The Utah Shakespeare Festival has announced their 2021 schedule which will run from June 21 to Oct. 9.
“The 2021 season at the Utah Shakespeare will be like no other in our history,” said executive producer Frank Mack. “It is our 60th year, it is dedicated to our founder, Fred C. Adams and it marks our return to producing after missing 2020. It will be a magnificent experience.”
The season will feature eight plays in three theaters, plus all the extra “Festival Experience” traditions and activities guests have come to love over the last six decades. These include the “Greenshow,” backstage tours, “Repertory Magic,” various seminars, orientations and numerous classes.
In addition to dedicating the season to him , the festival is planning on a celebration in Aug. of the life of Fred C. Adams, who founded the festival in 1961 and passed away this past Feb.
Because the USF 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19, the schedule will put on the 2020 productions for the 2021 season.
The plays will be William Shakespeare’s “Richard III,” “The Comedy of Errors,” “Pericles” and “Cymbeline.” It will also include the musicals “Ragtime” by Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, “The Pirates of Penzance” by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, “Intimate Apparel” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and “The Comedy of Terrors” by John Goodrum.
“This upcoming season is a mixture of plays rolled over from the cancelled 2020 season, with the addition of three exciting and reflective plays that capture the heartbeat of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s enduring mission,” said Artistic Director Brian Vaughn. “All of these titles explore varying themes of identity and mortality; the debate of fate versus free will; and the examination of the human spirit’s ability to overcome injustice and oppression. Combined, they make up a rich tapestry of drama that magnifies the intricacies of our collective humanity.”
In the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre
The 2021 season will start June 21-23 with three Shakespearean shows running in rotating repertory in the Festival’s beautiful outdoor Engelstad Theatre.
Playgoers will have a chance to see the rarely performed “Pericles” from June 21 to Sept. 9.
“Richard III” is the next installment in the Festival’s History Cycle, completing the story of the War of the Roses told in “Henry V,” and the three parts of “Henry VI,” which will play from June 22 to Sept. 10.
“The Comedy of Errors,” one of Shakespeare’s funniest plays, will open June 23 and play through Sept.11.
In the Randall L. Jones Theatre
Two spectacular musicals and a hilarious two-actor farce will be featured in the indoor Randall L. Jones Theatre.
First will be the ever-popular Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, “The Pirates of Penzance,” which plays from June 25 and runs to the end of the season, Oct. 9.
Next will be “Ragtime,” which opens June 26 and plays through Sept. 11.
Balancing out these two large musicals will be a play which is smaller in actor numbers, but features dizzying action and dialogue: “The Comedy of Terrors” will play July 29 through Oct. 9.
In the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre
Another Shakespeare play and a lyrical and warm but powerful play by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage complete the 2021 season in the Anes Studio Theatre.
“Cymbeline,” William Shakespeare’s fantastical romance, will open on July 16 and run through Oct. 9.
Completing the season will be “Intimate Apparel” which runs from July 17 to Oct. 9.
“The 2021 season marks sixty glorious years producing Shakespeare under the stars at the Utah Shakespeare Festival,” said Vaughn. “It will be a season filled with celebration and reflection, including honoring the legacy of Festival founder Fred C. Adams and the incredible achievements of his remarkable life.”
For more information on plays or the Festival in general, and to order tickets, visit the Festival’s website at bard.org or call 800-PLAYTIX.
For a preview of the plays and to find out what they’re all about, click here.
To read the original article published on Aug. 17, visit bard.org.
Story and photos courtesy of: bard.org
