Baltimore Shakespeare Factory's 2015 Season to Include AS YOU LIKE IT, 'SHREW' & More

Baltimore Shakespeare Factory (BSF) is excited to announce its 2015 season, opening on March 27 with the first-ever production of The Merchant of Venice spoken in Original Pronunciation (OP). BSF is honored to have the assistance of OP experts David Crystal and his son, British actor and author, Ben Crystal, who will be coming to Baltimore to work directly with the actors. There have only been approximately a dozen full length productions of Shakespeare plays in OP since Romeo and Juliet was performed in 2004 at Shakespeare's Globe in London.

The Merchant of Venice (St. Mary's Community Center, March 27-April 25)
This historic production will be the first time you will be able to hear The Merchant of Venice in the original pronunciation (OP) the way it sounded in Shakespeare's time. This tale features Shylock's relentless pursuit of a pound of flesh from the merchant Antonio and the famous contest of the caskets where suitors compete for the hand of the beautiful Portia. This 400-year-old play supplies keen insight into themes that are painfully applicable to our world today. More casting and production details will be announced shortly.

As You Like It (Evergreen Museum and Library/St. Mary's Community Center, July 17-August 9)
This classic romantic comedy features the plucky Rosalind, her sidekick Celia, and their fool Touchstone as they escape an evil Duke and find love in the Forest of Arden. As You Like It has always been one of Shakespeare's most popular and beloved plays, so come and enjoy this delightful play outside in the beautiful meadow of the Evergreen Museum and Library and imagine you are in the Forest of Arden!

Henry IV, Part One (Evergreen Museum and Library/St. Mary's Community Center, July 31-August 23)
This play is famous for introducing one of Shakespeare's most endearing characters: the fabulous fat knight, Sir John Falstaff. Shakespeare weaves Falstaff into a touching tale of wars that threaten to tear apart both a family and a country. An all-female cast adds a new perspective to this masterpiece of history and comedy.

The Taming of the Shrew (St. Mary's Community Center, November 6-22)
In Shakespeare's classic battle of the sexes, Baptista Minola will not allow his popular daughter Bianca to marry one of her many suitors until his older daughter Katherina is married. And as a famous author once said, "There lies the rub" - at least until the unflappable Petruchio arrives on the scene. However, in the end you may be surprised at how events bring together a most unlikely couple.

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