- The Two Gentleman of Verona
- Original Practice Taming of the Shrew
- Interactive DDDracula
- The Winter's Tale
- Hamlet
- Half-Baked Hamlet
- Sugar-Coated Shakespeare
- Hamlet, Jr.
"The Two Gentlemen of Verona" Back from its' hilarious 2010 run as an "unrehearsed original practice" production, we present a rehearsed and polished version of that audience-popular gem: Poignant and charming, the Bard’s oldest romantic comedy has a very modern theme: Making friendships work in the face of romance. Bosom buddies (“hopeless romantic” Proteus and cynical Valentine) travel from Verona to Milan, leaving behind Proteus’ beloved, Julia. In Milan, “the two gents” both fall for Silvia, who is (begrudgingly) engaged to Thurio, but falls in love with Valentine. Jealous Proteus betrays Valentine, causing him to be banished by Silvia’s father, the Duke, so that he alone can woo Silvia. Meanwhile, in order to win back Proteus, Julia disguises herself as a boy and travels to Milan, where she is befriended by Silvia. At the play’s climax, everyone travels to the woods in search of the banished Valentine (who has become leader of a band of marauding outlaws). Can friendship survive romance? Can romance survive friendship? How do the 2 gents fare with disdainful dukes, cross-dressing dollies, silly servants, marauding murderers and flailing friendships? |
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"The Original Practice Taming of the Shrew" Back from its' triumphant (rehearsed) run in 2008, we present Shakespeare's classic exactly as he intended--No rehearsals. No blocking. The actors know their parts but not the entire plot. Using the original "first folio" script and an approach that scholars believe to be the way in which Shakespeare and his contemporaries "originally practiced" (putting shows on their feet in mere hours) it is an audience-interactive “Shakespeare Improv” where the patrons know more about what's going on than the actors! Guaranteed to be different every time it is performed, we tell the story of Katherine, the sharp tongued oldest daughter of a wealthy Italian merchant (Baptisto), her favored younger sister, Bianca and Bianca's two suitors--a visiting nobleman named Lucentio and home-town boy Hortensio. The plot takes off when Baptisto declares that Bianca cannot marry until Katherine is wed. Into the fray wanders Paduan Petruchio, whose quest for a rich bride leads Bianca's suitors to offer to pay him to woo (and win) Kate while they each use disguise and subterfuge to wage war over Bianca's hand. In the end, the three romantically comic plots are tied together beautifully in a final scene that shows the transformative power of true love. Men play women, women play men and the performers have NO IDEA what comes next as the show unfolds, characters unfurl and the actors unravel! |
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"Interactive DDDracula" Bring your family (and garlic!) to this fresh, fast-paced and funny adaptation of one of literature’s most gothic adventures as Jonathan Harker, his fiancee Mina and her gullible friend Lucy stalk (and stake) evil Count Dracula. This tongue-in-cheek (fang in neck?) update of a beloved classic is part Mel Brooks, part Monty Python-like spoof, part beloved British pantomime and 100% hilarious. With an interactive twist unique to our theatre (the action “freezes” so the audience can vote on which way the plot will go) that GUARANTEES not only a different show every night but a coffin-full of belly laughs. The fate of the characters (and the direction of the story) rests in the hands of the audience in this BITING satire! |
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"The Winter's Tale" Filled with passion and humor, this tragi-comedy ushers us into a "Brothers Grimm"-like world of cruel kings, wronged children and miraculously reunited families. The intricate plot swirls around King Leontes of Sicilia, who suddenly believes that his pregnant wife, Queen Hermione, has been unfaithful with his visiting freind, King Polixenes of Bohemia. Despite proof that she is guiltless, Leontes condemns her. To escape imprisonment for life, she feigns her death and hides out in the house of Paulina, her faithful servant. There she must mend a heart broken not only by her husband's jealousy, but the ensuing death of their young son, Mamilius, and the loss of Perdita, the infant she bore in prison—declared a bastard and left to die in the Bohemian woods. Instead, a comic pair of father and son shepherds finds her and raise her as their own. Sixteen years later, the shepherdess Perdita is in love with Polixenes' son, Prince Florizel. Unhappy about this, Polixenes enlists the aid of Lord Camillo, who was exiled to Bohemia by Leontes. The disguised duo set out to retrieve Florizel from the unsuitable match aided by Autolycus, a crooked peddler who steals from the shepherds and romances the shepherdesses with song. Along the way, this (seemingly) tragic tale ends on a comedic and romantic high note. providing audiences with not only the most unusual reunion ever staged, but arguably the most touching moment in the canon. |
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"Hamlet" Perhaps mono made you miss freshman English that month. Or you're an alien visiting from another galaxy. Or maybe you were raised by wolves. Whatever the circumstance that caused you to be unfamiliar with the most well-known play of all time, the plot of Shakespeare's greatest work opens on a country at war with its' enemies and with itself: Under mysterious circumstances, Denmark's great and beloved King Hamlet suddenly dies, leaving the throne empty. But in a move of surprising speed, his devoted queen immediately marries the deceased king's brother, thus placing the crown on his head. The king's son, Hamlet, his friend Horatio in tow, arrives home from school to discover that all is not as it seems in his once-happy homeland. At the urging of the ghost of his deceased father, Hamlet sets out to unmask the truth behind the king's death. What he uncovers sets in motion a tale that shakes Denmark to its very foundations and leaves no life unchanged. It's a story of love lost and gained, intrigue and horror, madness and murder, betrayal and lust, with a few moments of comic grace to help lighten the load of Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece. |
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"Half-Baked Hamlet" Our local kids take the stage as an “eager-beaver” youth troupe that watches from the wings, dreaming of the day that they’ll be able to fill the shoes of the adult ensemble, acting out their own “parallel-universe” parody of the play that mixes juvenile cynicism, youthful optimism and a healthy dose of slapstick humor as they (and the audience) suffer the “slings and arrows” of outrageous comedy! |
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"Sugar Coated Shakespeare" "The sugar-coated learning experience with the Bard at the center!" Always the delight of kids and parents alike, our FREE Interactive Family Matinees are a patchwork quilt of Shakespeare and other classical literature, poems, songs and games interwoven into a tapestry of interactive family friendly fun and learning. Unlike other theatres, these family shows are performed by the professional actors from our Main Stage evening company, insuring top-quality performances even for our youngest patrons! |
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"Hamlet, Jr." Each year our Reach for the Stars "CAN DO" Summer Youth Camp culminates in the performance of a scaled down version of one of our Main Stage shows. At the camps, the actors from our professional company teach skills to the kids that are then incorporated into the performance. This year a record number of kids participated in "Hamlet, Jr."and a record number of patrons came to see the show, which concluded our 2011 NH Summer Season |
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