Shakespeare & Company

Sitting through Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 can be a long slog on Elizabethan inspired cruel on the bottom benches at Shakespeare & Company. In a brisk, rich and often hilarious reduction and conflation by Jonathan Epstein to two long acts with intermission, clocking at three hours, through this delicious production mind prevails over matter. One's sore bottom in this case. During his 450th year S&Co. has been presenting Shakespeare up the wazoo.

Seven actors masterfully play a modern version of Shakespeare's timeless tale of Julius Caesar. Packer got the idea of seven actors from Shakespeare himself, who used that number of actors when he took his plays on tour.

There isn't a lot of depth and substance to Noel Coward's classic 1930 comedy Private Lives. Under artistic director Tony Simotes the game actors of Shakespeare & Company are striving to create an upbeat hilarious production. Through March 30 theatre is alive and well in Lenox as we wait for signs of Spring.

Shakespeare & Company has planned a celebratory season packed with Shakespeare, modern works, premieres and special events in honor of the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth. Tickets for the 2014 Performance Season go on sale in Mid-February. For specific date and info please check online at: www.shakespeare.org or by calling the Box Office at (413) 637-3353, or in person at 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA.

Not long after he took over as Artistic Director of Shakespeare & Company in 2009 Tony Simotes had to deal with near extinction caused by some $10 million in debt. With the board and managing director, Nicholas J. Puma, great strides were accomplished to reduce and restructure debt bringing stablity to the company which Tina Packer founded in 1979. In a major change the board has created the new position of Executive Director, Jerry Bilik, whom Simotes and Puma will report to. Those close to the company see this as a long term step foward.

Shakespeare & Company’s 36th Performance Season just keeps getting bigger and better! Artistic Director Tony Simotes is pleased to announce additional programming filled with dance, music, zany antics and more with four new additions to the already scheduled line-up.

Following a two year tour of Women of Will the founding artistic director of Shakespeare & Company, Tina Packer, returns with The Beauty Queen of Leenane co starring Elizabeth Aspenlieder. Last summer Olympia Dukakis and John Douglas Thompson had hit shows with The Tempest and Satchmo at the Waldorf. This summer they will perform together in the 20th century classic Mother Courage.

The Liar has all of the ingredients of a perfect French farce. The truth will set most people free, but for Dorante (our disingenuous hero) a series of fibs may pave a convoluted road to happiness. The Liar was originally penned by the classic 17th Century playwright Pierre Corneille, in 1664. This translation by award-winning American playwright David Ives merges the iambic humor of classic verse with a contemporary twist.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic to have Olympia join us again for our 36th Season,” says Simotes. “Our collaboration on The Tempest proved to be a successful one both artistically and personally. It was another chapter in our rich history together, and I’m excited to continue writing that history next summer. Olympia has an infectious energy that inspires one's artistic soul. She’s a dear friend and mentor. I’m eager to explore the depths of this fascinating play with her and Apollo, and once again share her immense talent with our audiences.”

In a sendup of the Hitchock classic 39 Steps a game and lively cast of four play a combined 32 characters. This fast paced production, directed by Jonathan Croy, slams and careens about from London to Scotland and back again. In the fall production at Shakespeare & Company superb actors are let off the leash in over the top, flat out farce.

In 1964 Louis Armstrong knocked the Beatles off the top of the charts with the hit "Hello Dolly." It was a compelling answer to a New York Times critic who pronounced him washed up. The bug eyed, grimacing, clowning, handkerchief waving Satchmo relaunched a career as the first super star in jazz. . The superb Terry Teachout play, Satchmo at the Waldorf, starring John Douglas Thompson, catches him after the gig in his dressing room just months before he died in 1971.

An ingenious thriller, the ultimate murder mystery, The 39 Steps has it all. Shakespeare & Company opens the 2012-2013 Fall & Winter season with this hilarious adaptation of John Buchan’s novel, which also draws inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film. Featuring a seasoned ensemble including Elizabeth Aspenlieder (Bad Dates), Jason Asprey (Parasite Drag), David Joseph (The Tempest), and Josh Aaron McCabe (Hound of the Baskervilles), The 39 Steps offers an intriguing, sidesplitting evening or afternoon at the theatre. The 39 Steps runs from September 22 through November 4 in S&Co.’s Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre.

As Shakespeare & Company continues to celebrate its 35th Season of "Rebellion and Revolution" in the Berkshires, Artistic Director Tony Simotes and Managing Director Nicholas J. Puma, Jr. are pleased to announce that on Monday, August 6, the Company surpassed $1 million in ticket sales for the 2012-2013 performance season, the earliest date the Company has reached that figure in its 35 year history. This feat also puts the Company 22.5% ahead of its box office totals from last year’s performance season at this time.

As part of the celebrations for its 35th Season, Shakespeare & Company is pleased to introduce a series of presentations and events tailored to its summer performance season. Engaging discussions, riveting talks, and insightful Q&A’s will all be featured in the Company’s packed calendar of special events. For more information on all of Shakespeare & Company’s special 35th Season offerings, including Founders’ Talks, Author! Author!, Tuesday Talks, Wednesday Q&A’s, Behind the Scenes Tours, and other special events.

King Lear runs from June 16 through September 1 in S&Co.’s Founders’Theatre. Press Opening is on Friday, June 23 at 7:30PM. This profound and devastatingly beautiful tale of regret is directed by Rebecca Holderness who sets the stage in 1906 Russia as the monarchy is crumbling and Lear’s world descends into madness.

Artistic Director Tony Simotes and Shakespeare & Company are pleased to present the world premiere of Cassandra Speaks by Norman Plotkin. In a tour de force performance, the versatile Tod Randolph takes on the role of Dorothy Thompson.

Shakespeare & Company has provided the best cure for the winter blues with a scrumptious, witty, madcap production of Moliere's Learned Ladies. Deftly directed by Tina Packer assisted by Jenna Ware they have evoked comic brilliance from a compelling cast of awesomely gifted actors. The production continues through March 25.

For the 35th season of Shakespeare & Company there is a stunning contrast between the old- King Lear and the Tempest- and the new Satchmo at the Waldorf. Olympia Dukakis will play Prospero in The Tempest. In a play being written and developed by Wall Street Journal drama critic, Terry teachout, John Douglas Thompson returns to Lenox in a one man show focusing on jazz legend Louis Armstrong and his mobbed up manager Joe Glaser

Shakespeare & Company’s Artistic Director Tony Simotes announces the titles for its 17th annual Studio Festival of Plays—a mini-marathon of plays never before performed at the Company, running one-day only on Monday, September 5th in Founders’ Theatre. Staged readings begin at 11:00 AM, and continue through to 11:00PM. Company actors and special guest actors will present seven productions throughout the day, in the form of works-in-progress and staged readings.

The Berkshire smart set has had "galas" up the wazoo. Artistic director, Tony Simotes,and benefit chairperson, Deborah Grausman, had a different idea. On a Monday night when New York theatres are closed many stars turned out for Broadway in the Berkshires at Shakespeare & Company. The musical revue was brilliantly hosted by the witty and charming Chip Zien. The successful event raised $50,000 for the education program.

Shakespeare & Company Artistic Director Tony Simotes proudly announces the benefit performance of Broadway in the Berkshires Monday, August 15th at 6:00pm, Founders’ Theatre, 70 Kemble Street , Lenox , MA . Proceeds will go to Shakespeare & Company’s internationally-acclaimed Education and Training Programs.

In 2009 a production of Romeo and Juliet ended its regional tour to open the season of Shakespeare & Company. With so many great works in the canon that are rarely seen why bring back yet another production so soon? Particularly with a juvenile case and no marquee stars to sell the play during a tough economy, stiff competition, and a desperate, ongoing struggle for the embattled, debt ridden company to survive. S&Co. gambled on a starkly different approach by director, Daniel Varon.

The contemporary play The Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson has been given a spirited and at times hilarious production at Shakespeare & Company. But a first rate, brilliant cast and totally committed performances are not enough to salvage a messy play that sinks to the bottom under the weight of trying to combine tragedy, a funeral, with comedy.

On Saturday, April 23 William Shakespeare turns 447. Shakespeare & Company in Lenox is planning a birthday bash. The fun begins at 1 pm with a performance of Hamlet at 7 pm. There will be cake and a toast following the evening performance. That's a lot of family fun with special ticket prices.

Tony Simotes, the artistic director of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, announces and comments on the program for the 2011-2012 season. A highlight that opens the season is the series Women of Will with Tina Packer and Nigel Gore. The epic project will be presented in five segments covering the entire arc of the works of Shakespeare.