Will (and Jane) this Summer in B’more

Frankly, when the wonderful Baltimore Shakespeare Festival closed its doors last year I thought it was curtains for live classical theatre in Baltimore.

Then I discovered the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. Their  summer venue under the stars at the old Patapsco Female Institute in Ellicott City is a bit of a drive, but this is SHAKESPEARE!

The CSC announced this spring that it has found a new indoor facility in downtown Baltimore. The  Merchantile Trust and Deposit Company building on East Redwood will allow for an eight month production schedule as well as extended educational programs. And they’ll continue with their summer tradition of performing alfresco at the PFI.

This summer the troupe will present two of the greatest love stories ever written. Huzzah!

Photolithography on paper for Toy Theatre; Romeo and Juliet  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Catch the Bard’s star crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet as the CSC open’s its season this weekend (June 8, 9 & 10 is opening weekend). Two R&J has another full weekend then it begins to run in repertory with CSC’s other summer production…

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

The most famous of Jane Austen’s novel’s Pride and Prejudice takes stage June 22nd. There’s a special REGENCY WEEKEND to launch P&P (June 22, 23 & 24).

There is a strong argument for READING Austen. But when it is performed really well, and really faithfully I love it too. I got to see EMMA performed last winter in PA, and it was delightful. And, of course I’ve seen every Austen film out there from the A&E Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth to the Bollywood inspired “Bride and Prejudice”. I doubt there will be any wet shirts on stage at the CSC but knowing the caliber of their productions I have very high hopes for this stage version of P&P.

Try and come during Regency Weekend. There will be a costume booth where you can try on period outfits, English Line Dancing, a talk on “Kitty and Lydia” with some  JASNA;MD folks (on Sunday) and Jane Austen trivia with me on Saturday!  (If you can’t make opening weekend the show runs in repertory with Romeo and Juliet until July 29th.

For tickets to the Romeo and Juliet or Pride and Prejudice you can go to http://www.chesapeakeshakespeare.com/tickets.html

For anyone who has stumbled upon this post and DOESN’T know the plot of Pride and Prejudice… this might help.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

And there’s more good news on the Shakespeare front. The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, which had been performing in Carroll County has moved to Charm City and taken over the Meadow at Evergreen Museum this summer.

The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory presents the Cannon as it would have been done in Bard’s day, in natural light (so the actors can see the audience as much as the audience can see the actors), minimal sets and contemporary music. We saw their Macbeth this spring and it was nicely done, indeed.

That’s the Doctor up in the tree, btw. He won’t be in the BSF’s performance, but how cool is that?

They will be doing Love’s Labour’s Lost from July 13 – Aug 5, and

the Taming of the Shrew from Aug 2 – Aug 26.

I have yet to see either of these to plays live so I’m very much looking forward to packing a picnic and heading to Charles Street to catch these.

For information on the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory go to  http://theshakespearefactory.com/

So in summary… Your summer should be filled with lots of great Shakespeare and Austen.

Breakdown:

Hope to see you under the stars this summer.

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BTW here’s my list of must brings to an alfresco theatre production: HAT, Sunscreen & Sunglasses (if its during the day), bug repellant, bottle of cold water, lawn chair or blanket, light sweatshirt/jacket (if its at night)  snack or picnic (optional), wine (optional), chocolate (optional, but always recommended.)