Thirty-Eight St. Louis Restaurants to Add New Twist to SHAKE 38

Hungry for Shakespeare? Thirty-eight of the city's most talented culinary masters, including Ben Grupe of Olio and Elaia, Bill Cardwell of Cardwell's at the Plaza and Simone Faure of La Patisserie Chouquette, will be serving up a tantalizing array of menu items and calling their creations "38 Eats" as part of one of the most diverse offerings to date during the eighth annual SHAKE 38, April 19-23, at multiple venues throughout the city.

Featured restaurants include an array of eateries and neighborhood hotspots that offer a variety of cuisine to match all palates. Participating restaurants include Elaia, Nixta, Acero, Kakao Chocolate, Crown Candy Kitchen, Atomic Cowboy, Aya Sofia, to name a few. Each of the chefs will create a menu item, or highlight an existing one, inspired by one of the Bard's 38 plays. Menu items will be available for purchase by guests throughout the five-day event.

The Saint Louis Brewery, makers of Schlafly have created The Winter's Ale, a custom-labeled draft beer available exclusively at Festival events throughout the 2017 season including the mainstage production of The Winter's Tale (June 2-25) and Shakespeare in the Streets (Sept. 15-17). Schlafly's has also created the Cornwall Fie Pie menu item to fit with the theme from The Winter's Tale.

In addition to "38 Eats," Shakespeare Festival St. Louis is collaborating with the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum (www.iphf.org) to showcase each play through 38 photos taken by a selection of some of the city's most creative photographers. The display will be available for viewing at the museum as part of the SHAKE 38 kick-off event, "Decisive Moments: Shakespeare Through a Visual Lens," from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wed., April 19, at the museum. For a list of participating chefs/restaurants and photographers, please visit www.sfstl.com.

A sampling of menu items and their corresponding plays that patrons will be able to eat their way through include: Crown Candy's "Crown Sundae" (Henry IV Part 1); Chouquette's "Taming of the Choux" (Taming of the Shrew); Elaia's Roman feast inspired by Julius Caesar; The Dam will feature "The Louie" in honor of King Louis (King John); and Acero (The Merchant of Venice), to name a few.

"Patrons will have the opportunity to taste an eclectic mix of menu items representing St. Louis' best at every price point," said Rick Dildine, artistic and executive director of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis. "Just as William Shakespeare provides us with a canon that expresses all the ranges of emotion, our chefs will be translating his work and creating menu items that reflect those moments when everyone breaks bread with their friends and family."

'38 Eats' is part of the broader SHAKE 38 event which features performances limited only by one's imagination. Events are free and nearly all are open to the public. In past years, venues have ranged from cupcake trucks, street corners and parking garages to paddle boats, libraries and empty swimming pools.

Last year's headlining act, CRY HAVOC, will also return for two performances. Following its upcoming Off Broadway run in New York City in mid-April, the powerful one-person play will be presented in partnership with the St. Louis Public Library at 1 p.m. on April 29-30, at the St. Louis Public Library - Central Branch. Tickets will be free, but limited.

CRY HAVOC features actor/veteran Stephan Wolfert as he leads audiences on an interactive journey to meet Shakespeare's veterans, and confronts the difficulties today's soldiers face in leaving military service to rejoin the civilian world. The play speaks to the impact of theater as a tool for social change and the way the themes of Shakespeare's 400-year-old works resonate meaningfully in modern life.

SHAKE 38 was introduced in 2010, as an around-the-clock urban experience highlighting Shakespeare's entire canon in every neighborhood in St. Louis in 38 hours. In 2012 the event expanded to five days. SHAKE 38 is sponsored by Nancy and Ken Kranzberg; the Riverfront Times is a media partner.

Since its inception in 2001, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis has surpassed the one million mark in attendance through its work In the Schools, In the Streets and In the Park with more than 710,000 people attending the free main stage productions at Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park. The organization has reached an additional 300,000 students In the Schools through its educational programming. In 2010, the Festival launched SHAKE 38, a marathon participatory presentation of Shakespeare's entire 38-play canon community wide. In 2012, the Festival shut down its first street, Cherokee, to present a community-based play In the Streets. Leadership support for Shakespeare Festival St. Louis' 2017 season is provided by the Whitaker Foundation. The Festival is also funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Missouri Arts Council, the Regional Arts Commission, and the Arts & Education Council of Greater St. Louis. In 2016, the Festival was named Arts Organization of the Year by the Missouri Arts Council. For more information, please visit www.sfstl.com, or call 314-531-9800.