Hamlet, Complete Works, Measure for Measure, Dracula, and more
A season of powerful drama, spine-tingling horror, and riotous comedy are scheduled for Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s 2019-2020 Season, opening downtown this October and continuing in summer outdoors in Howard County.
“We expect our 18th season to be our most entertaining yet, with some of the most popular plays in history,” said Founder and Artistic Director Ian Gallanar. He has programmed a season that includes the monumental tragedy Hamlet; the madcap and improvisational romp, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged; and the provocative Measure for Measure, a tale of corruption and lust that Shakespeare practitioners and scholars are re-assessing in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
Looking ahead to the Halloween season, the theater company will reprise in Baltimore one of its greatest hits from its seasons outdoors, an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Speaking of hauntings, the company’s seventh annual production of A Christmas Carol (with a Baltimore twist) will find Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come on Calvert Street in December.
The outdoor play for Summer 2020 at the Patapsco Female Institute Historic Park will be Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, a favorite romantic comedy in which gossipers and meddlers pave the rocky road to the altar for a reluctant but sparking couple.
The company will also produce Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Christmas Carol, and Hamlet as school matinees for the 2019-2020 academic year.
Subscriptions sales have opened.
Individual ticket sales will begin in August 2019.
For media inquiries: Contact Jean Thompson, Director of Communications, at 443-845-6130 (cell) or 410-244-8571, ext. 106 (office). Email: Thompson@chesapeakeshakespeare.com
Season 2019-2020 at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company
Adapted from the novel by Bram Stoker
October 4 – November 2, 2019
The mesmerizing and classic tale of horror and romance: Sinister events in a sanitarium reveal the lurking presence of the greatest vampire of all time.
A Christmas Carol
By Ian Gallanar, adapted from Charles Dickens
December 6 – 24, 2019
Ebenezer Scrooge lives in Victorian Baltimore in our one-of-a-kind adaptation of the classic ghost story. A delight for all ages, A Christmas Carol (with a Baltimore twist) celebrates local history and Chesapeake culture while staying true to the traditional story.
Measure for Measure
By William Shakespeare
February 7 – 23, 2020
When her brother is condemned to die, a novice nun appeals to Verona’s Puritanical new leader for mercy. He will grant it, but demands a shocking price, as lust corrupts his moral certitude. Written 400 years before #MeToo, Isabella’s dilemma is a powerful, complex, and timely story.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged
By Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield
March 6 – 29, 2020
Thirty-seven plays in 97 minutes! Three madcap men in tights weave their wicked way through Shakespeare’s comedies, histories, and tragedies in one irreverent night that will leave you breathless and helpless with laughter.
Hamlet
By William Shakespeare
April 17 – May 10, 2020
Hamlet may be Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy. It’s also a fast-paced drama overflowing with robust language, piercing ideas, and dark humor. Prince Hamlet wrestles with madness as he seeks to avenge his father’s murder.
IN-THE-RUINS, PFI Historic Park, Ellicott City
Much Ado About Nothing
By William Shakespeare
June 19 – July 26, 2020
It takes a village of meddlers, gossips, and fools to nudge Beatrice and Benedick toward the altar. They are made for one another. Everyone sees it…except them, of course. Enjoy Shakespeare’s smart-and-sassy romantic comedy under the stars at the PFI Historic Park. Bring a picnic!
