PRESS RELEASE

The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival celebrates its 18th consecutive season of presenting free, live outdoor performances of the works of William Shakespeare to audiences in Northeast Ohio.  This summer’s productions are:

by William Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton

Adapted and directed by David Hansen

Live Original Music by Gary Lee

 

Adapted and Directed by Dr. Scott Miller

 

All shows start at 7:00 pm and are presented free of charge. Audience members are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets and seat themselves prior to each outdoor performance.  In case of inclement weather, visit www.cleveshakes.org for news on an alternate location.  

 

For more information about The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival or to get involved, contact us at 440.794.1CSF, email info@cleveshakes.org, find us on Facebook and Twitter, or visit www.cleveshakes.org. 

 

The Life Of Timon Of Athens, co-written by William Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton, holds a unique place in the Bard’s canon – a biting social satire about friendship as a commodity to be bought and sold, in a world where the greatest sin of all is debt.

 

In director David Hansen’s adaptation, Timon is the most admired man on campus, whose boundless generosity leads him to ruin. Betrayed by his friends, he abandons civilization and goes “back to the land”. As unrest grows in Athens, both sides appeal for his help.  Set in a certain state university in 1970, against a backdrop of unpopular war and student unrest, The Life of Timon of Athens is a hilarious history of hip hypocrisy.

 

The Life of Timon of Athens opens on Friday, June 5 at the P.E.A.C.E. Park in the Coventry neighborhood and tours a variety of outdoor venues:

 

Fri, June 5: Coventry P.E.A.C.E. Park, Coventry Rd and Euclid Hts Blvd, Cleveland Hts, OH, 44118

Sat, June 6:, Cuyahoga Community College West, 11000 Pleasant Valley Rd, Parma, OH 44130

Sun, June 7: Halloran Park, 3550 W 117^th St, Cleveland, OH 44111
 

Fri, June 12: Tremont Lincoln Park, 1208 Starkweather Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44113

Sat, June 13: Shaker Heights Community Colonnade, 3450 Lee Rd, Shaker Hts, OH 44120

Sun, June 14: Notre Dame College, 4545 College Road, South Euclid, OH 44121

 

Fri, June 19: Cahoon Memorial Park West, Cahoon Rd, Bay Village, OH 44140

Sat, June 20: Lakewood Park, 14532 Lake Ave., Lakewood, OH, 44107

Sun, June 21: Lorain County Community College Stocker Center for the Arts, 1005 Abbe Rd., Elyria, OH,  44035

Fri, June 26: Old Town Hall Bandstand, 6652 Brecksville Rd, Independence, OH 44131

Sat, June 27: The James A. Garfield National Historic Site, 8095 Mentor Ave, Mentor, OH, 44060

Sun, June 28: Grove Amphitheater, 425 N Commons Rd, Mayfield Village, OH 44143

 

The second show of the season, The Merchant of Venice, is directed by Dr. Scott Miller, who heads the Cleveland School of the Arts’ theater program. 

 

Filled with contrasts and controversy, containing comic elements mixed with trenchant comment on the nature of intolerance, justice and forgiveness, this is a play not easily categorized.  The merchant Antonio is approached for a loan by his dear friend Bassanio so that he may woo an heiress in another city.  Antonio, cash-poor until his ships return from their trade route, in turn borrows from the moneylender Shylock, who sees in this arrangement the possibility to exact a gruesome revenge for the years of injustice he’s suffered at the hands of Antonio and the rest of the city.

 

Fri, July 17: Coventry P.E.A.C.E. Park, Coventry Rd and Euclid Hts Blvd, Cleveland Hts, OH, 44118

Sat, July 18:, Cuyahoga Community College West, 11000 Pleasant Valley Rd, Parma, OH 44130

Sun, July 19: Penitentiary Glen Reservation, 8668 Kirtland-Chardon Rd, Chardon, OH 44094
 

Fri, July 24: Shaker Heights Community Colonnade, 3450 Lee Rd, Shaker Hts, OH 44120

Sat, July 25: Lakewood Park, 14532 Lake Ave., Lakewood, OH, 44107

Sun, July 26: Grove Amphitheater, 425 N Commons Rd, Mayfield Village, OH 44143

 

Fri, July 31: Notre Dame College, 4545 College Road, South Euclid, OH 44121

Sat, August 1 : Tremont Lincoln Park, 1208 Starkweather Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44113

Sun, August 2: Tremont Lincoln Park, 1208 Starkweather Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44113