Esther French
![solar-eclipse-pixabay](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/08/solar-eclipse-pixabay.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Eclipses in Shakespeare's plays
Here are three of the ways Shakespeare used eclipses in his plays and poems. Did you know? In 1598, England experienced a total solar eclipse.
![Hamlet at The Old Globe Hamlet at The Old Globe](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/08/hamlet-old-globe-skull.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in August
Every month, we share a snapshot of Shakespeare in performance around America. Which plays are opening this month? We check in with our theater partners.
![Colorado Shakespeare Festival Henry VI Part 2 Colorado Shakespeare Festival Henry VI Part 2](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/08/Colorado-Shakespeare-Festival-HenryVI-red.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Completing the Shakespeare canon
Colorado Shakespeare Festival has completed the canon for the second time since its inaugural season. See which other theaters have completed the canon.
Quiz: Can you guess the Shakespeare play just from its most memorable props?
How well do you know the props in Shakespeare’s plays? Take the quiz!
![Rosalind-Angela-Thirlwell](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/07/Rosalind-Angela-Thirlwell.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Rosalind: Shakespeare's Immortal Heroine - an excerpt
Read an excerpt from “Rosalind: Shakespeare’s Immortal Heroine” by Angela Thirlwell, in which she traces the performance history of “As You Like It” and interviews famous actresses who have played this role onstage.
![Akala](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/07/Akala-headshot.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Akala and hip-hop Shakespeare
“Is it hip-hop or is it Shakespeare?” Learn more about Akala and how he uses hip-hop to spread an understanding of the relevance of Shakespeare’s poetry.
![Paul Michael Sandberg (left) as Egeus, J. Todd Adams as Theseus, Melinda Parrett as Hippolyta, and Melissa Graves as Jane Snout in the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2017 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Photo by Karl Hugh. Copyright Utah Shakespeare Festival 2017.) Midsummer at Utah Shakespeare Festival 2017](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/07/Midsummer-Utah-Shakespeare-Festival-2017.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Three Hamlets and a hip-hop Romeo and Juliet: What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in July
Every month, we share a snapshot of Shakespeare in performance around America. Summertime is high time for free outdoor performances of the classics.
![The Boys, The Boys. Jesse Bhamrah as Romeo, Christian Strange as Mercutio, and Chris Vizzuraga as Benny V in the Q Brothers'](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/07/Boys_I-Heart-Juliet_2017.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
The Q Brothers take on the star-crossed lovers
The Q Brothers are back at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival this summer with I Heart Juliet, a hip-hop adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
![Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/06/Falstaff-Merry-Wives-OSF-2017-1.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
A Falstaff feast
Find Falstaff at Nebraska Shakespeare, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Shakespeare Dallas.
![The Book of Will The Book of Will](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/06/Book-of-Will-HVSF-2.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
The Book of Will: An imagined backstory for the Shakespeare First Folio
The Book of Will, a new play by Lauren Gunderson, explores the back-story of how Shakespeare’s friends assembled his plays into the book we know today as the First Folio, without which we might have forever lost plays such as…
![Robert Sean Leonard as King Richard II Robert Sean Leonard as King Richard II](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/06/KingRichardII-OldGlobe-e1497300474440.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Robert Sean Leonard as Richard II: What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in June
Experience a snapshot of Shakespeare in performance around America, from a female Hamlet in Colorado to Robert Sean Leonard as Richard II in San Diego.
![139058-social](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2017/06/139058-social.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Quiz: Match the painting to the Shakespeare play
Which Shakespeare play is depicted in each of these paintings from the Folger collection? Take the quiz.