Shakespeare Theatre Co. to Feature Zimmerman, Page et al. in 2010/11 Season

Shakespeare Theatre Company Artistic Director Michael Kahn, praised by The Baltimore Sun for turning the Shakespeare Theatre Company "into the closest thing this country has to Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company," announces the Company's 2010-2011 season. The lineup includes Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well, Cymbeline (a debut performance of this Shakespeare play on STC's stages) and The Merchant of Venice. The season continues with a recent adaptation by Tom Stoppard of Luigi Pirandello's Enrico IV, Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband and the Leonard Bernstein musically adapted version of Voltaire's Candide, directed by Mary Zimmerman in a co-production with the Goodman Theatre.

The season will include:

All's Well That Ends Well
by William Shakespeare
directed by Michael Kahn
September 7 - October 24, 2010
Lansburgh Theatre
STC Artistic Director Michael Kahn directs this adventure story that examines how far one will go to obtain an object of deep desire! In Shakespeare's moving comedy, Helena wants Bertram, the king wants a cure for his terminal illness and Bertram wants anything but marriage. With resourceful deception and ample persistence, our heroine Helena overcomes one obstacle after another.

Candide
by Voltaire
adapted by Leonard Bernstein
directed by Mary Zimmerman
co-produced with the Goodman Theatre
November 30 - January 2, 2011
Sidney Harman Hall
This rousing musical springs to life on stage during the holiday season, poking fun at optimism and following Candide on his quest for his true love with songs like "Make Our Garden Grow" and "Glitter and Be Gay." The 20th-century classic will be reinvigorated in a new adaptation by director Mary Zimmerman, featuring her inventive, visually stunning style and matched with Bernstein's ravishing score, based on Voltaire's classic satire.

Zimmerman's previous productions of Pericles and Argonautika at STC brought forth "an evening of bewitching ingenuity and bountiful surprise" (The Washington Post). Following the successful collaboration of King Lear in 2009, this farcical tale is a co-production with Chicago's Goodman Theatre.

Cymbeline
by William Shakespeare
directed by Rebecca Bayla Taichman
January 18 - March 6, 2011
Lansburgh Theatre
Cymbeline brings director Rebecca Bayla Taichman back to STC, whose recent Twelfth Night was "gorgeously romantic... as brand new as a first kiss" (The Downtowner), and The Taming of the Shrew found "a satisfying quantity of heart in a play that can be made to seem merely playful"
(Washington City Paper).

This Shakespeare Theatre Company premiere of Cymbeline follows Imogen on her search for reconciled love against the backdrop of a colorful and magical travelogue. Forbidden love, mistaken identities, banishment and a magic potion - Shakespeare combines multiple styles in this endlessly inventive fairytale.

The Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare
directed by David Muse
March 8 - April 12, 2011
Sidney Harman Hall
In the fascinating role of Shylock, Patrick Page returns to STC, where he played "a stunningly intelligent and humorous villain" as Iago in Othello (Washington Theatre Review). Whether contemplating the contents of gilded chests or the darkest corners of human nature, The Merchant of Venice challenges audiences to look beyond misleading superficialities to find the true measure of things. This intriguing story of power and revenge, justice and mercy, true love and duplicity, features some of Shakespeare's most complex and memorable characters. The Merchant of Venice runs in conjunction with the National Gallery of Art's exhibit Views of Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals.

Enrico IV (Henry IV)
by Luigi Pirandello
adapted by Tom Stoppard
directed by Michael Kahn
May 17 - July 3, 2011
Lansburgh Theatre
Enrico IV features Stoppard's characteristically witty banter as Pirandello's imaginative plot leaps between reality and illusion. Artistic Director Michael Kahn directs, calling up "the combination of stylization and raw force that has brought his productions of the classics to towering life" (The Washington Post).

In this new adaptation by Tom Stoppard, a talented actor and historian falls off his horse during a historical pageant while playing the role of Henry IV. When he comes to, he believes himself to be the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV of Germany-or does he? The delusion is supported by one of Luigi Pirandello's (Six Characters in Search of an Author) best hoaxes, in which actors play the roles of Henry's 11th-century court.

An Ideal Husband
by Oscar Wilde
directed by Keith Baxter
June 21 - July 24, 2011
Sidney Harman Hall
Oscar Wilde's wickedly witty yet touching comedy revolves around blackmail, political corruption, and public and private honor in late 19th-century England, where "an ideal husband" must be above reproach in both spheres. Sir Robert Chiltern is a well-regarded public official happily married to a loving wife. His status as an ideal husband is threatened when undeniable evidence of a past indiscretion appears. Sir Robert turns to his philandering friend Lord Goring for help, who takes matters into his own hands. An Ideal Husband is directed by Keith Baxter (Lady Windermere's Fan), whose production of The Rivals was proclaimed as "irrepressibly funny!" (Chicago Tribune).

The Shakespeare Theatre Company's innovative approach to Shakespeare and other classic playwrights has earned it the reputation as the nation's premier classical theatre company. By focusing on works with profound themes, complex characters and poetic language written by Shakespeare, his contemporaries and the playwrights he influenced, the Company's artistic mission is unique among theatre companies: to present theatre of scope and size in an imaginative, skillful and accessible American style that honors the playwrights' language and intentions while viewing their work through a 21st-century lens. Artistic Director Michael Kahn has led the organization for 24 years, establishing the company as "the nation's foremost Shakespeare company" (The Wall Street Journal) and "the best classical theatre in the country, bar none" (The Christian Science Monitor).

In its 2007-2008 season, the Company opened the Harman Center for the Arts consisting of the new 775-seat Sidney Harman Hall and the 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre, both located in downtown Washington's Penn Quarter neighborhood. A dynamic hub of activity, the Harman Center showcases the Company as well as outstanding local performing arts groups and nationally renowned organizations.

Subscriptions to the Company's 2010-2011 season are now on sale. For more information, contact the Box Office at 202.547.1122, TTY at 202.638.3863 or Toll Free at 877.487.8849.

Information is also available at ShakespeareTheatre.org.