This year’s 22nd festival season will feature productions of William Shakespeare's "As You Like It,” and "Richard II," as well as Karen Tarjan’s “The Killer Angels, based on the novel by Michael Shaara."
"After the success of last year’s Michigan Shakespeare Festival run of performances in Canton, we are thrilled that they are continuing to expand their reach into the Canton community this summer," said Canton Arts Coordinator Jennifer Tobin. "The return of this limited-run engagement will give our residents the opportunity to see professional Equity actors performing classic theatre in repertory and will help to demonstrate why the classics continue to endure.”
The State of Michigan’s official Shakespeare festival's 2016 Season opens at the Potter Center in Jackson, MI, on July 7, 2016, and will be moving its productions to The Village Theater at Cherry Hill, located at 50400 Cherry Hill Road in Canton, MI, starting July 29, 2016. This year’s productions include:
"The Killer Angels" - The festival will present the Pulitzer Prize-winning book based on the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. This is a stage adaptation of Michael Shaara's novel. Playwright Karen Tarjan has adapted the novel, which Janice Blixt, the festival's artistic director, will direct. This is the theatrical premier of this piece.
"As You Like It" - This comedy features Rosalind and Celia fleeing to the forest, where they meet others, like themselves, who have created a society outside the strictures of the city and eventually find their true loves and their true selves.
"Richard II" - This drama tells the story of a boy who became England's King before he was 10. The prequel to last year's "Richard IV" is directed by Janice Blixt and stars Robert Kauzlaric as Richard.
Tickets are on sale now for the Canton performances of the 2016 Season, including season Flex Passes, at www.cantonvillagetheater.org. A Flex Pass will include one ticket to each production, and show dates and times can be chosen at the time of purchase, or at a later date. Ticket prices range from $16-$40, depending on patron’s age.
Founded in 1995, the Michigan Shakespeare Festival is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit professional theatre company operating under a League of Regional Theatres Letter of Agreement with the Ac¬tors’ Equity Association. The MSF is dedicated to entertaining and educating a broad-based audience through professional performances of Shakespeare’s works and other classic plays.
The Village Theater is a regional center for the arts that offers the magic of live theatre, soul-stirring music, the thrill of the dance, and the enjoyment of fine art exhibitions and events, in addition to providing a home for several cultural organizations and community groups.
For additional information about the Michigan Shakespeare Festival's collaboration with The Village Theater at Cherry Hill, please visit www.cantonvillagetheater.org or call 734/394-5300.