s 34th season will bring locals a taste of Shakespeare, Greek mythology and all that falls in between.
“Part of what went into this summer was the exciting lessons that we learned in the last couple of years, putting a piece together, understanding our audience better, understanding how this festival can grow and develop,” said Jason King Jones, artistic director of the festival, commonly known as PSF. “Also what makes our audience and our community really special, [is] making sure that we’re cultivating a season that offers the best possible entertainment and performances for our community.”
The festival features nine shows this summer, primarily at DeSales University’s Labuda Center for the Performing Arts. The shows range from main stage performances at DeSales, children shows and an outdoor tour of “Much Ado About Nothing,” as part of PSF’s “Play On!” initiative, which seeks to build community in theater.
All the action on stage kicks off Wednesday, May 28, when the festival opens with “Penelope,” a musical comedy set in the time period just after the Trojan War. Penelope is the wife of Odysseus, who takes decades to return home after the famous war.
“We get to spend time with the woman who’s normally not at the center of that story, which is something that we think is really important for us to be able to highlight,” Jones said. “And it’s funny. It’s really touching.”
Other shows, such as Mel Brooks’ “The Producers,” takes the Shakespearean tradition out of PSF’s season, and replaces it with satirical and chaotic humor on the main stage. It opens on June 11, and runs until the end of the month.
“Mel Brooks has a style of humor and an approach to a worldview that is hilarious and biting and takes no prisoners when it comes to skewering people for their foibles,” explained Jones, referring to the director of the original 1967 film.
Also on the main stage are two contrasting Shakespeare shows — though one is far more well known than the other.
The tragedy “Hamlet” will run from July 9-Aug. 3, and will overlap with “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” which takes place from July 17-Aug. 2. The latter show is about two extras from a performance of Hamlet pondering the meaning of life in a show even they can’t fully grasp.
“It’s Shakespeare’s ultimate tragedy, and doing that in repertory with with Tom Stoppard’s great exhibition comedy also then takes the same Shakespeare characters and puts them kind of through the looking glass,” Jones said. “That’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to program those two shows together.”
“Timon of Athens” will be performed in “Extreme Shakespeare” style in late July. It means that “actors arrive with lines learned, rehearse on their own, and open within days. No directors. No designers,” as described on PSF’s website.
For a more serious tone, the play “A Raisin in the Sun” will bring themes of resilience and adversity to the smaller Schubert Theater starting June 25.
Jones emphasized that family entertainment will be a forefront of this summer’s festival. “The Princess and the Frog Prince” and “Shakespeare for Kids” are shorter, fun shows that will seek to get families involved to watch theater in a more casual setting. The festival is partnering with four libraries in the area to work on pre-programming for the show. “Shakespeare for Kids” will produce an abbreviated and more family-friendly version of “Hamlet.”
This season also will feature more audience engagement, something that was discussed by the festival organizers throughout the past year. PSF recently launched a podcast, “As You Mic It,” which regularly features special guests and directors of the festival.
Jones emphasized that in addition to post-show conversations on many Thursdays during the season, PSF will add in an “epilogue” conversation after shows on Saturday mornings. He explained that it’s for “people who’ve seen the shows and want to gather and have conversations about the plays, learn more about them after seeing the show and then also maybe have backstage tours with the artists.”
“We do see ourselves as a teaching theater,” Jones said. “We have a cohort of young company actors who are active interns, who may play some of the smaller roles and may function using some of the shows. And we understand that the way that the theater industry can thrive is for us to make sure that we create really great opportunities for early career professionals to work titles on some of the best shows.”
More information about tickets can be found on PSF’s website, .
If you go:
The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival runs May 28-Aug. 3, with most shows at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts on the DeSales University campus in Center Valley. Here’s what you need ot know.
Main Stage:
The Producers: June 11-29
Hamlet: July 9-Aug. 3
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: July 17-Aug. 2
Schubert Theater:
Penelope: May 28-June 8
A Raisin in the Sun: June 25-July 13
Timon of Athens: July 23-Aug. 3
The Princess and the Frog Prince (kids): July 4-Aug. 2
Region-wide:
Much Ado About Nothing: May 30-June 15; Information about the tour and stops can be found on PSF’s website.
Andreas Pelekis is a freelance writer.
