress Page), Stephanie Neuerburg (Anne Page), Chad Sommerville (Fenton), Mariah Lee Squires (Simple/Robin/ensemble).

Set designs for both productions will be by Craig B. Wollam. Costumes for King Learwill be by Jocelyne Fowler and Margaret Toomey will design costumes for The Merry Wives of Windsor. Evan Mosher and Robertson Witmer will design sound for King Lear and Kyle Thompson will design sound for The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Wooden O performances are free and open to the public, but donations are encouraged after the show.

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