Ellen Burstyn, Andre De Shields and More to Return for Stephen Schwartz's Jazz Era AS YOU LIKE IT at CSC

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Doyle and Executive Producer Director Jeff Griffin, announced today that Tony, Emmy and Academy Award-winner Ellen Burstyn will play the role of Jaques in the company's new production of William Shakespeare's As You Like It, directed by Doyle, with music by Stephen Schwartz, beginning Wednesday, September 13 as the first production of CSC's 50th Anniversary Season. As You Like It is a co-production with Bay Street Theater.

Ellen Burstyn's astonishing career in theater, film and television has spanned seven decades, during which her acclaimed performances have earned her an Academy Award as Best Actress (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore), five Academy Award nominations, a Tony Award as Best Actress (Same Time Next Year), two Emmy Awards (Law & Order; SVU and Political Animals) and seven Emmy nominations, most recently in 2016 for House of Cards.

The company of As You Like It will also feature Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Celia), Noah Brody (Oliver/Corin), Hannah Cabell (Rosalind), André De Shields (Touchstone), Cass Morgan (Old Anna/Audrey), Leenya Rideout (Phoebe), David Samuel (Charles/Silvius), Kyle Scatliffe(Orlando) and Bob Stillman (Duke Frederick/Duke Senior).

An exiled Duke, his banished daughter, a gentleman in love, and a melancholy traveler. Tony Award-winning director John Doyle and Tony Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz bring Shakespeare's pastoral romance into the Jazz Age, with lovers in disguise, troubadours in trouble, and some of Shakespeare's most beloved characters.

AS YOU LIKE IT will feature scenic design by John Doyle, costume design by Ann Hould-Ward and lighting design by Mike Baldassari. David Arsenault is Associate Scenic Designer and Amy Sutton is Associate Costume Designer.

John Doyle (Director). CSC: Pacific Overtures, Dead Poets Society, Passion, Allegro, Peer Gynt. Broadway: Sweeney Todd (Tony and Drama Desk Awards, Best Director of a Musical), Company (Tony Award, Best Musical Revival), A Catered Affair (Drama League Award, Best Musical Production), The Visit (Tony nom., Best Musical), The Color Purple (Tony nom., Best Musical Revival). Off-Broadway: Wings (Second Stage); Road Show (Public Theatre); Where's Charley?, Irma La Douce (Encores!). Regional: Kiss Me Kate (Stratford); Caucasian Chalk Circle (ACT); Merrily We Roll Along, The Three Sisters (Cincinnati); Ten Cents a Dance (Williamstown); The Exorcist (LA). In the UK, John has been artistic director of four regional theaters. Numerous credits include: The Gondoliers, Mack and Mabel (West End); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Regent's Park); Oklahoma! (Chichester); Amadeus (Wilton's Music Hall). Opera includes Madama Butterfly (Grange Park), Lucia Di Lammermoor (Houston/La Fenice/ Sydney Opera House), Peter Grimes(Metropolitan Opera, NY), The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (LA Opera). He directed the feature film Main Street.

Stephen Schwartz (Music) has contributed music and/or lyrics to Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, The Baker's Wife, Working (which he adapted and directed), Rags, Children of Eden, and the opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon. He collaborated with Alan Menken on the scores for Disney's Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Enchanted, and wrote the songs for the DreamWorks animated feature The Prince of Egypt. Mr. Schwartz is artistic director of the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshops and serves on the Council of the Dramatists Guild. He is a member of the Theater Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and has been given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Honors include three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards, and the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award.

Classic Stage Company (CSC). CSC is committed to re-imagining classic stories for contemporary audiences. The company has been a home for New York's finest established and emerging artists to grapple with the great works of the world's repertory that speak directly to the issues of today. CSC serves an average of 35,000 audience members annually, including more than 4,000 students through its nationally recognized education programs. Productions have been cited repeatedly by all the major Off-Broadway theater awards including the Obie, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride