St. Louis Shakespeare Hits 25th Year, Opens Season With THE MERCHANT OF VENICE In July

St. Louis Shakespeare celebrates its 25th year presenting the finest classical theatre. The Company's 2009 season opens in July with THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, followed in August by TWELFTH NIGHT and MACBETH in October, at the Grandel Theatre in the Grand Center Arts District. In November, SLS returns with an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's TREASURE ISLAND, presented at the Missouri History Museum as part of their Performing Arts Series.

St. Louis Shakespeare was founded by Artistic Director Donna Northcott in 1984 to perform Shakespeare's plays and other dramatic classics. Originally begun as a summer festival presenting plays in rotating repertory, the Company now presents three Shakespeare plays and one non-Shakespearean classic each season. Since 1995, the Company's home has been the beautifully restored Grandel Theater in the Grand Center Arts and Entertainment District of St. Louis, located between Powell Symphony Hall and the Fox Theater on Grand Avenue.

SLS is dedicated to producing Shakespeare's entire canon. To date, the Company has presented more than three quarters of the Bard's plays, including such seldom-seen works as TROILUS & CRESSIDA, KING JOHN, WINTER'S TALE and TITUS ANDRONICUS; SLS closed its 24th season with the Midwest premiere of EDWARD III. Additionally, SLS presents the works of other classical playwrights such as Aristophanes, Euripides, Feydeau, Oscar Wilde, Sheridan, Moliere, Shaw and 20th century classics by playwrights such as Arthur Miller and Tom Stoppard.

St. Louis Shakespeare is committed to introducing middle and high school students to classical theater, offering reduced-price weekday matinees, drawing thousands of students from schools in Missouri and Illinois.

In 1995 the Company added a touring show to its schedule, presenting original productions and adaptations of Shakespeare's works for kindergarten - 8th grades. More recently, the Company is offering Bard-In-a-Box, an interactive program that brings Shakespeare's world to life through theatre games, scenes, and monologues. The educational program can be tailored to suit any grade or curriculum.

2006 saw the first Shakespeare Boot Camp for students grades 9-12. A talented group of high school and home-school students spend three weeks in the summer rehearsing and participating in intensive workshops with local theatre professionals, culminating in a fully-mounted production.

In 1996, a spin-off company, Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre, was born. Each spring, MSMT presents an original, late-night parody of a beloved cult movie or TV show. The Company has had huge success with productions such THE ONE-HOUR STAR WARS TRILOGY: LIVE!, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: LIVE!, GLEN OR GLENDA, REEFER MADNESS, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, and most recently, THE ONE-HOUR LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY: LIVE!

For more information visit www.stlshakespeare.org.

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