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"The play's a crowd tickler—mistaken identities, a shipwreck, a pirate king, a bit with a dog, and love triumphant."
How now, dear friend?
What a delight it has been to swim in the Bard's wit and wonder with Shakespeare in Love as we poke, prod, and tease apart the conceit of a play within a play about the crafting of a play. (Wait, what?) Such is the inside-outside, entirely self-aware tension that lifts this swift and sweeping romantic comedy.
"This play is like a valentine to the joy, camaraderie, and utter chaos of bringing a play to life for the very first time," says Director Matt Pfeiffer, who has spent most of his career delving into the works of William Shakespeare.
As Elizabethan impresario and theatre owner Philip Henslowe offers in the play, "Let me explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster . . . But it always works out in the end." And here's hoping so, as we enter the final throes of our technical rehearsal process and coalesce this flight of fancy for your entertainment, before we open next week . . .
More anon,
Marcie Bramucci,
Director of Community Investment
Inside Shakespeare in Love
"Shall I compare thee to a ... sum ... a sum ... a something, something ... Damn it."
Enter a young, broke, and desperate William Shakespeare (before he was William Shakespeare), who faces his nightmare—writer's block. He is seeking, searching, and hungry for inspiration. Enter Viola de Lesseps. Or is that Thomas Kent? Will's muse is revealed in unexpected ways that lead to a star-crossed affair and inspiration for a new love story: Romeo and Juliet.
Our cast includes fifteen actors, three musicians, and one pooch; portraying
over thirty characters in the play, and the play within the play.
Shakespeare in Love first premiered at the Noël Coward Theatre in London's West End in 2014, then came to the US in 2017 at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Hailed as "warm and witty" (The Guardian), "funny," "genuinely moving" (Daily Telegraph), and "an absolute joy from beginning to end" (The Daily Express), this heart-warming adaptation of the 1998 Academy Award-winning romantic film continues to be produced across the country and around the world.
Katie Yamaguchi models a hat and doublet.
Our lovely costume shop recently took over the People's Light instagram to share their colorful world of brocades, crushed velvets, and excellent head wear. Follow us @peopleslight for more staff & artist takeovers throughout the run of Shakespeare in Love!
Performances run February 26
–
March 29 on the Leonard C. Haas Stage.
Cast & Creative Team
Taysha Marie Canales
Viola de Lesseps
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh
Kit Marlowe
Melanye Finister
Queen Elizabeth I, Wabash
Dan Hodge
Henslowe
Justin Jain
Lord Wessex
Anthony Lawton
Richard Burbage
Mark Lazar
Edmund Tilney, Sir Robert de Lesseps
Jaime Maseda
Will Shakespeare
Rachel Massey
Musician
Stephen Novelli
Fennyman
Pax Ressler
Sam
Bailey Roper
John Webster
Mary Elizabeth Scallen
Nurse, Ralph
Bobby Sheffield
Spot
Jahzeer Terrell
Ned Alleyn
Justin Yoder
Musician
Marc Norman & Tom Stoppard
Screenwriters
Lee Hall
Adaptor
Alex Bechtel
Composer, Music Director, & Sound Designer
Matt Pfeiffer
Director
Paige Hathaway
Set Designer
Olivera Gajic
Costume Designer
Lily Fossner
Lighting Design
Eli Lynn
Fight & Intimacy Choreographer
Erin Sheffield
Choreographer
Melanie Julian
Dialect Coach
Alix Rosenfeld
Dramaturg
Kate McSorley Fossner
Stage Manager
Zak Berkman
Line Producer
You can read the full bios of the cast and creative team on the production page of our website.
Enhance Your Experience
Psst, have you heard? We've announced Season 46!
Ready to renew your subscription?
You might have received materials in the mail. You can also visit our renewal table in the upper lobby of the Leonard C. Haas Stage during Shakespeare in Love (and pick up a delicious Asher’s chocolate-covered pretzel!) Or simply call the Box Office at 610.644.3500.
Around Town & Beyond
In the Press: Smart Caption Glasses
News of our Smart Caption Glasses has made it across the country!
Here's national coverage from ABC's Local-ish:
And a local CBS spot:
We were even featured in American Theatre Magazine, a publication of Theatre Communications Group (TCG).
Patron feedback continues to pour in:
"I can't tell you how grateful I was to be able to use the caption glasses to see The Children! I was a subscriber years ago, but since my hearing loss, I rarely go to the theatre anymore (and I was a member of Actors Equity and a former Barrymore nominator—so you know I love theatre). I was delighted at how well they worked . . . My husband and I will subscribe next season because I will finally have a chance to enjoy plays once again."
— Cynthia R.
Fresh on the Blog
NEW PLAY FRONTIERS
"The Game and the Change"
From the desk of NPF commissioned playwright Laura Schellhardt (Auctioning the Ainsleys, 2015)
Theatre news
EDUCATION
Register for SummerBLAST 2020
Summer theatre programs for ages 7-18 have been announced! Single and multi-week sessions are available.
FUNDRAISER
Our 45th Anniversary Gala
Join us on April 3rd to celebrate 45 years of art-making and civic exchange—past, present, and future—as we honor longtime supporters Fred and Barbara Sutherland.
New to Subscriber Insights?
Visit the archive to catch up on past issues.
Image Details: Shakespeare in Love illustration by Tori Harvey. Cast of Shakespeare in Love. Costume shop takeover: Katie Yamaguchi. Smart Caption Glasses; photos: Wide Eyed Studios. "The Game and the Change" workshop. SummerBLAST students; photo: Tori Harvey.
People's Light is located at
39 Conestoga Road
Malvern, PA 19355