AS YOU LIKE IT to Open at Great Lakes Theater This Spring

Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland's Classic Company, will continue its 61st season with Shakespeare's, As You Like It, performing in the company's intimate and audience-friendly home at the Hanna Theatre, Playhouse Square (March 24 - April 8, 2023). GLT's Producing Artistic Director, Charles Fee, directs this production. This title has special meaning for Great Lakes Theater as it was the first play at Lakewood Civic Auditorium that the company produced under the leadership of Arthur Lithgow in 1962, as well as the first show GLT produced in the Ohio Theatre in 1982 when we became the first resident company of Playhouse Square.

Comic twists and turns abound in the fertile Forest of Arden, where a disguised Rosalind seeks refuge after being wrongfully banished by her uncle. Her unfortunate exile is transformed into a charming adventure when she encounters colorful fools, witty rustics, and the handsome, lovesick Orlando. A clandestine, gender-bending courtship ensues as some of Shakespeare's most beloved characters find love, fortune, and their true sense of self in this timeless and transcendent romantic comedy.

The residents of Cuyahoga County, through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, provide generous support for Great Lakes Theater's 2022-23 season. State tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) make Great Lakes Theater's 2022-23 season possible. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. The media sponsor for GLT's 61st season is Ideastream Public Media.

Audiences will experience this exhilarating production in an intimate theater setting. Great Lakes Theater's award-winning home at the Hanna Theatre features a visionary "Great Room" inspired design that integrates the artist and audience experience into a unified environment. Patrons select from various seating opportunities, including traditional theater seats, club chairs, lounge/bar seats, banquette couches, and private box seating. Arranged in an intimate 550-seat thrust configuration where the audience surrounds the stage, no seat is further than 13 rows from the performance.

Great Lakes Theater continues to afford patrons extraordinary access to its artists and production process at every Hanna Theatre performance. The doors of the Hanna always open sixty minutes before each performance, granting patrons an opportunity to observe the complete pre-show preparation process of GLT's actors and technical staff. In addition, GLT conducts elements traditionally hidden from audiences, such as stage combat rehearsals, dance calls, prop/scenic pre-sets, technical cue rehearsals, and actor warm-ups in full view of patrons, offering GLT audiences an unprecedented glimpse into the theatrical process.

The Opening/Press Night performance of As You Like It is Saturday, March 25. A preview performance is Friday, March 24. Curtain times for all evening performances are 7:30 p.m., with a 1:30 p.m. curtain time for Saturday matinees and a 3:00 p.m. curtain time for Sunday matinees. In addition, GLT will offer a sign-interpreted and audio-described performance of Sense and Sensibility on April 2 at 3:00 p.m.

Great Lakes Theater offers patrons a robust series of Experience Enrichment Programming. The series highlights the Hanna's unique amenities and affords access to artists.

• Director's Night allows audiences to participate in a lively pre-show discussion with GLT's Producing Artistic Director, Charles Fee, and the director of each production before Friday preview performances. (Offered: Mar. 24)
• Ice Cream Social Sundays allow patrons to enjoy a London theatre tradition brought stateside. On Sundays, grab this delicious, cool treat at a discount! (Offered: Mar. 26 and Apr. 2)
• Salon Thursdays feature an engaging pre-show discussion/presentation beginning one hour before curtain with a Great Lakes Theater artist or local scholar. (Offered: Mar. 30 and Apr. 6)
• Playnotes Pre-Show Discussions inform patrons with illuminating introductions to the content and history of each play in GLT's season, presented by a guest scholar before Saturday matinee performances. (Offered: Apr. 1 and 8))

Single performance tickets range in price from $20-$, with $15 tickets for patrons 25 and under. Tickets are available by calling (216) 241-6000, ordering online, or visiting the Playhouse Square Ticket Office. Visit https://www.playhousesquare.org/contact-us for Playhouse Square Ticket Office operating hours. Groups of ten or more save up to 45% by calling (216) 453-1066.

Great Lakes Theater, the first resident company of Playhouse Square, has brought the pleasure, power, and relevance of theater to the widest possible audience since 1962. GLT programming impacts over 100,000 adults and students annually.

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