A VALENTINE'S AFFAIR Comes to Madison Shakespeare Company

Madison Shakespeare Company has announced the upcoming premiere of A Valentine's Affair 2024, a collection of classic love scenes directed by Annie Jay. This year's production includes the works of William Shakespeare and Thomas Heywood and performs two nights only, February 13 and 14 at the Bartell Theatre in downtown Madison.

Since 2018, Madison Shakespeare Company has selected heartwarming and spicy tales of love at first sight, jealousy, temptation, and heartbreak to add color to Wisconsin's dark and chilly winter nights. This year's edition of A Valentine's Affair is the first at the Bartell since 2019, and excerpts plays including Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Taming of the Shrew, Othello, and Henry the Sixth Part One. All eight scenes are new to this year's collection.

Every evening of bite-sized tales of love, heartbreak, jealousy, and passion is rounded out by a truly unique flourish: "Sonnets From a Hat." In this improvisational break, cast members are challenged to perform a randomly selected sonnet, directed by suggestions from the audience.

Classic lovers on display each evening include Petruchio and Kate, Juliet and Paris, Portia and Bassanio, and King Edward and Jane Shore. The ensemble includes Mitch Taylor making his MSC debut, and MSC veterans Madeleine O'Keefe, Ben Seidensticker, Jackson Rosenberry, Paige Abbatacola, Deanna Martinez, Laura Kochanowski, and Jason Compton. A Valentine's Affair 2024 is presented with the generous cooperation of Strollers Theatre's production of Mother Courage and Her Children.

Tickets are $20 general admission, available now at the Bartell Theatre box office.

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