Free Shakespeare In The Park Returns To Western Maryland

The Cumberland Theatre will once again be presenting free Shakespeare in the Park to local residents. Last year, the theatre partnered with the Embassy Theatre in Downtown Cumberland and Our Town Theatre in Oakland to create a month-long festival of events centered around the works and styling of William Shakespeare.

This year, the festival has expanded to include a partnership with Locust Post Brewery by creating a "mini Ren Faire" type event to held at the brewery on August 18th including live music, games and more!

The Cumberland Theatre's production of the Merchant of Venice will kick off the festival and take place at the Gilchrist Gallery Garden on August 9th and 10th at 7:00 pm. Admission is free and residents are welcome to bring their own blankets and chairs to enjoy a relaxing evening.

The Merchant of Venice is one of the Bard's most compelling tales: When Antonio, a merchant, must default on a large loan from Shylock, an abused Jewish moneylender, for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead. In a world where money turns the wheels, men call the shots, and one's religion or race can open or close doors, some win and some lose. The Cumberland Theatre production takes the show out of its old world European setting and places it in New York's Little Italy in the 1950s.

Bassanio, a young Venetian of noble rank, wishes to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress Portia of Belmont. Having squandered his estate, he needs 3,000 ducats to subsidize his expenditures as a suitor. Bassanio approaches his friend Antonio, a wealthy merchant of Venice, who has previously and repeatedly bailed him out. Antonio agrees, but since he is cash-poor, he promises to cover a bond if Bassanio can find a lender, so Bassanio turns to the Jewish moneylender Shylock and names Antonio as the loan's guarantor. Meanwhile, in Belmont, Portia is awash with suitors. Her father left a will stipulating that each of her suitors must choose correctly from one of three caskets, made of gold, silver and lead respectively. Whoever picks the right casket wins Portia's hand.

Famous for its "pound of flesh" speech, The Merchant of Venice has been performed all over the world and spawned several film and television adaptations. Notable actors who have performed the role of Shylock include Laurence Olivier, Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman.

The cast features a diverse group of actors including several veterans from CT. Playing the pivotal role of Shylock will be newcomer Corey Ahearn. Appearing as Portia and Bassanio will be Molly Hofstaedter (recently seen as Ariel in Footloose) and Ryan Sheehan, who is making is CT debut.

Others returning to CT are Reiner Prochaska (Antonio), Mark Worth (Lorenzo) and Brian Records (Gratiano). Prochaska was last seen as Father DeLeo in The Rose Tattoo. Worth last appeared in the comedy Sideways in a variety of roles and Records most recently played Willard in Footloose the Musical.

Rounding out the cast will be Trevor McCabe, Kassidy Andris, Connor McCabe, Erik Alexis, Pierce Bunch, Clayton Muir, Emily Haworth and Alice Wecker.

The show is under the direction of Seth Thompson. Kimberli Rowley serves as the stage manager. The design team consists of Jennifer Clark (costume design) and set design by Rhett Wolford.

The show is performed with one short intermission and is appropriate for all ages.

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