Baltimore Shakespeare Factory to Stage MEASURE FOR MEASURE, 8/1-29

Measure for Measure, in which William Shakespeare laid bare the cross currents of sin, crime and truth, rounds out the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory's duet of summer shows for 2014.

The puritanical, stand-in ruler of Vienna has decreed that love without marriage is forbidden, but he has his own lustful designs. A mistress of a house of ill repute and her pimp try to save their business. A would-be nun tries to save her brother's head without going abed. It takes the Duke of Vienna, posing as a priest, to sort it out - but he, too has his own dubious ideas of justice and love. Part comedy, part tragedy, Shakespeare's Measure for Measure is a play to be savored, like Vienna, for its boisterous mixing of piety, prostitution and politics.

"In Measure, Shakespeare takes a brilliant swipe at the notion of public morality and at the hypocritical rulers throughout history who have sought to enforce it," says Factory Artistic Director Tom Delise, who directs Measure. "As its characters try to avoid either sin or justice (and sometimes both), Measure serves up one of the English language's most hilarious, memorable and ever-relevant musings on human fallibility. It could be argued that it is the most modern of all Shakespeare's plays."

Measure for Measure is the second of two shows staged outdoors this summer at the Meadow at the John's Hopkins University Evergreen Museum and Library. Much Ado About Nothing, also staged at Evergreen, begins its run July 18 in the middle of its successful run. (Full Measure for Measure show schedule below.)

Measure for Measure is the third show of the Factory's 2014 four-show Season of Malice & Misadventure, with The Comedy of Errors wrapping up the season this fall.

Evergreen Museum and Library is located at 4545 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21210, just north of the intersection of Cold Spring Lane and Charles Street and Loyola University.

*All ticketing arrangements for Boordy Vineyards performances are to be made directly with Boordy. Call (410) 592-5015 for reservations, which are strongly recommended as limited seating is available. Boordy is located at 12820 Long Green Pike, Hydes, MD 21082. St. Mary's Community Center is located in Hampden at 3900 Roland Ave, Baltimore, MD 21211.

For up-to-date information, the Factory can be contacted at 410-921-WILL (9455) or box.office@TheShakespeareFactory.com. The website is http://TheShakespeareFactory.com. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for students/teachers/seniors, FREE for children Grade 5 & under.

About the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory: Factory productions reproduce the staging conditions that Shakespeare used in England during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Some of these conditions include the use of universal lighting which allows actors to see and interact with the audience, the use of live modern music (thematically related to the show) prior to the show and during interludes, liberal use of cross-gender casting, extensive doubling of roles, limited sets that encourage the audience to use their imaginations, and a fast paced show that honors the "two hours traffic of our stage."

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