The words of the Bard return to Adkins Arboretum when Shore Shakespeare performs A Little Touch of…Shakespeare Oct. 18 through 20 in the Arboretum meadow. Building on the resounding success of its meadow production of Twelfth Night last spring, Shore Shakespeare will present some of Shakespeare’s best-loved scenes, introduced by the author himself.
The Battle of the Sexes is joined anew with selected scenes from The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, Othello, Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night, among others. The performances promise love and laughs, inspiring language and backstage intrigue. A Little Touch of…Shakespeare comprises fourteen scenes from ten of Shakespeare’s plays, spanning his career. In addition to the scenes, an Entr’Acte of five of the Bard’s sonnets introduces Act Two. The scenes are adapted by Chris Rogers, who also wrote additional material. Twenty-seven different roles are played by four actors, one of whom plays Shakespeare himself.
The show features the onstage talents of Rogers, Avra Sullivan, Howard Mesick and Ashley Chroniger. It is directed by Patrick J. Fee and stage-managed by John Tereby.
Of the script, Rogers says, “A Little Touch won’t be mistaken for a biographical sketch of the life of William Shakespeare, though the people and events referred to throughout were real enough. This show is a wry look at the idea of perhaps we’ve misjudged him.”
The company will perform A Little Touch of…Shakespeare Fri., Oct. 18 and Sat., Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. An encore performance will be held Sun., Oct 20 at 3 p.m. All three performances will be held outside in the Arboretum meadow. Attendees should bring a blanket or lawn chair. Picnics are welcome.
Tickets are $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Box meals from Denton’s Lily Pad Café will be available for an additional $15 for patrons who reserve them on or before Wed., Oct. 16. Tickets and meals may be reserved at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410.634.2847, ext. 0. Proceeds benefit Shore Shakespeare and Adkins Arboretum.
A Little Touch of…Shakespeare is an original production of Shore Shakespeare, a new pan-community theatre group established to present the classic works of the theatrical repertoire and to encourage its audiences to support local community theatre across the Shore.
In photo: Avra Sullivan as Beatrice and Chris Rogers as Benedick in a scene from Much Ado About Nothing. Photo courtesy of Shore Shakespeare.