News From the Festival
The Man, the Myth, the Legend
Falstaff costume design by Bill Black
By Kathryn Neves
The Merry Wives of Windsor has always been a favorite at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. After all, who doesn’t love watching the antics of a ridiculous old man and two clever, witty women? The play is one of the most lighthearted of all of Shakespeare’s comedies, full of silly jokes, tricks, and mischief. At the heart of it all is Sir John Falstaff, perhaps the most famous of all of Shakespeare’s buffoons and definitely one of the most beloved.
Falstaff is interesting in that he is the only character in the Shakespeare canon to appear across genres; rather than being sequestered into the histories of King Henry IV, John Falstaff crosses the bounds and appears in a delightful comedy that barely even references the history that Falstaff is such a big part of. How did Falstaff become such a beloved character? Why would Shakespeare write an entire spin-off featuring this minor character from Henry IV Part One and Henry IV Part Two?
It’s easy to recognize Falstaff in any portrayal; he’s the one with the huge snowy beard, enormous belly, a bottle of sack, and a penchant for cowardice and dishonesty. Still, even with all of his faults, Falstaff has become a well-beloved character for audiences throughout the centuries— perhaps even because of his faults. After all, once we’ve seen the heroic deeds of the royalty and the nobility, it can be a relief to see someone a bit more comedic.
Falstaff is introduced to the world in Henry IV Part One as a companion to the young, unruly Prince Hal; the two spend most of their time carousing in the Boar’s Head tavern. Though we at times see some thoughtfulness from young Prince Hal, Falstaff rarely thinks about more than wine and women. He’s constantly the butt of jokes and the subject of pranks— something we see echoed in The Merry Wives of Windsor, as the entire plot revolves around Mistresses Ford and Page tricking the knight into laundry baskets, disguises, and beatings.
He makes his next appearance in Henry IV Part Two, still the same bumbling rogue that we know and love, but growing more distant from Prince Hal. In fact, the play ends with Falstaff being cast off from the newly crowned king— “I know thee not, old man: fall to thy prayers; / How ill white hairs become a fool and jester!” (5.5.3640-41). With these cruel words, Falstaff is banished. And when Falstaff dies in Henry V, it’s because of his broken heart: “The king hath run bad humours on the knight, that’s the even of it. . . . His heart is fracted and corroborate” (2.1.121-22, 124).
The Merry Wives of Windsor is like a spin-off from the history plays; it has nothing to do with the real history of England, but was only written for Falstaff to make a reappearance. We know Falstaff was a popular character, and he might have been a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I herself! Multiple sources say that she demanded another play starring Falstaff and requested that Falstaff fall in love. And of course, that is where “Merry Wives” comes in. Though Falstaff isn’t really in love, we get to see his escapades in pursuing the various women of Windsor.
After watching the Henry plays over the last several years and looking ahead to The Merry Wives of Windsor, it would be easy to assume that Falstaff is completely fictional. After all, such a colorful, ridiculous character couldn’t have any basis in reality, could he? Actually, he isn’t all fantasy. It’s pretty widely accepted that the character of John Falstaff was based on the real-life knight and prince’s companion, Sir John Oldcastle. Oldcastle, though most of his life is lost to history, was known as a supporter of Prince Henry and a scandalous rogue famous for his heresy. In the earliest drafts of Henry IV Part One, Falstaff wasn’t called Falstaff at all, but Sir John Oldcastle. However, after several of Oldcastle’s descendants complained of Shakespeare’s negative portrayal, he changed the name of the character to Falstaff— modelled after another historical knight, John Fastolf (who, incidentally, makes an appearance in this season’s Henry VI Part One).
Even though he’s a rogue and a scoundrel, Falstaff is undoubtedly one of the best characters Shakespeare created. He’s ribald, hilarious, and a bit of the Everyman, and he will be a great source of entertainment for playgoers this summer.
They're Back! Company Members Arrive
CEDAR CITY, UT — They arrived Monday, May 14.
They traveled here, nearly 300 strong, from New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, and other cities across the country and even around the world. They will be here from eight weeks to five months, depending on their job and their contract. They are the 2018 Utah Shakespeare Festival company of actors, directors, designers, stage managers, builders and creators—and they love being in Cedar City.
For instance, actor Lance Rasmussen calls Logan his hometown, but Cedar City is a type of second home for him. “My family has been seeing the Festival every year of my life,” he said. “I’ve seen 22 seasons and well over 100 plays at the Festival and consider Cedar City my artistic home and the impetus of my career as an actor.”
Tyler Morgan, Festival marketing and communications director, who is enjoying his first summer working at the Festival, said the feeling is shared by the Cedar City and Iron County communities. “This is a chance for our community to shine and welcome,” he said. “The company members are excited; it feels fresh and new; and I think the community feels that too.”
“It is invigorating to see people greeting old friends,” added Frank Mack, executive producer, who is also working his first full season at the Festival. “There are visible friendships between artists and volunteers, townspeople and the company.”
While all these temporary residents are here, they will shop in our stores, live in our apartments, and dine in our restaurants. They will attend our celebrations and visit our museums, parks, and hiking trails. They will enjoy the amazing life that those of us who live here relish year-round. They will become part of our community.
“It feels like summer now,” said Brian Vaughn, artistic director. “There is a palpable energy, and a strong synergy between the company, our amazing volunteers, and the people of Cedar City.”
“The people of Cedar City love Shakespeare and theatre, and they love the actors and artists the Festival brings to the community,” said Morgan. “They welcome the company and enjoy seeing them around town and making them feel at home.”
By the time the last spotlight is dimmed and the last bows are taken in October, the work of these talented theatre professionals will have attracted 100,000 visitors to the fifty-seventh season of the Festival. And, all total, they will have been the impetus of an economic impact of more than $40 million for Cedar City.
“The economic impact of the Festival starts now,” said Mack. “We tend to think that the Festival starts to contribute to the economy when the tens of thousands of audience members begin to arrive in late June. But it really starts now, with nearly 300 men and women who are shopping in our stores, buying their groceries, and spending their time and money. These amazing people are now working and living in our community.”
“If the first day with the company here was a glimpse of what is to come, this will be an engaging, electrifying season that I hope will surpass everyone’s expectations,” concluded Morgan. “The day seems like a harbinger of things to come, of a taste of an amazing collaboration between the Festival company and the community that has welcomed them here.”
Tickets are now on sale for the Festival’s fifty-seventh season, which will run from June 28 to October 13. season will include The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry VI Part One, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Big River, The Foreigner, The Liar, and An Iliad*.* For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
Last Round of Casting Announced
Ezekiel Andrew
Colleen Baum
Brandon Burk
Katie Cunningham
Katie Fay Francis
V Craig Heidenreich
Stephanie Lambourn
Kipp Moorman
Rob Riordan
CEDAR CITY, UT — The Utah Shakespeare Festival recently announced the last round of casting for the 2018 season, including eleven actors who are traveling to Cedar City from across the country. The complete acting company this year consists of nearly sixty performers. Information on all of them is available at the Festival website: www.bard.org/actorsartist.
“This is a remarkable group of actors, with notable experience working at hundreds of theatres across the country,” said Artistic Director Brian Vaughn. “They bring with them an array of talents, and I am incredibly excited to see their work.”
The last group of actors includes the following:
Ezekiel Andrew will be playing Jim in Big River and Ensemble in Henry VI Part One. “I am beyond excited to experience my first season with Utah Shakespeare Festival,” he said. “As a native of Mississippi, growing up with the stories of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer on the Mississippi River, I am eager to step into the role of Jim and share an oh-so-pertinent message of unconditional love and acceptance of all people. I’m buckling up for an amazing ride this summer.
Andrew has performed numerous roles at a variety of theatres, including Timur in Turandot at Mississippi Opera; Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime atRevival Theatre Company; Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera at Southern Opera and Musical Theater Company; and Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime, and Jake in Porgy and Bess at Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater in Logan.
Colleen Baum is a well-known actor in Salt Lake City, but she has never appeared at the Festival—until now. She will be playing Betty Meeks in The Foreigner and Widow Douglas and Strange Lady in Big River. Utah audiences will recognize her for her extensive work at Pioneer Theatre, Salt Lake Acting, Plan-B Theatre, Lyric Repertory, and Sting & Honey Company.
“I’m still pinching myself that I get to be in the Utah Shakespeare Festival; it has been a dream of mine since I was in high school,” said Baum. “Betty in The Foreigner is a part I’ve always wanted to play. She’s so honest and charming and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the role!”
Brandon Burk has worked extensively at the Festival the past few years, and is returning this year to take on the roles of Roderigo in Othello and Cliton in The Liar. Past Festival roles include Paris in Romeo and Juliet, Rusty Charlie in Guys and Dolls, Adam in Shakespeare in Love, Borachio in Much Ado about Nothing, Gower/Grey in Henry V, Ensemble in Three Musketeers, Venticello in Amadeus, The Professor in South Pacific, and Lysander/Flute/Cobweb in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2017 educational tour). He has worked as the artistic director of The Onyx Theatre in Las Vegas and the director of operations at Access Theatre in New York City. Multi-talented, he is also the author and performer in an original one-man show titled Invention.
Katie Cunningham will be performing her first roles at the Festival this summer: Emilia in Othello and the dual roles of Isabelle and Sabine in The Liar. She has a long list of credits in theatres in New York City and regionally. She has worked off-Broadway at TACT/The Actors Company Theatre, as well as the NY International Fringe, The Players Theatre, The Night Shift, American Place Theatre, and Drunken Shakespeare, all in New York City. Regionally, she has acted at Asolo Rep, Clarence Brown Theatre, PlayMakers Rep, Arkansas Rep, Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival, Northern Stage, and many more.
Also new at the Festival this year is Katie Fay Francis who will be playing Catherine in The Foreigner, The Muse in An Iliad, and Susan Wilkes in Big River. She will also be recognized by Utah audiences, mainly for her work at Lyric Repertory Company where she has appeared as Catherine in The Foreigner, Mary Jane in Big River, Alice in You Can’t Take It with You, Cathy Selden in Singin’ in the Rain, Elaine in Arsenic and Old Lace, and Edwin Drood in The Mystery of Edwin Drood; and atUtah State University’s Caine College of the Arts where she has played such roles as Hennie in Awake and Sing!, Lady Olivia in Twelfth Night, Masha in Three Sisters, Lady Larken in Once upon a Mattress, Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde the Musical, and Violet in Violet the Musical.
V Craig Heidenreich will be playing the roles of Gordon and Richard Nixon and the voices of Announcer, Disc Jockey, and Cab Calloway in Pearl’s in the House. This is also his first season at the Festival. He has produced, directed, and/or acted in more than 250 productions throughout the country from New York and Boston to Chicago and St Louis, and on the west coast, including four seasons with the Old Globe, three with PCPA Theaterfest, and five with Shakespeare Santa Cruz, as well as fifteen seasons and more than eighty productions at Actors’ Theatre of Louisville. Recent roles include Juror 8 in Twelve Angry Men, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, O’Brien in 1984, Claudius in Hamlet, and Lear in King Lear.
Stephanie Lambourn will be making her first appearance at the Festival as Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Margaret in Henry VI Part One, and Miss Watson and Sally Phelps in Big River. She has appeared at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, the Aurora Fox and Pace Center for the Arts, Event Theatre Australia, and the Great River Shakespeare Festival. She has also been the artist-in-residence for the Shakespeare-in-the-Schools program at the Great River Shakespeare Festival.
Kipp Moorman, is returning to the Festival after playing Vinnie in The Odd Couple and Lucilius and Decius Brutus in Julius Caesar in 2016; Sir Walter Blunt in Henry IV Part One, Angelo in The Comedy of Errors, and John Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility in 2014; and Juror #2 in Twelve Angry Men, Melun and Chatillion in King John, and Ensemble in The Tempest in 2013. In 2018 he will be playing Geronte in The Liar and Duke of Venice/Ensemble in Othello.
“There are no common phrases adequate enough to express my joy to be returning to the Festival for my fourth season,” Moorman said. “I’m full of anticipation to be back to Cedar City.”
Rob Riordan will be spending his first summer at the Festival this year when he takes on the two major roles of Huckleberry Finn in Big River and Ellard Simms in The Foreigner. He has appeared on stages at Broadway Playhouse Chicago, Geva Theatre Center, Festival de Teatro de la Habana, Variety Children’s Theatre, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, New Jewish Theatre, The Fireside Theatre, Grandstreet Theatre, and Hope Summer Repertory Theatre. He has also appeared on television in The Marvelous Ms. Maisel and on film in Sweet Caroline.
Tickets to the Festival’s fifty-seventh season, which will run from June 28 to October 13, are now on sale. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
The Story of "The Other"
By Kathryn Neves
What do slaves, merchants, Greek warriors, soldiers, and painfully shy foreigners all have in common? Maybe not a lot. At first glance, this season looks like an eclectic collection of stories and tales, all different and from different places and times. There’s nothing they have in common— or is there? Well, look closer. There’s a thread that runs through nearly all of the plays this season at the Utah Shakespeare Festival: the story of “The Other.”
The Other? you might ask. What do you mean, The Other? What a broad, vague term. Well, what better to cover such a diverse group of stories than this broad term? Most of the Festival’s plays this season focus on telling stories about people outside the “in” group; whether it be religious or racial minorities, or foreigners and dreadful wars, this season is all about tolerance. It’s about learning to respect, appreciate, even love “The Other.”
Big River zooms in on the life of an individual African American in the midst of tense racial situations. Big River, the musical version of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, focuses on Jim— a runaway slave seeking freedom along the Mississippi River. Through Big River, Huck Finn learns to love Jim as a father figure and a friend; he realizes that Jim is a person too, even though the entire culture of the South says he isn’t.
Othello, too, focuses on racial differences— and racial similarities. It’s the story about a Moor who becomes a great military general despite huge barriers in his way, who ends up losing it all because of his unfounded jealousy. Much of the play is about Othello’s success despite his status as a Moor. In Shakespeare’s day, a Moor could refer to any number of things. It was usually a term used to describe anyone that wasn’t white and European. Likely, by Moor, Shakespeare either meant someone of African descent or someone of Arab descent. In Othello, we see how Othello’s status of an outsider leads the villain, Iago, to extreme jealousy and hatred. Because Iago cannot and will not tolerate any “others” in his world, he contrives to make Othello lose everything he has worked for— costing the lives of more people than even Iago bargained for. It’s the fear and hatred of “The Other” that causes the great tragedy.
Then, of course, there’s The Merchant of Venice. This play is a favorite for many; afterall, who doesn’t like stories about love overcoming impossible odds? But this play is about more than Bassanio and Portia’s whirlwind romance. Merchant is also about Shylock— a Jew who has become bitter and angry after years of abuse at the hands of his fellow men. In The Merchant of Venice, we see that Shylock (and maybe many others) has lost sight of what it means to be human, because he has been treated with intolerance throughout his whole life. You could say that Shylock’s story is more compelling than Bassanio and Portia’s, for the simple fact that his story is more important. We learn from Shylock that if we hate members of the “other” group, the “other” group may learn to hate us in return.
The Foreigner is another one of those plays that everyone seems to love. It’s funny, it’s zany and farcical, and it’s so relatable. But this play, too, at its heart, is about “The Other.” Throughout the play, Charlie (out of his extreme shyness) pretends to be a foreigner. And instead of being ignored, as he expected, everyone in the play becomes fascinated with him. We see some of the characters, like Ellard and Betty, treat him like a friend. Charlie makes friends with people he would never have connected with before. And then we see other characters throughout the play who don’t befriend him— they hate him. Even though they’ve never met Charlie before, they know he’s a “foreigner” and that’s enough for them. They don’t bother to take the time to get to know Charlie, and before anyone can say “blasny-blasny,” the whole gang is caught up in a mess of intolerance and danger.
And then there’s An Iliad. Everyone knows the story; the ancient Greeks and the antics of the Trojans are pretty much universal. Who didn’t have to sit through hours of lectures in high school? But I can bet you’ve never seen the story presented this way. In this one-man show, we see the Trojan war, not as a fight for honor and glory, but as a horrendous waste of life. The Greeks hate the Trojans, and the Trojans hate the Greeks. Each side becomes “The Other” to everyone else. And tragically, we see what can happen if our hatred and fear of “The Other” goes too far.
If there’s one thing you can take away from this season, it’s that the idea of “The Other” shouldn’t matter. After all, everyone’s an outsider to someone else. No matter what our skin color is, what our political beliefs are, our religions or our ideals, everyone underneath is the same; we’re all human. There is no “other”; there’s only us.
Popular Actors Returning for 2018
John Ahlin
Jeb Burris
A. Bryan Humphrey
Chris Mixon
Brian Vaughn
Russ Benton
Michael Doherty
Dan Kremer
Jim Poulos
CEDAR CITY, UT — The Utah Shakespeare Festival recently announced more casting, including a number of actors who are returning to the Festival for the 2018 season. Of the nine who were announced, some were here last year, others have not worked here for a few years, but all will be fondly remembered by Festival audiences. All are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers. Please check for the latest casting news at www.bard.org.
“We have a remarkable array of actors in our company this year,” said Artistic Director Brian Vaughn. “Many returning faces coupled with incredible newcomers bring with them a vast collection of experience and talent that promises to make a lasting impact on our audiences. I’m so excited to share their work across the season.”
John Ahlin will be remembered for his roles as Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV Part Two and Vincentio in The Taming of the Shrew in 2015. This season he will again play the loveable knight Sir John Falstaff, but in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Sir John Fastolfe, the Mayor of London, and Reigner in Henry VI Part One, as well as Pap Finn and Sheriff Bell in Big River.
Last appearing at the Festival in 2000, Russ Benton will be familiar to Festival audiences for such roles as Reignier and Lord Hastings in The War of the Roses and Old Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice (2000), John in The Lion in Winter and Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999), Pharaoh and Gad in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1998), and Doctor Pinch in The Comedy of Errors (1996). This year he will be playing Owen Musser in The Foreigner and Lafe, Counselor Robinson, and Silas Phelps in Big River.
Jeb Burris is returning to the Festival to appear in the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre as Cassio in Othello and in the Randall L. Jones Theatre as Dorante in The Liar. Last season he appeared as Orlando in As You Like It, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, and Ned Alleyn in Shakespeare in Love. Other Festival roles in the past have included Jim O’Connor in The Glass Menagerie, Catesby in Richard III, Chiron in Titus Andronicus, Dumaine in Love’s Labour’s Lost, as well as a host of others.
“I am thrilled to be back for my fifth season in Cedar City,” he said. “This will be my first performance in the Anes Theatre, and I couldn’t be more excited. To tell this powerful story of Othello in such a beautiful space is going to be a real gift for both audience and cast and crew.”
Festival audiences will remember Michael Doherty for his hilarious turns as Lord Fancourt Babberley in Charley’s Aunt, Tranio in The Taming of the Shrew, and Speed in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. This year he will be appearing as Charlie in the comedy The Foreigner and as Tom Sawyer in the classic musical Big River. Multi-talented, he has won numerous awards including the 2013 Independent TV Festival Award for Best Writing.
A. Bryan Humphrey is a long-time favorite at the Festival, having appeared here in various seasons since 1995. This summer he will be playing Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry Beauford in Henry VI Part One, and various roles (including the sonorous Judge Thatcher) in Big River. In past seasons he has played such roles as Juror #4 in Twelve Angry Men, Gonzalo in The Tempest, Marcus Andronicus in Titus Andronicus, Judge Taylor in To Kill a Mockingbird, Master Frank Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Harry Binion in Room Service, and Froggy LeSueur in The Foreigner.
Dan Kremer has been a popular Festival actor off and on since 2006 when he appeared here as the Ghost of Hamlet’s Father and the Clown in Hamlet, Enobarus in Antony and Cleopatra, and Doctor Caius in The Merry Wives of Windsor. More recently, he appeared in such towering roles as Titus in Titus Andronicus, Lear in King Lear, and Gaunt in Richard II, as well as playing Vandergelder in The Matchmaker, Morrie in Tuesdays with Morrie, and many others. This season he will be playing the Duke of Gloucester in Henry VI Part One and Shallow in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Chris Mixon is returning this year to play Froggy LeSueur in The Foreigner (he played Charlie Baker in the Festival’s first production of this popular play in 2005) and The King/Ensemble in Big River. Other past roles at the Festival have included Charlie Brown in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Feste in Twelfth Night, Alaric in Peg o’ My Heart, Lancelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice, Trinculo in The Tempest, Yvan in ‘Art’, and many others.
Jim Poulos appeared at the Festival in 2016 as Chico in The Cocoanuts and Robertson Aye in Mary Poppins. This season at the Festival he will perform the roles of Henry VI and Gunner’s Boy in Henry VI Part One, Host of the Garter in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and The Duke and Preacher in Big River. He has also appeared on Broadway as Mark Cohen in Rent and Huck Finn in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; as Seymour in the national tour of Little Shop of Horrors; off-Broadway as Feste in Illyria and Young Man in My Life with Albertine; and in theatres across the country.
And, last but certainly not least, Brian Vaughn will be taking off his artistic director hat and appearing this summer in two powerful roles: Iago in Othello and The Poet in An Iliad. He has played over fifty roles in twenty-four seasons at the Festival, including Hamlet, Henry V, Prince Hal, Hotspur, Leontes, Benedick, Petruchio, Cyrano de Bergerac, Harold Hill in The Music Man, Javert in Les Misérables, and Charlie in Stones in His Pockets.
He has also directed such plays as Shakespeare in Love, Henry V, Henry IV Part Two, Henry IV Part One, and Peter and the Starcatcher. He has directed and acted around the country and has been artistic director at the Festival since 2011.
Vaughn also noted that casting is nearly complete and other announcements will be coming quickly, including many wonderful actors who have not appeared at the Festival in the past.
Tickets are now on sale for the Festival’s fifty-seventh season, which will run from June 28 to October 13. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
The Quality of Mercy and Justice
Tony Amendola as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, 2010
By Kathryn Neves
The Merchant of Venice has always been a popular choice with Utah audiences. Since the beginning years of the Festival, people have flocked to see the merry misadventures of Bassanio and Portia, Launcelot and his father, and the not-so-merry misadventures of Shylock. It’s certainly interesting to watch. After all, The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s only “comedies” with more sadness than mirth. Why is that?
Shakespeare begins his play with the words, “In sooth I know not why I am so sad—” a strange way to start a comedy, to be sure. From the very beginning, this play is more subdued, more solemn than its hilarious counterparts. Ships are lost at sea, a daughter is trapped into marriage by the will of her father, women dress as men— wait. Maybe it’s not so different from the other comedies after all.
Still, though, you can’t deny that all the Shylock business reads more like a Macbeth than a Twelfth Night. For a villain (if he is a villain) in a comedy, Shylock is extremely bloodthirsty. Rather than taking money or valuables as collateral in his business deal, Shylock demands a pound of Antonio’s flesh— “to be cut off and taken in what part of [his] body pleaseth [him].” When Antonio cannot pay back Shylock’s loan, Shylock is adamant that he be able to cut into Antonio’s flesh in a perverted version of “justice.”
Justice is one of the play’s biggest themes; throughout, characters demand and receive justice— and some characters are even trapped by it. It makes sense, then, that the other big theme of this play is mercy— justice and mercy go together like yin and yang, or salt and pepper. The idea of mercy seems to follow all the moments of justice in this play— Shakespeare won’t give you one without the other.
Portia is trapped by an odd sense of justice. Before her father’s death, he made a strange rule— she could only marry a man who could pick the right casket out of a choice of three; and any man that picks the wrong casket has to swear to leave and never marry anyone. It’s odd, but Portia is trapped by it; even though her father is dead, his word is law. We can see that she has every intention of following her father’s wishes. When Bassanio finally arrives at her house, after a series of buffoonish suitors, Portia urges him to wait a while before choosing a casket; she tells him that “in choosing wrong I lose your company.” Even though she clearly loves Bassanio already, she plans to honor her father’s wishes— even if it means she has to lose Bassanio forever.
She holds her other suitors to a high standard of justice, too. When each one chooses the wrong casket— one silver, one gold— she tells them that they must leave her forever; and, beyond that, they can never again woo another woman. Their prospects for marriage are completely over. It’s a harsh penalty to pay, but since they agreed to it beforehand, justice dictates that they have to abide by those rules. In this instance, there’s a conspicuous lack of mercy. We can’t help but wonder how Portia’s father, and Portia herself, could punish these men so severely without any kind of forgiveness. One strike, and they’re out; no more chances for them. Shakespeare seems to be setting the stage with these lighthearted scenes for heavier examples of the powers of justice and mercy.
The most obvious example of justice within The Merchant of Venice makes for one of the most interesting stories in all of theatre. We watch with amazement and horror as Shylock demands his own twisted justice; he demands to be allowed to cut out Antonio’s flesh as a punishment for an unrepaid loan. Throughout act 4, Shylock references justice so many times that we lose count. He demands, over and over again, for his “bond;” that is, Antonio’s flesh. He refuses to listen to any pleas or supplications. Shylock believes that justice is the highest power to which he can appeal. His absolute certainty in the rightness of his cause is astounding to watch: how, we wonder, can someone be so set in his ways that he has no concept of mercy? The duke, who acts as judge to this transaction, says that Shylock is “uncapable of pity, void and empty from any dram of mercy.” This really isn’t an exaggeration. Shylock’s unrelenting sense of justice is his way of seeking revenge on everyone who has wronged him in the past (and there have been many).
It is the other members of this melodrama who continue to bring up the theme of mercy throughout the trial. They beg for it, and they cannot believe that Shylock has none. After all, even when Bassanio offers Shylock three times the amount of money lost, Shylock still refuses; he “crave[s] the law, the penalty and forfeit of [his] bond.” And it’s here that Shylock practically condemns himself; he says, “my deeds upon my own head.” In denying Antonio any mercy, he is inadvertently denying himself any future mercy from anyone.
It’s in this exciting scene that we get one of the most beautiful monologues in all of Shakespeare. In it, Portia explains what mercy is and why it’s important. “The quality of mercy is not strained,” she explains. “In the course of justice none of us should see salvation.” And she’s right. Without mercy to temper it, justice quickly becomes something tyrannical, swift, and incredibly harsh.
When Shylock again refuses to show any mercy, he becomes condemned. In one of the most exciting courtroom revelations in theatre, Portia declares that Shylock can take his pound of flesh— but he cannot take a drop of blood. If he does, his lands, his money, and even his life are forfeit to the law. Now it’s Shylock that is, ironically, at the mercy of justice. And this time, Portia refuses to give it to him. Interestingly enough, though she seems to believe very much in the qualities of mercy, she herself has none to spare for Shylock. So, in the end, Shylock is powerless to the demands of justice. It’s only because of the small mercy of the duke and Antonio that Shylock even keeps his life; beyond that, though, he loses all of his possessions, and, in a particularly cruel punishment, he is forced to abandon his lifelong belief system and become a Christian. In a way, his very soul becomes forfeit to the bounds of justice to which he so fervently clung.
Though throughout the play most of the characters constantly talk about the virtues of mercy, it seems that none of them are merciful enough to forgive Shylock. Overall, the only mercy Shylock receives is being able to escape with his life. Mercy, apparently, is not as easily given as it is taken. Every single character demands justice for others and mercy for themselves.
We can learn a lot from this play; we learn that religious intolerance can lead to hatred and violence. We learn that love comes to the humblest and the most worthy. But most of all, we learn that justice and mercy are complicated. In the end, it’s not really clear what Shakespeare really felt— was justice more important, or mercy?
Exciting Surprises in 2018 Casting
Isabella Abel-Suarez
Kyle Bullock
Michael Elich
Tarah Flanagan
Josh Jeffers
Tracie Lane
Paul Michael Sandberg
Jamil Zraikat
Leslie Brott
Wayne Carr
Ty Fanning
Josh Innerst
Geoffrey Kent
Betsy Mugavero
Lisa Wolpe
Artistic Director Brian Vaughn has announced the first round of casting for the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2018 season—including an exciting surprise. Four talented female actors will be playing roles in The Merchant of Venice normally played by men: nationally-recognized actor Lisa Wolpe will be playing Shylock, long-time Festival favorite Leslie Brott will play Antonio, Festival alumnus Tracie Lane will play Tubal, and Southern Utah University student Isabella Abel-Suarez will play Launcelot Gobbo.
The popular play (this is its eighth production at the Festival) is being directed this year by Melinda Pfundstein, who pointed out that this idea is not new: all the female roles in Shakespeare’s day were played by men or boys. Also, many theatres today are casting across gender lines to examine the various ideas embedded within Shakespeare’s plays. She noted that the pronouns will not be changed and the costumes will be those of men. It will simply be women playing the roles of men. This “gender imaginative casting,” as she called it, is an opportunity to unlock the play by allowing a marginalized voice to play a marginalized role.
“Using this as an entry point for our production seems simply to be an extension of original practice,” said Pfundstein. “My experience and feeling is that, moments in, people will forget about gender. My hope is that it will simply unlock the play and imaginations of our audiences to hear, see, and consider with senses afresh.”
“Cross-gender casting . . . can create a unique and imaginative discourse,” said Wolpe. “It demands mastery in walking in the shoes of the ‘other,’ . . . thereby creating an opportunity to highlight and reinforce the things that connect us within our communities—empathy, resilience, kindness, shared humanity, and the healing power of love."
In addition to playing Shylock, Lisa Wolpe will appear as Bedford in Henry VI Part One. New to the Festival, she has appeared at numerous theatres, as well as co-starring on television in L.A. Law and A Year in the Life. Recognized across the country with numerous awards and accolades, she is the founder and was until recently the artistic director (1993–2017) of the Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company.
“I hope you will allow your imagination to accept and believe the characters so you can become emotionally engaged with the story,” said Brott about this imaginative casting. “This season I’ll be playing the role of a wealthy merchant, with international business concerns, who is a good friend to his friend in need. The script uses male pronouns when referring to my character, so that’s what we’ll be using. And I’m going to wear clothes that men traditionally wear. But my real casting is as a friend doing something for his friend. The audience, if they need to apply a gender to the role, is invited to imagine me as a man or a woman or whatever works for them. But what I hope they’ll imagine is me as a friend.”
In addition to Antonio in The Merchant of Venice, Leslie Brott will be appearing as Mistress Quickly in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Duke of Exeter in Henry VI Part One. Festival audiences will fondly remember her work last season as the Nurse in both Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare in Love and as General Cartwright in Guys and Dolls. She has also appeared in a number of seasons since 1992 and is currently head of actor training at Utah State University.
“The Merchant of Venice is the centerpiece of our season that centers on the adverse effects of intolerance within our collective humanity,” said Vaughn. “By looking at Merchant through an intersectional lens, we are elevating its very current debate of social injustice and religious persecution, as well as highlighting the very prominent gender imbalance that exists within this play.”
Other cast members at this point include:
Isabella Abel-Suarez will appear as Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice. She is appearing at the Festival courtesy of the Southern Utah University Fellowship Program. At SUU she has performed in Rent, The Laramie Project, Heathers, and Assassins, as well as in Brighton Beach Memoirs at the Neil Simon Festival. She received the best actress award from SUU for her work in The Laramie Project.
In his debut year at the Festival, Kyle Bullock will play Salerio in The Merchant of Venice, Earl of Warwick in Henry VI Part One, and Nym in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He has appeared in Price and Prejudice, Othello, and The Merry Wives of Windsor at The American Players Theatre, as well as understudying at the Goodman Theater.
Wayne Carr, who is new to the Festival, will play Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice, the title role in Othello, and Alcippe in The Liar. Off-Broadway, he has appeared in Richard II at Pearl theatre and Funk It Up about Nothin’ at Joe’s Pub. His acting credits include extensive work in regional theatre (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale Rep, Guthrie, Folger Theatre, Seattle Rep, Goodman Theatre, American Players Theatre, etc.), as well as in television and film.
Michael Elich, who enjoyed his first year at the Festival in 2017 playing Long John Silver in Treasure Island, Jaques in As You Like It, and Burbage in Shakespeare in Love, will appear this year as Balthazar in The Merchant of Venice, Dr. Cauis in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Richard Plantagenet in Henry VI Part One. He has peformed extensively off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally.
Ty Fanning, who is new to the Festival this year, will appear as Solanio in The Merchant of Venice, Charles in Henry VI Part One, and Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He has appeared at American Players Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Door Shakespeare Company, and several others.
Tarah Flanagan, also new to the Festival this year, will play Portia in The Merchant of Venice, as well as Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Duke of Alanson and Edmund Mortimer in Henry VI Part One. She has performed across the country, including at The Mint and The Pearl off-Broadway. She is currently a company member and artistic associate at Great River Shakespeare Festival.
Josh Innerst will take on the roles of Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice, Pistol in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Earl of Suffolk and Earl of Salisbury in Henry VI Part One. Previously at the Festival he has appeared as Bardolph in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Martius in Titus Andronicus, Kent in Mary Stuart, and Tybalt and Friar Lawrence in the educational touring production of Romeo and Juliet.
Debuting at the Festival this year, Josh Jeffers will play Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice and Rev. David Marshall Lee in The Foreigner. He has performed in such diverse theatres as Public Theatre in New York City, the New York Classical Theatre, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, Warehouse Theatre, Theatre South Carolina, and many others.
Geoffrey Kent has been both a fight director and actor at the Festival, and will be fulfilling those dual roles again this year. He will be appearing onstage as Prince of Arragon in The Merchant of Venice, Master Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Lord Talbot in Henry VI Part One. Last season he appeared as Lord Wessex in Shakespeare in Love, Billy Bones in Treasure Island, and Oliver in As You Like It.
Tracie Lane returns to the Festival to play Tubal and the Duke of Venice in The Merchant of Venice, as well as Joan de Pucelle in Henry VI Part One. She appeared at the Festival in 2014 under the name of Tracie Thomason as Gabriella in Boeing, Boeing and Mariana in Measure for Measure. She has also played in regional theatre across the country, including American Shakespeare Center, Houston Shakespeare Festival, and American Stage Theatre Company.
Betsy Mugavero is returning to the Festival this year to play Nerisa in The Merchant of Venice, as well as Desdemona in Othello and Clarice in The Liar. She received wide acclaim last year for her roles as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Viola in Shakespeare in Love and has played numerous other roles in past years. She is currently producing artistic director of Southwest Shakespeare Company in Mesa, Arizona.
Paul Michael Sandberg will play various roles in The Merchant of Venice and Brabantio in Othello. Previously at the Festival he performed in the title role in Julius Caesar, Captain Smollet in Treasure Island, and Biff in Death of a Salesman, among others. He has acted at Huntington Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, and in many television series, including Chicago Hope, Seventh Heaven, Seinfeld, and NCIS.
Jamil Zraikat debuts at the Festival as Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice and Montano in Othello. He has also appeared at the Guild Hall of East Hampton, Westport Country Playhouse, and The Lost Colony. He has a B.A. in economics and political science from Bates College.
“This is an exciting group of actors in a controversially exciting play that promises to leave a lasting impression,” said Vaughn. “I can’t wait for our audiences to see these remarkable actors in action.”
In announcing these roles, Vaughn also noted that the season casting is nearly complete and other announcements will be coming quickly, “so watch our website for the latest news,” as well as in-depth bios and photos of all our acting company members.
Tickets are now on sale for the Festival’s fifty-seventh season, which will run from June 28 to October 13. In addition to The Merchant of Venice, the season will include The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Big River, The Foreigner, The Liar, and An Iliad*.* For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
Joan of Arc: A Hero or a Villian?
By Kathryn Neves
Most people know that Shakespeare wasn’t always overly concerned with historical accuracy. In fact, he was the king of taking artistic liberties. And there’s no better example of that than his treatment of Joan of Arc, featured in this season’s Henry VI Part One. The Maid of Orléans— France’s greatest hero— is one of Shakespeare’s most notorious and fascinating villains.
What can we say about Joan of Arc that hasn’t already been said? The French revered her as a heroine and a savior for centuries, and she was beatified by the Catholic Church in the early 1900s. Her near-miraculous military maneuvers and her extreme religious devotion paint a clear picture in the history textbooks. But not everyone loved her. Was she a war hero, gifted with political brilliance? Was she a saint, receiving visions from God and performing miracles? Or was she an evil criminal, using the religious piety of those around her to manipulate and use them? The English (and, thus, Shakespeare) certainly seemed to think the latter. When Joan was finally caught, her captors were “more joyous than if [they] had captured a king.” (quoted in Larissa Juliet Taylor, “Joan of Arc, the Church, and the Papacy, 1429–1920,” the Catholic Historical Review 98, no. 2 [April 2012]: 224). Shakespeare’s Joan of Arc is everything that the English hated about the real historical figure. So how different is Shakespeare’s Joan from the real maiden warrior?
Well, Shakespeare didn’t make everything up. There are several things about La Pucelle, as the Bard called her, that are true to life. A lot happens in the play that needs no Shakespearean embellishment. The first time we see Joan in Henry VI Part One, she has arrived in the court of Charles, the French dauphin. Without being told, she is able to identify the real Charles rather than the man they’d put in his place; “I know thee well,” she tells him, “though never seen before. / Be not amazed; there’s nothing hid from me” (1.2.68–69). This really happened; it’s well documented that when Joan first arrived in the court of Charles, she pointed the Dauphin out of the crowd though she’d never seen him before, to the amazement of everyone there (though in reality, Joan had met Charles a few days earlier; her dramatic introduction to the French Court was staged by the dauphin) (Larissa Juliet Taylor, The Virgin Warrior: The Life and Death of Joan of Arc [New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009]), 41).
This isn’t the only thing that Shakespeare preserved from history. Throughout his play, the English lords and soldiers consistently slander Joan, calling her words that should never be used in polite company. Lord Talbot calls her “puzel” rather than Pucelle; “puzel” being an old English term for a promiscuous woman. Historically, the English hurled insults at Joan quite often. In responding to Joan’s threats, the English sent multiple letters implying that Joan’s virtue was not as pure as she claimed— statements that enraged the Maid of Orléans.
Other things, too, are fairly accurate— the idea of the French side worshipping Joan as someone sent from God was certainly true, as well as her great rescue of Orléans and her loss in Paris. Shakespeare even alludes to her craftiness and the ways that she manipulated words; something that the real Joan was reported to have done throughout her whole life— especially at the trial just before her execution (Taylor, The Virgin Warrior, 136–37). But it’s Shakespeare’s embellishments of Joan of Arc that show just how much the English despised her.
One of the first differences between Shakespeare’s villainess and the real-life warrior is the way that Charles reacts to her as a person. In Henry VI Part One, Charles is immediately enamoured with her; he finds her beautiful and enchanting: “My heart and hands thou hast at once subdued. . . . Let me thy servant and not sovereign be” (1.2.111–113). Charles quickly begins to revere Joan as a religious figure, asking her how he might worship her. This is greatly different from the real history behind Joan of Arc. In truth, Charles cared very little for Joan at the beginning, and even throughout her entire campaign. He believed, initially, that even meeting with Joan would tarnish his image and make him look foolish. He even made fun of Joan behind her back, as recorded by multiple sources (Taylor, The Virgin Warrior, 42). Charles didn’t even want Joan to be truly involved in the war; even after he had accepted her and allowed her to join the army, Charles intended Joan to be nothing more than a figurehead. He and his counselors believed that if the French army had someone holy to look up to, that morale would be raised and they might be able to lift the siege at the city of Orléans (Taylor, The Virgin Warrior, 47). But Shakespeare’s Charles immediately puts his trust in Joan and sends her into battle at once.
Another stark difference between the play and history is Joan’s interactions with the Duke of Burgundy. This duke, called Philip the Good, was an interesting figure within the war. He had a strong claim to the French throne and was one of Charles’s fiercest competitors for the crown. Throughout the war he fought on the English side. Charles, after being officially crowned Charles VII of France, tried to negotiate a peace with the duke in order to avoid more French bloodshed. Joan, however, was enraged; she wanted to go after Burgundy and his followers to prove Charles’s superiority as the true French king. Joan, it appears, was a highly determined warrior; never wanting to negotiate or be cautious, she instead preferred to march straight into battle without any doubt or hesitation (Taylor, The Virgin Warrior, 98). But in Henry VI Part One, it is Joan who reaches out to Burgundy. It is Joan who seeks for peace with Burgundy and asks for his help in the war against the English. Joan’s clever words and use of logic is what eventually persuades Burgundy to change sides and take up arms against the English. Shakespeare’s Joan is more of a political maneuverer than a general— wildly different from her historical counterpart.
Perhaps the most telling difference in Joan’s character can be found toward the end of the play. Beginning in Act 5, Joan becomes everything that the English have accused her of. She begins to conjure devils and evil spirits to help her in her battle against the English. She behaves disdainfully toward her father and her upbringing, and she claims a pregnancy in order to avoid burning at the stake. In history, Joan did none of these things. According to sources from witnesses at her trial and her execution, Joan never wavered in her religious devotion; she was able to astound the theologians present at her trial with her eloquent and knowledgeable answers (Taylor, The Virgin Warrior, 137), and she spent her dying breath crying out to God and Mary. Not only that, but Joan never acted ashamed of her upbringing. Late in Joan’s military career Charles officially named Joan and her family members to the nobility; however, Joan gave no indication that she cared, and she never tried to use it to her advantage (though many members of her family did) (Taylor, The Virgin Warrior, 108). And most of all, Joan never wavered in her claim of virginity; that was one of the defining aspects of her identity, and even when threatened with death Joan never claimed anything to the contrary. This is something in Shakespeare’s play that galls many of Joan’s modern-day fans; in the play, to escape execution, Joan claims she is pregnant and lists a number of men as possible fathers of her unborn child.
Why is it that Shakespeare treats Joan of Arc with such disdain throughout his play? After all, his depictions of the other French leaders are fair. And most of Shakespeare’s other villains have wide complexities behind their evil behavior. Why is it that Joan stands alone as a two-dimensional villain?
It wasn’t just because she was French. After all, centuries had passed by the time Shakespeare wrote this play; because the War of the Roses was so distant, there weren’t too many reasons for him to drag Joan through the mud. Politically, the English weren’t actively fighting the French in Shakespeare’s day. Instead, the reason for Shakespeare’s portrayal can be explained in one word: religion.
Queen Elizabeth I’s father, Henry VIII, was the spearhead of the Protestant Reformation. It was because of him that England went from being a Catholic country to one entirely Protestant. From the time of Henry VIII’s reign to Elizabeth’s, there was a lot of contention between Catholics and Protestants in England. And after Elizabeth took the throne, the country was supposed to be completely Protestant. It makes sense, therefore, that Shakespeare would slander a Catholic hero like Joan of Arc; by calling her a heretic and an evil witch, Shakespeare was proclaiming his own Protestantism and creating propaganda for the anti-Catholic government.
The real Joan of Arc was a complicated person; intensely brilliant and courageous, impulsive and dangerous, her actions rescued France from the hands of the English. Shakespeare’s vilification of the woman shows us very clearly how the English felt about the French and about Catholics during the time period. And however inaccurate Shakespeare’s Joan may have been, the character makes for an exciting and fascinating villain; with her, the play becomes an exciting play about war, power, and good versus evil.
Celebrate the Bard's Birthday
When William Shakespeare’s birthday rolls around each year, you can bet there will be celebrations at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. This year, on April 23 and 24, the Festival will honor the Bard by celebrating his 454th birthday with local school children and the community through a variety of activities.
First, for elementary school students, the Festival will host the Bard’s Birthday Bash onsite at the Beverley Center for the Arts, 195 W. Center St, Cedar City. This year marks the 16th annual party where local elementary schools are invited to participate in an interactive experience centered around Shakespeare and theatre.
“The event was initially created as a chance for students to perform the Bard’s works on the Festival stages,” says Michael Bahr, Festival education director. “Over time, it has grown into a local tradition for Iron County schools; and because of its popularity, we had to expand it to two days to accommodate the number of schools wanting to be involved. It’s an incredible site to see so many come and play!”
Students in kindergarten through fifth grade perform scenes from Shakespeare’s works, observe other schools’ performances, learn and perform traditional dances, attend improvisation and text workshops, participate in jousting contests, and have birthday cake with Queen Elizabeth. They also have the opportunity to work with teaching artists prior to the event to prepare their scenes for the event.
“This annual tradition allows students to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday and be elevated through their own performances. This event brings hundreds of students to the Festival stages and grounds and reinforces the idea that Shakespeare’s plays are their plays, and these stages are their stages. All the World is their stage!” exclaimed Bahr.
As a tool to help future groups prepare for performances, the Festival is excited to announce the Shakespeare Scenes Database, an online resource of Shakespearean scenes for teachers and students. It contains hundreds of scenes which may be sorted by play, characters, and number of lines. Teachers and students are encouraged to use it to create their own Shakespeare performances. It can be found online at bard.org/shakespeare-scenes.
Next, another event associated with Shakespeare’s birthday is Renaissance Day, held at Cedar Middle School. This annual event provides a similar performance opportunity for intermediate students. They, too, get to enjoy cake with the Queen.
Finally, this year community members can also participate in the Bard’s birthday. On April 23, all are welcome to attend a special unveiling of the newest bronze statue in the Pedersen Shakespeare Character Garden at the Beverley Center, located just west of the outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. Cleopatra, by renowned sculptor Dennis Smith of Alpine Studio, will be added to the collection of bronze Shakespearean characters in the garden including Henry V, Falstaff, Hamlet, Juliet, and King Lear.
“We are thrilled Cleopatra will be joining the family,” says Fred C. Adams, Festival founder. “Dennis has captured a beautiful moment in Cleopatra’s story, and she will make a perfect addition to the Character Garden.”
A short program will begin at 1:30 p.m., followed by the unveiling at 2. Playmakers, the Festival’s youth theatre program, will provide entertainment. The donor for this new statue is Mountain West Small Business Finance, which has also underwritten the Festival’s Shakespeare-in-the-Schools Tour for over fifteen years.
The Festival is rapidly preparing for the 2018 season which runs June 28 through October 13. Plays are The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry VI Part One, The Merchant of Venice, The Foreigner, Big River, An Iliad, Othello, Pearl’s in the House, and The Liar. Tickets and information are available online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.
Announcing the Las Vegas Fundraising Gala
Artistic Director Brian Vaughn (left) and Founder Fred C. Adams
A scene from The Playmakers production of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival will celebrate its friends in Las Vegas with its annual Fundraising Gala April 19 at Cili Restaurant. The evening will feature mouthwatering food, fun entertainment, and exciting Festival updates. Cocktail hour begins at 6 p.m., with dinner at 7.
Entertainment will be an eclectic mix of Festival talent: Artistic Director Brian Vaughn will present an intimate offering of scenes from An Iliad, a one-man show he will star in this summer at the Festival; Founder Fred C. Adams will appear as Lady Bracknell from The Importance of Being Earnest and present a snippet from that popular play; and the Festival’s young performing company, The Playmakers, will entertain with musical numbers from some of their recent productions.
“This will be a great opportunity to meet together with friends and fellow Festival enthusiasts, and to support the Festival and its educational programs,” said Donn Jersey, director of development and a native of Las Vegas. “I look forward to meeting many new people and renewing old acquaintances.”
Tickets for the gala are $200 per person, and tables of eight are available. Funds from the event will be used to fund Festival education programs such as Playmakers, the Shakespeare Competition for junior and senior high schools students, and the Shakespeare-in-the-Schools Tour. Reservations are required and can be made online at bard.org/lvgala or by calling 435-586-7880.
The Festival’s fifty-seventh season will run from June 28 to October 13. This year’s plays are Henry VI Part One, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, Big River, The Foreigner, An Iliad, The Liar, and Pearl’s in the House. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.