Shakespeare Steps to the Plate at Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory

"The play's the thing" at Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory as the attraction joins the citywide celebration welcoming William Shakespeare's First Folio to Louisville later this year. On September 17 and 18, LSMF teams up with Kentucky Shakespeare to present Wayne & Shuster's hilarious sketch, The Shakespearean Baseball Game: A Comedy of Errors, Hits, and Runs.

The weekend will feature eight free performances of this delightfully entertaining 10-minute play in the museum's theater. The show puts a baseball spin on some of Shakespeare's most famous quotations from classic works like Macbeth and Richard III. "Fair is foul and foul is fair" as the audience roots for Rocky and the rest of the Stratford baseball team. Performance times are 11 am, 12 pm, 1 pm, and 2 pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

"We're thrilled about our first time performing at Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory," said Matt Wallace, Producing Artistic Director of Kentucky Shakespeare. "We're passionate about taking Shakespeare to the people, wherever and whenever we can, so it's exciting to reach a whole new audience at a new venue for us."

The museum's Vice President and Executive Director, Anne Jewell, agreed. "We're always looking for new ways to interpret baseball for our guests, and attract people who might not typically visit us. It's an honor to partner with Kentucky Shakespeare to bring the Bard to The Big Bat with a show that is laugh-out-loud funny and the perfect length for a quick hit of Shakespeare."

The community-wide Will in the Ville celebration culminates with the arrival of The First Folio exhibit in November at The Frazier History Museum.

Experience history-in-the-making as you stroll through the factory where world-famous Louisville Slugger bats are created. Award-winning factory tour, newly renovatEd Galleries with interactive exhibits, historic memorabilia, and more. Create a Louisville Slugger bat with your very own name on it, just like the pros. Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, 800 West Main Street, is open Monday - Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sundays 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., with extended summer hours. Admission is $14 for adults, $13 for seniors (60+), $8 children (6-12), and free for children 5 and under. For more information, including holiday hours and extended summer hours, visit sluggermuseum.com or call 502-588-7228.

Founded in 1949, Kentucky Shakespeare - a not-for-profit, charitable organization and professional theatre - is the oldest, free Shakespeare festival in the United States. Designated the Official Shakespeare Company of the Commonwealth, Kentucky Shakespeare serves over 80,000 annually through the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Central Park in the summer, educational outreach touring programs, and special community programming throughout the year. Other programs include Camp Shakespeare, annual Shakespeare in the Parks tour, Shakespeare in the Libraries tour serving all Louisville Free Public Libraries, and community center residencies. Kentucky Shakespeare has served over 1,000,000 students with in-school arts programs since its inception in 1990 in all 120 Kentucky counties and surrounding states.

Will in the Ville is a collaborative initiative-spearheaded by the Frazier History Museum, University of Louisville, and the Louisville Free Public Library-involving more than 45 arts, cultural, and educational organizations throughout Louisville and Southern Indiana. As part of the international commemoration of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, it aims to make Louisville a "city of Shakespeare."

Shakespeare events began in April and continue throughout 2016. The celebration culminates with the arrival of the national traveling exhibit, First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare, on display at the Frazier History Museum from November 10-December 10, 2016. The exhibit-co-hosted by the Frazier, UofL, and LFPL-is made possible through a grant from the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Cincinnati Museum Center, and the American Library Association and is traveling to all 50 states. Louisville was selected as the representative site for the state of Kentucky.

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