The Porters of Hellsgate Present TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, 1/13-2/19

The Porters of Hellsgate are set to present William Shakespeare's Troilus & Cressida Directed by Charles Pasternak and Produced by The Porters of Hellsgate.

The most recent edition of Arden Shakespeare, introduced and edited by David Bevington, states that Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida is "hard to fit into the usual Shakespearean categories – comedy, history, tragedy, romance – 'because it has so many elements of all four' … an experimental play, characterized throughout by an intermingling of mode, tone, genre and style." The Porters of Hellsgate have chosen this rarely produced and diverse "problem" play as the opener of their sixth season (their 13th Shakespearean outing, to date), running a full six weeks in the winter of 2012, directed by Artistic Director Charles Pasternak.

Troilus and Cressida is the story of the romance between a young, Trojan prince and a high-born girl at the height of the Trojan War. It is also the story of that war; The Greeks, in a quest to regain what they believe is rightfully theirs (the beautiful Helen, "a pearl, whose price hath launched above a thousand ships") have been encamped on the beach of Troy for seven years with no exit strategy, and no plan to form one. Amongst their camp discontent and disunity rages, while Hector, eldest prince of Troy and commander of its armies, continues to defeat them in the field and hold them to the beach. Tragedy and romance set amidst the seemingly endless warscape, The Porters focus on the cyclical nature of possession and lust, centering on an exploration of value, the endeavor for honor and eternal canonization, and the furious discussion that rages within even the warring nations of today-what is worth fighting for? What is worth dying for? In the war for answers, the question remains: "What's aught but as 'tis valued?"

The Porters of HellsGate Theatre Company was founded in 2006 by Edward Castuera, Jack Leahy and Charles Pasternak. Their inaugural production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar opened at the end of that year. Since then The Porters have produced eleven more of Shakespeare's plays: Twelfth Night ('07), King Richard III ('07), Titus Andronicus ('07), Two Gentlemen of Verona ('07/'08), Much Ado About Nothing ('08), Macbeth ('08), Love's Labour's Lost ('08), King Richard II ('09), Hamlet ('10), The Comedy of Errors ('10), and The Merchant of Venice ('11), as well as Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead ('10, in rep. with Hamlet), an original work, Deity Clutch (originally produced in '10, then remounted for the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Festival), penned by Associate Artistic Director Gus Krieger, and last season, the world premiere of a new translation of Oedipus the Tyrant ('11), translated by resident artist Jamey Hecht, Ph.D.

Troilus & Cressida opens Friday, January 13th, 2012, at 8pm. The production will run Friday and Saturday nights at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm, through Sunday, February 19th, 2012, closing the six-week run. Presented at: The Whitmore Theatre 11006 Magnolia Blvd North Hollywood, CA 91601 Tickets are $20, $15 for students/seniors 60+/AEA. Reservations are available online via Brown Paper Tickets at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/216520. Reservations can also be made via e-mail or voice mail. Information line/voice mail is 818-325-2055. E-mail questions/comments/reservation requests to PortersOfHellsgate@gmail.com.

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