Smith Street Stage Announces Special Charity Performances

The award-winning Brooklyn theatre company Smith Street Stage is thrilled to announce that three of its performances of Richard III will be specially designated to donate all proceeds to local charities. The Company is focusing on charities that promote cultural tolerance and protect civil rights.

For the last eight years, Smith Street Stage has provided free, accessible theatre to Carroll Gardens. The Company supports itself in part through donations solicited following each performance, but for these three nights, all donations will be given instead to our partner organizations.

Jonathan Hopkins, Executive Director of Smith Street Stage said, "We've always felt that classical literature has the power to enrich our understandings of ourselves and the dilemmas that we face in our lives. We thought Richard III would be a rich text to explore this summer, and the opportunity to partner with these charities would help us further our mission to make relevant and meaningful theater that provides the community with a positive impact."

The charities that Smith Street Stage will be supporting include Make the Road, on Saturday, June 17 and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), on Saturday, June 24.

Make the Road builds the power of Latino and working class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services. www.maketheroadny.org

CAIR-NY's mission is to protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. Through legal representation, education, media relations, and advocacy, CAIR-NY empowers the American Muslim community and encourages their participation in political and social activism. CAIR-NY counsels, mediates, and advocates on behalf of Muslims and others who have experienced discrimination, harassment, or hate crimes. Our lawyers work to protect and defend the constitutional rights of American Muslims, thus supporting the rights of all Americans. www.cair-ny.org

More about Richard III:

Richard III tells the story of a country in turmoil and a madman lusting for power. As the ruthless and charismatic Richard claws his way to the throne, a nation is forced to the breaking point in this chilling tale of a tyrant, his enablers, and those who attempt to resist.

Theatre-goers are encouraged to arrive 30 minutes prior to curtain time. The stage will be set at the east end of Brooklyn's beautiful Carroll Park, along Smith Street. Ground seating is open to the public, as well as a limited number of chairs. Many theatre-goers bring picnic blankets, some bring chairs of their own.

Richard III is directed by Jonathan Hopkins and features Brendan Cataldo* as Clarence, Raquel Chavez as Anne, Justin Crowley as Edward, Shaun Bennet Fauntleroy* as Elizabeth, Michael Hanson* as Richard, Eleanor McCormick as Catesby, Oliver Palmer as Brakenbury, Nowani Rattray* as Richmond, Danny Rivera* as Stanley, Chloe Ross as the Prince, Kate Ross* as Margaret, Corey Whelihan as Hastings, and Katie Willmorth as Buckingham.

*Appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

Smith Street Stage seeks to tell classic stories in new ways through affordable, exciting and consequential theater arts. The Company holds that universally recognizable and deeply human conflicts inhere in great literature, and by exploring such texts with rigor and creativity, one may apprehend these truths and reveal anew their relevance to our lives. Such stories presented skillfully and earnestly have the power to engage philosophical issues, excite spectators of all backgrounds and predispositions, and bring communities closer.

Performance Schedule:

June 7 through 25

Wednesdays through Sundays

7:30pm

For more information about Smith Street Stage and the company's 2017 outdoor Carroll Park production of Shakespeare's Richard III please visit www.SmithStreetStage.org.

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