Boston Landmarks Orchestra and CSC Present THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE Free Concert, Today

Boston Landmarks Orchestra closes their 2016 Free Wednesday Concerts at the DCR Memorial Hatch Shell on August 31 (7 pm)* with another extraordinary collaboration with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC). A concert performance - with music and dance - of The Boys from Syracuse, with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and a new adaptation of the George Abbott book by Larry ( and Jennifer Hart with consultation by 3-time Tony Award librettist (Annie, co-librettist of The Producers and Hairspray) Tom Meehan. The concert is free and open to the public. *If it is raining on August 31, the concert will be postponed to September 1 at the Hatch Shell. If it is also raining September 1st, the concert will be moved to Symphony Hall on the 1st. For more information visit landmarksorchestra.org.

Based on William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, The Boys from Syracuse is often considered the finest of all Rodgers and Hart creations. This 'concert performance' marks only the second professional performance of the inimitable 1938 Big-Band style original orchestrations by Hans Spialek. Familiar songs include 'Falling in Love with Love,' 'Sing for Your Supper,' and 'This Can't Be Love.'

Filled with two sets of twins, and women chased and chaste, The Boys from Syracuse was the first musical ever adapted from Shakespeare. Identical twins Antipholus of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus were separated as children in a shipwreck. Both have manservants, also twins, both named Dromio. When the Syracuse set arrive in Ephesus, mishaps and mischief ensue as they are mistaken for their brothers by merchants, wives, and mistresses. Perplexed partners, disgruntled courtesans, and outraged constables are left in the duo's wake before this show's tangled web is unraveled.

Landmarks and CSC have assembled an amazing cast to bring this ancient Grecian adventure to the Esplanade. They include Remo Airaldi* (Dromio of Syracuse), Jenna Augen* (Luciana), Justin Blanchard* (Antipholus of Syracuse), Larry Coen* (Dromio of Ephesus), Jennifer Ellis* (Adrianna), Liliane Klein* (Luce), Andy McLeavey* (Antipholus of Ephesus), DCR Commissioner Leo Roy (Sergeant) and Marc W. Soucy (Aegean). The ensemble includes Leah Carnow, Serge Clivio, Steven Del Col, Brittany Martel, Kate Penner, Brad Foster Reinking and Suzi Weisberg.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association

The creative team includes Music Director/Conductor Christopher Wilkins, co-directors Steven Maler and Adam Sanders, choreographer Yo-el Cassell and costume designer Brooke Stanton.

The Boys From Syracuse opened on November 23, 1938, at the Alvin Theater in New York with direction by George Abbott and choreography by George Balanchine, closing after a 235 performance run. A film version was released by Universal Pictures in 1940, which starred Allan Jones, Joe Penner, Martha Raye, and Irene Harvey. The production then made its way to London's West End in 1963 and was later given a revival in 1991, directed by Judi Dench. It was revived again by The Roundabout in New York in 2002, directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Rob Ashford, with a new book by Nicky Silver. The production was presented as a concert revival in Washington, D.C. in 2011.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is dedicated to bringing the works of William Shakespeare in vital and contemporary productions to the people of Boston and to exploring Shakespeare's plays with the Boston community in innovative and creative ways. Best known for its annual free performances on Boston Common, CSC also presents several free play-reading events during the year-Theatre in the Rough, Shakespeare & Law, and Shakespeare & Leadership. The Company fulfills its educational mission with training programs for both pre-professional actors through its Apprentice Program and early-career actors through CSC2. Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is the Theatre in Residence at Babson College. For more information visit commshakes.org.

The Boston Landmarks Orchestra was founded in 2001 by conductor and community advocate Charles Ansbacher. The orchestra is comprised of many of the area's finest professional musicians. In its earliest years, the orchestra performed in such historically important settings as Fenway Park, the USS CONSTITUTION pier, Jamaica Pond, Franklin Park, Copley Square, Boston Common, and other landmark locations. Since 2007, its principal home has been at the DCR's Hatch Memorial Shell. For more history visit http://www.landmarksorchestra.org/About.html.

Boston Landmarks Orchestra's 2016 sponsors include the Free for All Concert Fund, The Boston Foundation, the Highland Street Foundation, The Boston Globe, and WCVB-TV Channel 5. These programs are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and administered by the Mayor's Office of Arts + Culture.

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