News From the Festival
The Quality of Mercy and Justice
Tony Amendola as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, 2010
By Kathryn Neves
The Merchant of Venice has always been a popular choice with Utah audiences. Since the beginning years of the Festival, people have flocked to see the merry misadventures of Bassanio and Portia, Launcelot and his father, and the not-so-merry misadventures of Shylock. It’s certainly interesting to watch. After all, The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s only “comedies” with more sadness than mirth. Why is that?
Shakespeare begins his play with the words, “In sooth I know not why I am so sad—” a strange way to start a comedy, to be sure. From the very beginning, this play is more subdued, more solemn than its hilarious counterparts. Ships are lost at sea, a daughter is trapped into marriage by the will of her father, women dress as men— wait. Maybe it’s not so different from the other comedies after all.
Still, though, you can’t deny that all the Shylock business reads more like a Macbeth than a Twelfth Night. For a villain (if he is a villain) in a comedy, Shylock is extremely bloodthirsty. Rather than taking money or valuables as collateral in his business deal, Shylock demands a pound of Antonio’s flesh— “to be cut off and taken in what part of [his] body pleaseth [him].” When Antonio cannot pay back Shylock’s loan, Shylock is adamant that he be able to cut into Antonio’s flesh in a perverted version of “justice.”
Justice is one of the play’s biggest themes; throughout, characters demand and receive justice— and some characters are even trapped by it. It makes sense, then, that the other big theme of this play is mercy— justice and mercy go together like yin and yang, or salt and pepper. The idea of mercy seems to follow all the moments of justice in this play— Shakespeare won’t give you one without the other.
Portia is trapped by an odd sense of justice. Before her father’s death, he made a strange rule— she could only marry a man who could pick the right casket out of a choice of three; and any man that picks the wrong casket has to swear to leave and never marry anyone. It’s odd, but Portia is trapped by it; even though her father is dead, his word is law. We can see that she has every intention of following her father’s wishes. When Bassanio finally arrives at her house, after a series of buffoonish suitors, Portia urges him to wait a while before choosing a casket; she tells him that “in choosing wrong I lose your company.” Even though she clearly loves Bassanio already, she plans to honor her father’s wishes— even if it means she has to lose Bassanio forever.
She holds her other suitors to a high standard of justice, too. When each one chooses the wrong casket— one silver, one gold— she tells them that they must leave her forever; and, beyond that, they can never again woo another woman. Their prospects for marriage are completely over. It’s a harsh penalty to pay, but since they agreed to it beforehand, justice dictates that they have to abide by those rules. In this instance, there’s a conspicuous lack of mercy. We can’t help but wonder how Portia’s father, and Portia herself, could punish these men so severely without any kind of forgiveness. One strike, and they’re out; no more chances for them. Shakespeare seems to be setting the stage with these lighthearted scenes for heavier examples of the powers of justice and mercy.
The most obvious example of justice within The Merchant of Venice makes for one of the most interesting stories in all of theatre. We watch with amazement and horror as Shylock demands his own twisted justice; he demands to be allowed to cut out Antonio’s flesh as a punishment for an unrepaid loan. Throughout act 4, Shylock references justice so many times that we lose count. He demands, over and over again, for his “bond;” that is, Antonio’s flesh. He refuses to listen to any pleas or supplications. Shylock believes that justice is the highest power to which he can appeal. His absolute certainty in the rightness of his cause is astounding to watch: how, we wonder, can someone be so set in his ways that he has no concept of mercy? The duke, who acts as judge to this transaction, says that Shylock is “uncapable of pity, void and empty from any dram of mercy.” This really isn’t an exaggeration. Shylock’s unrelenting sense of justice is his way of seeking revenge on everyone who has wronged him in the past (and there have been many).
It is the other members of this melodrama who continue to bring up the theme of mercy throughout the trial. They beg for it, and they cannot believe that Shylock has none. After all, even when Bassanio offers Shylock three times the amount of money lost, Shylock still refuses; he “crave[s] the law, the penalty and forfeit of [his] bond.” And it’s here that Shylock practically condemns himself; he says, “my deeds upon my own head.” In denying Antonio any mercy, he is inadvertently denying himself any future mercy from anyone.
It’s in this exciting scene that we get one of the most beautiful monologues in all of Shakespeare. In it, Portia explains what mercy is and why it’s important. “The quality of mercy is not strained,” she explains. “In the course of justice none of us should see salvation.” And she’s right. Without mercy to temper it, justice quickly becomes something tyrannical, swift, and incredibly harsh.
When Shylock again refuses to show any mercy, he becomes condemned. In one of the most exciting courtroom revelations in theatre, Portia declares that Shylock can take his pound of flesh— but he cannot take a drop of blood. If he does, his lands, his money, and even his life are forfeit to the law. Now it’s Shylock that is, ironically, at the mercy of justice. And this time, Portia refuses to give it to him. Interestingly enough, though she seems to believe very much in the qualities of mercy, she herself has none to spare for Shylock. So, in the end, Shylock is powerless to the demands of justice. It’s only because of the small mercy of the duke and Antonio that Shylock even keeps his life; beyond that, though, he loses all of his possessions, and, in a particularly cruel punishment, he is forced to abandon his lifelong belief system and become a Christian. In a way, his very soul becomes forfeit to the bounds of justice to which he so fervently clung.
Though throughout the play most of the characters constantly talk about the virtues of mercy, it seems that none of them are merciful enough to forgive Shylock. Overall, the only mercy Shylock receives is being able to escape with his life. Mercy, apparently, is not as easily given as it is taken. Every single character demands justice for others and mercy for themselves.
We can learn a lot from this play; we learn that religious intolerance can lead to hatred and violence. We learn that love comes to the humblest and the most worthy. But most of all, we learn that justice and mercy are complicated. In the end, it’s not really clear what Shakespeare really felt— was justice more important, or mercy?
Exciting Surprises in 2018 Casting
Isabella Abel-Suarez
Kyle Bullock
Michael Elich
Tarah Flanagan
Josh Jeffers
Tracie Lane
Paul Michael Sandberg
Jamil Zraikat
Leslie Brott
Wayne Carr
Ty Fanning
Josh Innerst
Geoffrey Kent
Betsy Mugavero
Lisa Wolpe
Artistic Director Brian Vaughn has announced the first round of casting for the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2018 season—including an exciting surprise. Four talented female actors will be playing roles in The Merchant of Venice normally played by men: nationally-recognized actor Lisa Wolpe will be playing Shylock, long-time Festival favorite Leslie Brott will play Antonio, Festival alumnus Tracie Lane will play Tubal, and Southern Utah University student Isabella Abel-Suarez will play Launcelot Gobbo.
The popular play (this is its eighth production at the Festival) is being directed this year by Melinda Pfundstein, who pointed out that this idea is not new: all the female roles in Shakespeare’s day were played by men or boys. Also, many theatres today are casting across gender lines to examine the various ideas embedded within Shakespeare’s plays. She noted that the pronouns will not be changed and the costumes will be those of men. It will simply be women playing the roles of men. This “gender imaginative casting,” as she called it, is an opportunity to unlock the play by allowing a marginalized voice to play a marginalized role.
“Using this as an entry point for our production seems simply to be an extension of original practice,” said Pfundstein. “My experience and feeling is that, moments in, people will forget about gender. My hope is that it will simply unlock the play and imaginations of our audiences to hear, see, and consider with senses afresh.”
“Cross-gender casting . . . can create a unique and imaginative discourse,” said Wolpe. “It demands mastery in walking in the shoes of the ‘other,’ . . . thereby creating an opportunity to highlight and reinforce the things that connect us within our communities—empathy, resilience, kindness, shared humanity, and the healing power of love."
In addition to playing Shylock, Lisa Wolpe will appear as Bedford in Henry VI Part One. New to the Festival, she has appeared at numerous theatres, as well as co-starring on television in L.A. Law and A Year in the Life. Recognized across the country with numerous awards and accolades, she is the founder and was until recently the artistic director (1993–2017) of the Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company.
“I hope you will allow your imagination to accept and believe the characters so you can become emotionally engaged with the story,” said Brott about this imaginative casting. “This season I’ll be playing the role of a wealthy merchant, with international business concerns, who is a good friend to his friend in need. The script uses male pronouns when referring to my character, so that’s what we’ll be using. And I’m going to wear clothes that men traditionally wear. But my real casting is as a friend doing something for his friend. The audience, if they need to apply a gender to the role, is invited to imagine me as a man or a woman or whatever works for them. But what I hope they’ll imagine is me as a friend.”
In addition to Antonio in The Merchant of Venice, Leslie Brott will be appearing as Mistress Quickly in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Duke of Exeter in Henry VI Part One. Festival audiences will fondly remember her work last season as the Nurse in both Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare in Love and as General Cartwright in Guys and Dolls. She has also appeared in a number of seasons since 1992 and is currently head of actor training at Utah State University.
“The Merchant of Venice is the centerpiece of our season that centers on the adverse effects of intolerance within our collective humanity,” said Vaughn. “By looking at Merchant through an intersectional lens, we are elevating its very current debate of social injustice and religious persecution, as well as highlighting the very prominent gender imbalance that exists within this play.”
Other cast members at this point include:
Isabella Abel-Suarez will appear as Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice. She is appearing at the Festival courtesy of the Southern Utah University Fellowship Program. At SUU she has performed in Rent, The Laramie Project, Heathers, and Assassins, as well as in Brighton Beach Memoirs at the Neil Simon Festival. She received the best actress award from SUU for her work in The Laramie Project.
In his debut year at the Festival, Kyle Bullock will play Salerio in The Merchant of Venice, Earl of Warwick in Henry VI Part One, and Nym in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He has appeared in Price and Prejudice, Othello, and The Merry Wives of Windsor at The American Players Theatre, as well as understudying at the Goodman Theater.
Wayne Carr, who is new to the Festival, will play Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice, the title role in Othello, and Alcippe in The Liar. Off-Broadway, he has appeared in Richard II at Pearl theatre and Funk It Up about Nothin’ at Joe’s Pub. His acting credits include extensive work in regional theatre (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale Rep, Guthrie, Folger Theatre, Seattle Rep, Goodman Theatre, American Players Theatre, etc.), as well as in television and film.
Michael Elich, who enjoyed his first year at the Festival in 2017 playing Long John Silver in Treasure Island, Jaques in As You Like It, and Burbage in Shakespeare in Love, will appear this year as Balthazar in The Merchant of Venice, Dr. Cauis in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Richard Plantagenet in Henry VI Part One. He has peformed extensively off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally.
Ty Fanning, who is new to the Festival this year, will appear as Solanio in The Merchant of Venice, Charles in Henry VI Part One, and Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He has appeared at American Players Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Door Shakespeare Company, and several others.
Tarah Flanagan, also new to the Festival this year, will play Portia in The Merchant of Venice, as well as Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Duke of Alanson and Edmund Mortimer in Henry VI Part One. She has performed across the country, including at The Mint and The Pearl off-Broadway. She is currently a company member and artistic associate at Great River Shakespeare Festival.
Josh Innerst will take on the roles of Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice, Pistol in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Earl of Suffolk and Earl of Salisbury in Henry VI Part One. Previously at the Festival he has appeared as Bardolph in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Martius in Titus Andronicus, Kent in Mary Stuart, and Tybalt and Friar Lawrence in the educational touring production of Romeo and Juliet.
Debuting at the Festival this year, Josh Jeffers will play Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice and Rev. David Marshall Lee in The Foreigner. He has performed in such diverse theatres as Public Theatre in New York City, the New York Classical Theatre, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, Warehouse Theatre, Theatre South Carolina, and many others.
Geoffrey Kent has been both a fight director and actor at the Festival, and will be fulfilling those dual roles again this year. He will be appearing onstage as Prince of Arragon in The Merchant of Venice, Master Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Lord Talbot in Henry VI Part One. Last season he appeared as Lord Wessex in Shakespeare in Love, Billy Bones in Treasure Island, and Oliver in As You Like It.
Tracie Lane returns to the Festival to play Tubal and the Duke of Venice in The Merchant of Venice, as well as Joan de Pucelle in Henry VI Part One. She appeared at the Festival in 2014 under the name of Tracie Thomason as Gabriella in Boeing, Boeing and Mariana in Measure for Measure. She has also played in regional theatre across the country, including American Shakespeare Center, Houston Shakespeare Festival, and American Stage Theatre Company.
Betsy Mugavero is returning to the Festival this year to play Nerisa in The Merchant of Venice, as well as Desdemona in Othello and Clarice in The Liar. She received wide acclaim last year for her roles as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Viola in Shakespeare in Love and has played numerous other roles in past years. She is currently producing artistic director of Southwest Shakespeare Company in Mesa, Arizona.
Paul Michael Sandberg will play various roles in The Merchant of Venice and Brabantio in Othello. Previously at the Festival he performed in the title role in Julius Caesar, Captain Smollet in Treasure Island, and Biff in Death of a Salesman, among others. He has acted at Huntington Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, and in many television series, including Chicago Hope, Seventh Heaven, Seinfeld, and NCIS.
Jamil Zraikat debuts at the Festival as Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice and Montano in Othello. He has also appeared at the Guild Hall of East Hampton, Westport Country Playhouse, and The Lost Colony. He has a B.A. in economics and political science from Bates College.
“This is an exciting group of actors in a controversially exciting play that promises to leave a lasting impression,” said Vaughn. “I can’t wait for our audiences to see these remarkable actors in action.”
In announcing these roles, Vaughn also noted that the season casting is nearly complete and other announcements will be coming quickly, “so watch our website for the latest news,” as well as in-depth bios and photos of all our acting company members.
Tickets are now on sale for the Festival’s fifty-seventh season, which will run from June 28 to October 13. In addition to The Merchant of Venice, the season will include The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Big River, The Foreigner, The Liar, and An Iliad*.* For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
Joan of Arc: A Hero or a Villian?
By Kathryn Neves
Most people know that Shakespeare wasn’t always overly concerned with historical accuracy. In fact, he was the king of taking artistic liberties. And there’s no better example of that than his treatment of Joan of Arc, featured in this season’s Henry VI Part One. The Maid of Orléans— France’s greatest hero— is one of Shakespeare’s most notorious and fascinating villains.
What can we say about Joan of Arc that hasn’t already been said? The French revered her as a heroine and a savior for centuries, and she was beatified by the Catholic Church in the early 1900s. Her near-miraculous military maneuvers and her extreme religious devotion paint a clear picture in the history textbooks. But not everyone loved her. Was she a war hero, gifted with political brilliance? Was she a saint, receiving visions from God and performing miracles? Or was she an evil criminal, using the religious piety of those around her to manipulate and use them? The English (and, thus, Shakespeare) certainly seemed to think the latter. When Joan was finally caught, her captors were “more joyous than if [they] had captured a king.” (quoted in Larissa Juliet Taylor, “Joan of Arc, the Church, and the Papacy, 1429–1920,” the Catholic Historical Review 98, no. 2 [April 2012]: 224). Shakespeare’s Joan of Arc is everything that the English hated about the real historical figure. So how different is Shakespeare’s Joan from the real maiden warrior?
Well, Shakespeare didn’t make everything up. There are several things about La Pucelle, as the Bard called her, that are true to life. A lot happens in the play that needs no Shakespearean embellishment. The first time we see Joan in Henry VI Part One, she has arrived in the court of Charles, the French dauphin. Without being told, she is able to identify the real Charles rather than the man they’d put in his place; “I know thee well,” she tells him, “though never seen before. / Be not amazed; there’s nothing hid from me” (1.2.68–69). This really happened; it’s well documented that when Joan first arrived in the court of Charles, she pointed the Dauphin out of the crowd though she’d never seen him before, to the amazement of everyone there (though in reality, Joan had met Charles a few days earlier; her dramatic introduction to the French Court was staged by the dauphin) (Larissa Juliet Taylor, The Virgin Warrior: The Life and Death of Joan of Arc [New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009]), 41).
This isn’t the only thing that Shakespeare preserved from history. Throughout his play, the English lords and soldiers consistently slander Joan, calling her words that should never be used in polite company. Lord Talbot calls her “puzel” rather than Pucelle; “puzel” being an old English term for a promiscuous woman. Historically, the English hurled insults at Joan quite often. In responding to Joan’s threats, the English sent multiple letters implying that Joan’s virtue was not as pure as she claimed— statements that enraged the Maid of Orléans.
Other things, too, are fairly accurate— the idea of the French side worshipping Joan as someone sent from God was certainly true, as well as her great rescue of Orléans and her loss in Paris. Shakespeare even alludes to her craftiness and the ways that she manipulated words; something that the real Joan was reported to have done throughout her whole life— especially at the trial just before her execution (Taylor, The Virgin Warrior, 136–37). But it’s Shakespeare’s embellishments of Joan of Arc that show just how much the English despised her.
One of the first differences between Shakespeare’s villainess and the real-life warrior is the way that Charles reacts to her as a person. In Henry VI Part One, Charles is immediately enamoured with her; he finds her beautiful and enchanting: “My heart and hands thou hast at once subdued. . . . Let me thy servant and not sovereign be” (1.2.111–113). Charles quickly begins to revere Joan as a religious figure, asking her how he might worship her. This is greatly different from the real history behind Joan of Arc. In truth, Charles cared very little for Joan at the beginning, and even throughout her entire campaign. He believed, initially, that even meeting with Joan would tarnish his image and make him look foolish. He even made fun of Joan behind her back, as recorded by multiple sources (Taylor, The Virgin Warrior, 42). Charles didn’t even want Joan to be truly involved in the war; even after he had accepted her and allowed her to join the army, Charles intended Joan to be nothing more than a figurehead. He and his counselors believed that if the French army had someone holy to look up to, that morale would be raised and they might be able to lift the siege at the city of Orléans (Taylor, The Virgin Warrior, 47). But Shakespeare’s Charles immediately puts his trust in Joan and sends her into battle at once.
Another stark difference between the play and history is Joan’s interactions with the Duke of Burgundy. This duke, called Philip the Good, was an interesting figure within the war. He had a strong claim to the French throne and was one of Charles’s fiercest competitors for the crown. Throughout the war he fought on the English side. Charles, after being officially crowned Charles VII of France, tried to negotiate a peace with the duke in order to avoid more French bloodshed. Joan, however, was enraged; she wanted to go after Burgundy and his followers to prove Charles’s superiority as the true French king. Joan, it appears, was a highly determined warrior; never wanting to negotiate or be cautious, she instead preferred to march straight into battle without any doubt or hesitation (Taylor, The Virgin Warrior, 98). But in Henry VI Part One, it is Joan who reaches out to Burgundy. It is Joan who seeks for peace with Burgundy and asks for his help in the war against the English. Joan’s clever words and use of logic is what eventually persuades Burgundy to change sides and take up arms against the English. Shakespeare’s Joan is more of a political maneuverer than a general— wildly different from her historical counterpart.
Perhaps the most telling difference in Joan’s character can be found toward the end of the play. Beginning in Act 5, Joan becomes everything that the English have accused her of. She begins to conjure devils and evil spirits to help her in her battle against the English. She behaves disdainfully toward her father and her upbringing, and she claims a pregnancy in order to avoid burning at the stake. In history, Joan did none of these things. According to sources from witnesses at her trial and her execution, Joan never wavered in her religious devotion; she was able to astound the theologians present at her trial with her eloquent and knowledgeable answers (Taylor, The Virgin Warrior, 137), and she spent her dying breath crying out to God and Mary. Not only that, but Joan never acted ashamed of her upbringing. Late in Joan’s military career Charles officially named Joan and her family members to the nobility; however, Joan gave no indication that she cared, and she never tried to use it to her advantage (though many members of her family did) (Taylor, The Virgin Warrior, 108). And most of all, Joan never wavered in her claim of virginity; that was one of the defining aspects of her identity, and even when threatened with death Joan never claimed anything to the contrary. This is something in Shakespeare’s play that galls many of Joan’s modern-day fans; in the play, to escape execution, Joan claims she is pregnant and lists a number of men as possible fathers of her unborn child.
Why is it that Shakespeare treats Joan of Arc with such disdain throughout his play? After all, his depictions of the other French leaders are fair. And most of Shakespeare’s other villains have wide complexities behind their evil behavior. Why is it that Joan stands alone as a two-dimensional villain?
It wasn’t just because she was French. After all, centuries had passed by the time Shakespeare wrote this play; because the War of the Roses was so distant, there weren’t too many reasons for him to drag Joan through the mud. Politically, the English weren’t actively fighting the French in Shakespeare’s day. Instead, the reason for Shakespeare’s portrayal can be explained in one word: religion.
Queen Elizabeth I’s father, Henry VIII, was the spearhead of the Protestant Reformation. It was because of him that England went from being a Catholic country to one entirely Protestant. From the time of Henry VIII’s reign to Elizabeth’s, there was a lot of contention between Catholics and Protestants in England. And after Elizabeth took the throne, the country was supposed to be completely Protestant. It makes sense, therefore, that Shakespeare would slander a Catholic hero like Joan of Arc; by calling her a heretic and an evil witch, Shakespeare was proclaiming his own Protestantism and creating propaganda for the anti-Catholic government.
The real Joan of Arc was a complicated person; intensely brilliant and courageous, impulsive and dangerous, her actions rescued France from the hands of the English. Shakespeare’s vilification of the woman shows us very clearly how the English felt about the French and about Catholics during the time period. And however inaccurate Shakespeare’s Joan may have been, the character makes for an exciting and fascinating villain; with her, the play becomes an exciting play about war, power, and good versus evil.
Celebrate the Bard's Birthday
When William Shakespeare’s birthday rolls around each year, you can bet there will be celebrations at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. This year, on April 23 and 24, the Festival will honor the Bard by celebrating his 454th birthday with local school children and the community through a variety of activities.
First, for elementary school students, the Festival will host the Bard’s Birthday Bash onsite at the Beverley Center for the Arts, 195 W. Center St, Cedar City. This year marks the 16th annual party where local elementary schools are invited to participate in an interactive experience centered around Shakespeare and theatre.
“The event was initially created as a chance for students to perform the Bard’s works on the Festival stages,” says Michael Bahr, Festival education director. “Over time, it has grown into a local tradition for Iron County schools; and because of its popularity, we had to expand it to two days to accommodate the number of schools wanting to be involved. It’s an incredible site to see so many come and play!”
Students in kindergarten through fifth grade perform scenes from Shakespeare’s works, observe other schools’ performances, learn and perform traditional dances, attend improvisation and text workshops, participate in jousting contests, and have birthday cake with Queen Elizabeth. They also have the opportunity to work with teaching artists prior to the event to prepare their scenes for the event.
“This annual tradition allows students to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday and be elevated through their own performances. This event brings hundreds of students to the Festival stages and grounds and reinforces the idea that Shakespeare’s plays are their plays, and these stages are their stages. All the World is their stage!” exclaimed Bahr.
As a tool to help future groups prepare for performances, the Festival is excited to announce the Shakespeare Scenes Database, an online resource of Shakespearean scenes for teachers and students. It contains hundreds of scenes which may be sorted by play, characters, and number of lines. Teachers and students are encouraged to use it to create their own Shakespeare performances. It can be found online at bard.org/shakespeare-scenes.
Next, another event associated with Shakespeare’s birthday is Renaissance Day, held at Cedar Middle School. This annual event provides a similar performance opportunity for intermediate students. They, too, get to enjoy cake with the Queen.
Finally, this year community members can also participate in the Bard’s birthday. On April 23, all are welcome to attend a special unveiling of the newest bronze statue in the Pedersen Shakespeare Character Garden at the Beverley Center, located just west of the outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. Cleopatra, by renowned sculptor Dennis Smith of Alpine Studio, will be added to the collection of bronze Shakespearean characters in the garden including Henry V, Falstaff, Hamlet, Juliet, and King Lear.
“We are thrilled Cleopatra will be joining the family,” says Fred C. Adams, Festival founder. “Dennis has captured a beautiful moment in Cleopatra’s story, and she will make a perfect addition to the Character Garden.”
A short program will begin at 1:30 p.m., followed by the unveiling at 2. Playmakers, the Festival’s youth theatre program, will provide entertainment. The donor for this new statue is Mountain West Small Business Finance, which has also underwritten the Festival’s Shakespeare-in-the-Schools Tour for over fifteen years.
The Festival is rapidly preparing for the 2018 season which runs June 28 through October 13. Plays are The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry VI Part One, The Merchant of Venice, The Foreigner, Big River, An Iliad, Othello, Pearl’s in the House, and The Liar. Tickets and information are available online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.
Announcing the Las Vegas Fundraising Gala
Artistic Director Brian Vaughn (left) and Founder Fred C. Adams
A scene from The Playmakers production of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival will celebrate its friends in Las Vegas with its annual Fundraising Gala April 19 at Cili Restaurant. The evening will feature mouthwatering food, fun entertainment, and exciting Festival updates. Cocktail hour begins at 6 p.m., with dinner at 7.
Entertainment will be an eclectic mix of Festival talent: Artistic Director Brian Vaughn will present an intimate offering of scenes from An Iliad, a one-man show he will star in this summer at the Festival; Founder Fred C. Adams will appear as Lady Bracknell from The Importance of Being Earnest and present a snippet from that popular play; and the Festival’s young performing company, The Playmakers, will entertain with musical numbers from some of their recent productions.
“This will be a great opportunity to meet together with friends and fellow Festival enthusiasts, and to support the Festival and its educational programs,” said Donn Jersey, director of development and a native of Las Vegas. “I look forward to meeting many new people and renewing old acquaintances.”
Tickets for the gala are $200 per person, and tables of eight are available. Funds from the event will be used to fund Festival education programs such as Playmakers, the Shakespeare Competition for junior and senior high schools students, and the Shakespeare-in-the-Schools Tour. Reservations are required and can be made online at bard.org/lvgala or by calling 435-586-7880.
The Festival’s fifty-seventh season will run from June 28 to October 13. This year’s plays are Henry VI Part One, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, Big River, The Foreigner, An Iliad, The Liar, and Pearl’s in the House. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
A Big River of Americana
By Kathryn Neves
This season Big River is the show that has everyone humming here at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. With its catchy bluegrass songs and fun familiar story, this musical is one of the most American performances you could ever see. After all, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (the basis for the musical) has been taught in American high schools for well over a century. But it’s also been debated for just as long— ever since it was published in 1884, some parents, teachers, and moralists all over the United States have called for it to be banned. It is currently number fourteen on the list of Top 100 Banned Books. When someone says “censorship,” the knee-jerk reaction is to think of Huck Finn. So why bother to read the book at all? Why bother to watch the musical if some people seem to hate it so much?
The answer to that is simple. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic American novel— perhaps even the Great American Novel. There is nothing more true to the American spirit than the story of Huck Finn and his adventures on the mighty Mississippi.
At its simplest, Big River is about overcoming bad circumstances. It is about escaping, and it’s about becoming a better person. Throughout the story, we see both Huck and Jim escape from their horrible circumstances— Huck from an abusive household and Jim from slavery. We watch them learn how to navigate the enormous Mississippi River and then the world. We can see them grow and improve themselves, becoming better people and getting more out of life. And isn’t that the American Dream? To rise above your station and to succeed? It seems like the story should be embraced and lauded, not condemned!
However, the opponents of Twain’s story have a point. The book studies race and discrimination in a very complex way. Some argue that the book portrays racist stereotypes through Jim. Those who would ban the book hold up the racist attitudes of the characters— even Huck himself. They claim that the whole book is racist and has no place within our culture. But is that true? Shouldn’t we try to be as accurate as possible to the time period it was written in? To sugarcoat the treatment of slaves and African-Americans would be worse than including the racism— it would be denying that racism existed back then.
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain’s real name) lived through the American Civil War. He saw the emancipation of the slaves and the rampant racism that grew ever larger afterward. He was a member of a society whose values were far different than ours— he lived in a world where racism was the norm. He was even considered forward-thinking for his time. We have to accept his story as what it is— a product of its time.
Even more important, though, is the message at its core. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a story about friendship overcoming everything else. Huck and Jim differ on many levels besides race. Their upbringing is different, their personalities and their ideologies clash, and their sense of moral rights and wrongs usually contradict each other. However, throughout the story, they overcome each of these differences and bond together as brothers in the human race. This message is more important now than ever. The country is divided along so many lines, and anger towards each other is rampant. To say that Big River and Huck Finn are not relevant any longer is just not true. It is a story that everyone should hear again; in some ways times today are not so different from Mark Twain’s time. Differences aren’t important, whether they are political or racial, big or small. The only thing that matters is friendship and humanity.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the story of America’s past, present, and future; and Big River tells it with such fun music, written by Roger Miller, that you can’t help but stomp your feet and clap your hands. It is definitely a must-see this season— after all, if Huck Finn is the Great American Novel, then perhaps we can say that Big River is the Great American Musical.
Three Eclectic Players Take New Leadership Roles
Donn Jersey, development director; Kami Paul, general manager; and Tyler Morgan, marketing and communications director.
A puppeteer with years of corporate marketing experience, a classically-trained pianist who most recently co-founded a high school to help teens with addiction problems earn their diplomas, and an MBA recipient who loves both spreadsheets and theatre—all three have recently taken on leadership roles at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Tyler Morgan is the new marketing and communications director; Donn Jersey, the development director; and Kami Terry Paul, the general manager.
All three have been long-time fans of the Festival, and their wide-ranging interests and experience will enable them to easily be part of the mix of leadership at the Festival and help it maintain its status as one of the premier professional theatre companies in the United States.
Tyler Morgan comes to the Festival as its new marketing and communications director after five years as senior marketing programs manager at Health Catalyst, a healthcare IT company in Salt Lake City, and six years as marketing consultant/team leader at Dun and Bradstreet. But, his first professional love is theatre, especially puppetry. He has an MBA in marketing intelligence and non-profit management from the University of Connecticut, as well as a master of arts degree in puppetry from the University of Connecticut and a bachelor of arts degree in theatre studies from the University of Utah.
“I am excited about this job for many reasons,” he said. “It is the culmination of my career path and experiences. I get to take the skills I have honed in the corporate world and apply them to the world I love, theatre.”
Donn Jersey, the Festival’s new development director, is the past publisher of digital platforms for the Greenspun Media Group (GMG) in Las Vegas, including LasVegasSun.com and VegasInc.com. He also published several magazines for GMG, including The Sunday, Health Care Quarterly, and VegasInc. In early 2016, after a decade in the news, he pointed his efforts to helping teenagers struggling with addiction, co-founding Mission High School, the first public recovery high school in the country. In the process, he spearheaded fundraising efforts to see this dream become a reality. He was a classically-trained pianist as a young man, then transitioned to jazz in his late teens. He still loves to play and compose music.
“I am incredibly excited to be a part of a theatre company that my family has attended and loved for thirty-five years,” he said. “It is special here; there is a good team that cares about people. It is a company of big hearts and big brains, a company of people who love their guests.”
Kami Terry Paul has worked at the Festival for sixteen years as marketing manager, marketing director, and marketing and communications director and was promoted to her new position of general manager in October. She grew up in Sandy, Utah and received her bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Weber State University in 2001. She earned an MBA in 2007 from Southern Utah University.
“I am thrilled with this new opportunity and new role here at the Festival,” she said. “From attending my first Festival play in the Adams Theatre in 1994, to the sixteen seasons I have worked here, I love what the Festival is; and I am happy to be a part of its future as well.”
Paul and her family have lived in southern Utah for sixteen years, but Morgan and Jersey are both relocating here with their families. Also, both are moving here partly because of their parents. Morgan’s parents live in Cedar City and Jersey’s in Parowan. Both sets of parents were pro-active in encouraging and pointing out employment openings at the Festival.
“It was a bit of serendipity,” said Jersey, “but it was also like it was meant to be.”
“I’m really excited to become a part of this community,” added Morgan.
“The Festival was supremely fortunate to have attracted such great professionals for these critical leadership positions,” said Frank Mack, executive producer. “We were so lucky to be able to promote someone we knew was a consummate professional, Kami Paul, because she had been working here for sixteen years. We worked hard to find great people for the other senior staff positions of director of development and director of marketing and couldn’t be more pleased with the results.”
Of course, now that the three are settled into their new offices, their view is focusing of the future—and all three agree it is bright, promising, and challenging.
“The Festival has seen massive amounts of change in the past three years,” said Morgan, pointing to the new Beverley Center for the Arts which the Festival moved into just two years ago. “Change is difficult; it is hard. We’re at a period of coming out of that now. The game board is set, and now we get to move forward.”
“We have had a number of changes in recent years, and we are now firmly settled into new offices and theatres,” Paul added. “We are stronger and looking forward to an exciting, meaningful future.”
Perhaps Jersey summed it up best: “I see steady, healthy growth in the future for the Festival. There is so much opportunity; it’s a real exciting time to be working here. I am so grateful, so full of gratitude, that this has happened in my life.”
Tickets are now on sale for the Festival’s fifty-seventh season, which will run from June 28 to October 13. This year’s plays are Henry VI Part One, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, Big River, The Foreigner, An Iliad, and The Liar*.* For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
Announcing a Ninth Play for Our 2018 Season
The Utah Shakespeare Festival has announced the addition of an exciting ninth play to its 2018 season. An Iliad by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare will be performed from July 12 to August 22 and will feature Artistic Director Brian Vaughn as The Poet, the only character in this spellbinding play.
It will join the previously announced season of Henry VI Part One, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, Big River, The Foreigner, The Liar, and Pearl’s in the House.
“An Iliad is an exciting addition to the 2018 season,” said Frank Mack, executive producer. “This one-person show is a wonderful stage version of Homer’s classic tale, and it’s ideal for theatre goers who enjoy ancient stories told in inventive, theatrical ways.”
In this modern retelling, the Trojan War is over, and the Poet saw it all, including the unquenchable rage and endless battles, not just of this epic war, but of war through the ages. As he tells his tale in modern language, it at times threatens to overwhelm him; but he continues because he hopes, by shining a light on the history of man’s attraction to violence, destruction, and chaos, he can perhaps end it. “Every time I sing this song, I hope it’s the last time,” he says near the beginning of the play.
“For me, this will most likely be the most challenging thing I have ever done,” said Vaughn as he prepares for the role. “It’s a massive undertaking both in regard to the line load and the play’s overall emotional complexity. However, I am eager to dive into the work and hope Festival audiences will check it out. The story is worth retelling.”
An Iliad was originally developed as part of the New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspects Program, with its off-Broadway premiere produced by New York Theatre Workshop in 2012. It has since been produced a number of times around the country, but this will be the first production in the Intermountain West.
Reviewers have been effusive in their praise for An Iliad. Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune said “This is a formidably powerful piece of solo theater that evokes the rubble of history and of lessons mankind consistently fails to learn.”
Don Aucoin of the Boston Globe called it “a starkly powerful experience that leaves you with not just a sense of the horror and absurdity of war, but also . . . its inevitability.”
And, Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times concluded “An Iliad is unquestionably a victory of the theatrical imagination. . . . At the center of it all is one of the greatest stories ever told.”
“In a season that is filled with plays that examine marginalized individuals within our society, this play is an in depth look at the horrors of war and how the power of storytelling can capture the most epic tale in simple theatrical ways,” concluded Vaughn. “It blends both the classical with the contemporary and transports the epic poem into the hearts and minds of the viewer. I think our audiences are in for a real treat.”
Tickets are now on sale for the season, which will run from June 28 to October 13. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts at Southern Utah University, which also includes the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA).
Educational Tour Hitting the Road
CEDAR CITY, UT– The Utah Shakespeare Festival is once again hitting the road with its Shakespeare-in-the-Schools touring production—this year performing the story of monsters and fairies, betrayal, revenge, and forgiveness, William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
The tour will be performing 67 shows for over 120 schools and 25,000 students throughout the states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The cast and crew will be on the road for fourteen weeks from January through April to bring this classic comedy to schools, community centers, and correctional facilities. Students will have the chance to watch the show and then participate in a post-show discussion and workshops in Stage Combat, Performing Shakespeare’s Text, Technical Theatre and Developing Character through Improvisation.
The Tempest will premiere on January 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. General admission tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the Festival ticket office at 800-PLAYTIX (800-752-9849) or online at www.bard.org. Tickets purchased ahead of time will be available at will call in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. On the night of the performance, only cash and checks will be accepted at the Randall Theatre door, whereas credit and debit cards will be accepted at the main ticket office next to the Anes Theatre. Admission is free for SUU students.
Christopher DuVal is returning to the Festival, this year as director of the touring production. He worked at the Festival as an actor in numerous roles in the 1990s and as the fight director in various shows from 2012 to 2015. He is currently the head of the Actor Training Program at the University Utah and has worked extensively in many theatres across the country, including eighteen years at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
There are some familiar faces this season who have worked at the Festival before. Trent Dahlin (Prospero) is a Cedar City native and has appeared at the Festival the past two years, most recently as Dennis in As You Like It and Abraham Grey/Musician in Treasure Island in 2017. He received his BFA in musical theatre from Southern Utah University. Josh Durfey (Ferdinand/Antonio) is a Salt Lake City-born actor who has performed at the Festival since 2014. He studied classical acting at SUU and has appeared at Pickleville Playhouse, the Neil Simon Festival, Hale Center Theatre, and more. Stefanie Resnick**,** originally from New York, appeared in the 2017 Festival tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Hermia/Quince/Peaseblossom. She received her M.F.A. in performance from the University of Nevada–Las Vegas and has worked regionally and in New York City. Tony Sloan (Stephano/Sebastian) has worked in the Festival Ticket Office the past couple of years and received his B.S. degree in theatre and political science from SUU where he is currently a candidate for his M.A. in arts administration. Previous work includes The Laramie Project, Twelfth Night, and directing Really Really.
The other actors in the cast have brought their talents to The Tempest from many different theatres and productions across the country. Erica Alexandra Carvalho (Miranda/Boatswain) received her BFA in theatre from the University of Utah. She has acted for Pinnacle Acting Company, The Grand Theatre, Plan B Theatre, and Salt Lake Acting Company, and Pioneer Theatre Company. Ava Kostia (Ariel) is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a B.A. in musical theatre. Most recently having played Laertes at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, she is also a certified Apprentice Teacher of Dueling Arts International. Christobal Iniguez Perez (Caliban/Gonzalo), a California native, received a B.F.A. in acting from Utah State University. He has previously worked with Pacific Conservatory Theater (PCPA), Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival, and Lyric Repertory Company.
The three crew members on the tour come from various backgrounds and experience. They work behind the scenes to make this Shakespeare-in-the-Schools production possible. Emma Horvath (Stage Manager) hails from the Chicago area and graduated from Northwestern University. She recently completed an internship with Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity and is returning to the Utah Shakespeare Festival after working on The Tavern last fall. Devery North is a Kansas City native and graduate of Stephens College. She worked previously with the Festival for the 2015 season and the 2016 and 2017 educational tours. She has also worked with the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival. Ryan Turpin (technical director) is a graduate of SUU and has worked at the Festival for a number of years, most recently as audio supervisor for the 2017 season.
In addition to support from the Shakespeare for a New Generation program which is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, this tour’s school performance partners are the Utah State Office of Education: Professional Outreach Programs in the Schools, Mountain West Small Business Finance, Ally Bank, and Southern Utah University.
For more information, visit www.bard.org/tour
Festival Announces Auditions for Expanded Playmakers Programs
CEDAR CITY, Utah — The Utah Shakespeare Festival recently announced an expansion to its popular Playmakers youth program, as well as auditions to enroll and perform.
The program trains youth in theatre techniques and performance etiquette and produces a musical for the youth to perform in. Traditionally, it has been one program for children up to eighteen years old. This year, however, Festival Education Director Michael Bahr is adding Playmakers Junior, for youth five years old and older who want to learn theatre fundamentals, including how to sing and dance with a live piano, rehearsal and performance etiquette, and how to work, share, give, and play with others. Culminating the experience will be public performances of the hilarious new musical We Are Monsters on March 23 and 24.
Britannia Howe is directing and teaching this program. She created a similar program for young performers in Ashland, Oregon, and is thrilled to provide this training for young artists here in Cedar City.
“For years we have wanted to provide Playmaker training for younger students,” said Bahr. “With this change, they will receive a foundation of theatre and performance fundamentals that will empower them throughout their lives.”
The traditional Playmakers program will continue for youth ages seven to eighteen. During the training, students will rehearse The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, an irresistible story of a fourteen-year-old boy growing up in the heartland of America, based on Mark Twain’s classic novel. The Playmakers will then perform the show for area schools on March 21, 22, and 23 and for the public on March 23 and 24.
Bahr will teach the class and direct the performance.
Auditions for both programs will be January 25 from 5 to 9 p.m. in the Frehner Rehearsal/Education Hall at the Festival. To sign up, visit www.bard.org/playmakers. If cast in the one of the programs, students will pay a $200 registration fee for Playmakers or $100 registration fee for Playmakers Junior. However, scholarships are readily available.
To help children prepare, the Festival is offering an audition workshop for anyone interested. It will be January 25 from 3 to 5 p.m. The workshop is optional, but can be very helpful.
For more information, call 435-865-8333 or visit the webpage at www.bard.org/playmakers.