We are reaching that point in summer when we may lament, “summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” But, while enjoying the last dog days of summer, we reached out to our theater partners across the United States to see what’s onstage this August. What are you planning to see?
At the Folger
Before the school year resumes, the Folger has fun Saturday morning plans for the whole family. Get moving and grooving during the Theatre Dance Workshop with Havana Hop on Saturday, August 17, and during the Lines So Richly Spun workshop, participants may become part of a living sonnet while learning about rhyme, rhythm, and imagery.
Folger Fridays concludes its summer run of events with an evening dedicated to Arab Poetry and Music in the Folger Theatre on Friday, August 23.
Sunday, August 25, the Whose Democracy? Inside the Season Kickoff Event brings together the different departments of the Folger to explore the season’s themes centered on political power and civic participation. Explore political highlights from our current exhibitions, tour the galleries with Takoma Park poet laureate Taylor Johnson, enjoy readings from OB Hardison Poetry Series Manager and acclaimed poet Teri Ellen Cross Davis, view costumes from past productions, try on crowns and royal regalia, and hear from Folger leadership about how we are activating our season theme across the institution.
Atlanta Shakespeare Company
A fairy King and Queen come across four runaway lovers and a gaggle of amateur actors trying to rehearse a play in the forest in Atlanta Shakespeare Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, from August 17 to 31.
And for one night only, on August 28, the cast will pull their roles for that evening from a hat two minutes before the play begins: part improv, mostly Shakespeare, and a whole evening of midsummer madness.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
The world premiere of Kindred Spirits runs through August 18 at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. In this sequel to Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit, the whimsical chaos of the spirit world collides once more with the realm of the living.
Written by Alice Scovell, who also penned the 2023 CSC production The Rewards of Being Frank, a new sequel to Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, this sequel promises an enchanting continuation of the beloved classic. We’re also delighted to see frequent Shakespeare & Beyond contributor Austin Tichenor in the role of Charles Condomine.
The Old Globe
A once-in-a-generation event comes to San Diego in 2024: The Old Globe becomes one of only ten theaters in the country’s history to complete Shakespeare’s canon with Henry 6, the largest Shakespeare production the Globe has ever presented. Acclaimed Shakespeare director and the Globe’s Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein directs and turns the rarely produced Henry VI, Parts I, II, and III into a thrilling two-part event—Henry 6 One: Flowers and France and Henry 6 Two: Riot and Reckoning, running simultaneously now through September 15 in the Globe’s beautiful outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre.
Listen to Artistic Director Barry Edelstein share more about completing the canon and this production of Henry 6 on our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Coriolanus is onstage now through October at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Experience the intensity of Shakespeare’s Roman tragedy in a modern translation by Sean San José, directed by Rosa Joshi. Featuring a cast of female and non-binary actors, this powerful production explores ambition and fragile democracy, resonating during an election year.
San Francisco Shakespeare Festival
San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s 42nd season of Free Shakespeare in the Park presents The Tempest, playing in Redwood City’s Red Morton Park, Aug 10 to 25, and San Francisco’s Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park, August 31 to September 8.
Director Rotimi Agbabiaka has cast award-winning actress Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe in the role of Prospero–the first Shakespeare role she’s accepted in her 40-year history.
Shakespeare at Notre Dame
This month at Shakespeare at Notre Dame, the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival premieres its new production of As You Like It, directed by New York Magazine theater critic Sara Holdren and featuring elaborate puppet designs by Greg Corbino of Bread and Puppet Theater. As You Like It is onstage August 22 to September 1 at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center at the University of Notre Dame.
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s free tour of The Tempest directed by Tom Ridgely continues through August 25. Traveling to parks across Missouri and Illinois around the St. Louis Metro Area, this year’s production is a larger-than-life puppetry presentation of Shakespeare’s most enchanting romance, set on an island full of mischief, adventure, and epic plots of revenge from the sorcerer Prospera.
Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, The Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, and Shakespeare at Notre Dame are members of the Folger’s Theater Partnership Program.
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