THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR Opens at Shakespeare By the Sea, 6/14

Shakespeare by the Sea opens its 21st Season with the Rip-Roaring The Merry Wives of Windsor starting June 14 at the scenic and seafront Point Fermin Park in San Pedro. Directed by Cylan Brown, audiences will love this romantic comedy which tells of Falstaff's folly: courting two married women at the same time. It's mischief and mayhem galore.

For twenty years, Southern California audiences have come to love Shakespeare by the Sea for its high value productions of Shakespeare's plays, presented free of admission in dozens of local parks each summer. The Merry Wives of Windsor will tour to 17 locations, beginning and ending at its home stage at Point Fermin Park. In repertory with The Winter's Tale, SBTS will perform in 23 locations total. The festival has become a family favorite event, entertaining more than 20,000 folks each year who come to enjoy Shakespeare under the summer sky.

The Merry Wives of Windsor will tour Los Angeles and Orange County locations for over ten weeks, performing for crowds in Rancho Palos Verdes, Hermosa Beach, Rossmoor, Rowland Heights, the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, Torrance, Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, South Pasadena, Encino, Seal Beach, Aliso Viejo, Beverly Hills, Laguna Nigel, and Carson before returning to San Pedro for the Grand Finale Candlelight Ceremony performances. Tour location details and dates are available at www.shakespearebythesea.org/locations.

A legend in his own mind, ne'er-do-well Sir John Falstaff believes he has found the cure for all his financial problems. He'll seduce two of the wealthiest ladies in town and relieve them of their virtue along with their change purses. But two smart and sassy women are onto Sir John, and the real fun begins. Director Brown says, "With colorful characters including bombastic French doctors, secret young lovers, jealous husbands and comically awkward suitors, we are treated to lighthearted shenanigans as the denizens of this small borough gossip, hatch plans, and plot revenges against one another."

Since 1998, SBTS has reached over 500,000 youth and their families, seniors and individuals in Southern California with quality arts and educational programs. Funded entirely by donations and grants, Shakespeare by the Sea brings contemporary and classic works to underserved, culturally diverse audiences in order to ignite imagination, promote literacy and encourage artistic expression. This season's performances are made possible through the support of the LA County Arts Commission, Orange County Community Foundation, LA County 4th District Supervisor Janice Hahn, and multiple City Tour Sponsors. The San Pedro performances are made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs.

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