Ohio Shakespeare Festival Prepares 2010 Summer Season
May 21, 2010“If you have ever wished that a Shakespeare production could somehow be outfitted with annotations and footnotes to help you understand what’s going on at every moment, there’s a much easier and more enjoyable alternative. Just sit in the audience while the Ohio Shakespeare Festival is performing.”
--Christine Howey, Rave and Pan
Ohio Shakespeare Festival, performing for the ninth summer at beautiful Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron, will present William Shakespeare’s merry comedy The Taming of the Shrew along with the not-often-performed tragedy, King Lear.
The Taming of the Shrew will preview on July 8, open July 9 and run through July 24. King Lear will preview on July 29, open July 30, and perform through August 15. Performances are Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at 8pm, with a Greenshow of songs, dances and skits performed by the younger Company members each evening at 7:30. Stan Hywet’s grounds open at 6pm for picnicking in a wide variety of scenic locations, and concessions are available.
The Taming of the Shrew will feature favorite OSF Company members Lara Mielcarek and Andrew Cruse as Kate and Petruchio, Shakespeare’s most popular feuding-turned-passionate lovers. Lara and Andrew played Ophelia and Hamlet opposite one another in the 2008 season, as well as husband and wife in The Comedy of Errors.
King Lear will feature OSF Artistic Director Terry Burgler in the title role, along with “sharper than a serpent’s tooth” daughters Dede Klein, Holly Humes and Tess Burgler. Company members Eric Lualdi (The Tempest, Romeo & Juliet), Timothy Champion (Twelfth Night, Much Ado about Nothing), Alfred Anderson (Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet) and Tom Stephan (everything) are all returning, accompanied by many other longtime and brand new Company members.
Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens is located at 714 N. Portage Path in Akron. Tickets are $30 for reserved seating (the first 100 seats closest to the stage), or $25 for festival (open) seating. Student tickets are $15, and further discounts on adult tickets are available for OSF and Stan Hywet Members. Starting June 1, reservations may be made any time through OSF’s web site at www.ohioshakespeare.com, or by calling the box office at (330) 673-8761 daily (except Mondays) from noon to 5pm.
“Burgler and his band of actors perform Shakespeare for the sheer joy of it. We audience members are fortunate to partake in such a gorgeous treat.”
(Akron Beacon Journal)
