Redgrave To Present 'Rachel and Juliet' 6/2

The Shakespeare Society (Michael Sexton, Artistic Director) will present Rachel and Juliet, a solo work-in-progress, written and performed by Lynn Redgrave, on Monday, June 2 at 7pm at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, East 68 Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues.  A limited number of tickets, priced at $25-$45, are available from the Kaye box office at (212) 772-4448.  For Shakespeare Society membership information, call 212-967-6802 or go to www.shakespearesociety.org.

 In Rachel and Juliet, Lynn Redgrave pays tribute to her mother, the actress Rachel Kempson, and her mother's lifelong love of and devotion to the role of Juliet.  Interweaving remembrance, anecdote, and passages from Shakespeare, Redgrave creates a companion piece to her unforgettable and highly acclaimed Shakespeare for My Father, which through Shakespeare's words examined her relationship with her father Michael Redgrave.  John Simon wrote of the play in New York Magazine, "Lynn Redgrave brings Shakespeare and contemporary audiences closer together than most of them have ever been."

Lynn Redgrave was born in London into a family of actors and has enjoyed a remarkable career on stage, screen and beyond spanning four decades.  She has been nominated for three Tony Awards, two Oscars, two Emmys and most recently, a Grammy.  Film highlights include Georgy Girl (Oscar nomination, Golden Globe, New York Film Critics awards), Gods and Monsters (1999 Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award, Oscar nomination), Shine (BAFTA and SAG nominations) and Kinsey.  She is a founding member of The Royal National Theatre and is the author of three plays, Shakespeare for My Father (which examines her relationship with Sir Michael Redgrave), The Mandrake Root (loosely based on her mother, the actress Rachel Kempson) and Nightingale (a fictional meditation on the life of her maternal grandmother, Beatrice Kempson), which had its American premiere last year at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum and enjoyed an East Coast premiere at Connecticut's Hartford Stage.  She has also written the text for Journal, A Mother and Daughter's Recovery From Breast Cancer, featuring photographs by her daughter, Annabel Clark, currently in its third printing from Umbrage Editions.  Ms. Redgrave's latest film is The Jane Austen Book Club.  Other recent credits include the final Merchant/Ivory production, The White Countess, acting alongside sister Vanessa and niece Natasha Richardson and as Dahlia Hainsworth on ABC's "Desperate Housewives."  She can also be heard as the voice of Nanny in the animated film series of Me, Eloise and in the upcoming animated feature, My Dog Tulip.  Ms. Redgrave is a prolific "voice on tape" and her latest audio book release is Roald Dahl's The Witches (Grammy nomination).  Ms. Redgrave was last seen Off Broadway this past winter in Mick Gordon and AC Grayling's Grace for MCC Theater.

The Shakespeare Society is a not-for-profit membership organization presenting entertaining and challenging programs that combine stage performances by outstanding actors with illuminating commentary by noted Shakespearean writers, scholars, and directors.  A fundamental belief of the founders of The Shakespeare Society is that enjoying and understanding Shakespeare begin in the classroom; therefore, a portion of the Society's membership dollars is used to support educational activities in New York City schools.  Past participants in Shakespeare Society performances and events include Harold Bloom, F. Murray Abraham, Stephen Greenblatt, Liev Schreiber, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Kathleen Chalfant, Michael Cumpsty, Jefferson Mays, Marcia Gay Harden, Patrick Stewart, Sir Peter Hall, Derek Jacobi, Philip Bosco, Marjorie Garber, Ralph Fiennes, Ron Rosenbaum, Richard Easton, John Guare, and Claire Bloom.

The Shakespeare Society presents Rachel and Juliet on Monday, June 2, at 7PM at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (East 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues).  A very limited number of tickets, priced at $25-$45, will be available for purchase by non-members two weeks prior to the event.  To purchase tickets or for ticket information, phone the Kaye Playhouse box office at 212 772-4448.  For more information about the Shakespeare Society or Rachel and Juliet, or to join The Shakespeare Society, phone 212 967-6802 or visit www.shakespearesociety.org.

Photo Credit Linda Lenzi

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