SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE Comes To Life At The Village Players Of Birmingham

The Village Players of Birmingham warms up the winter season with the Michigan premier community theatre production of Shakespeare in Love the weekends of March 6th through March 22nd.

Shakespeare in Love is a romantic period comedy based on the Academy Award winning motion picture. Will Shakespeare has writer's block. The deadline for his new play is fast approaching, but he's in desperate need of inspiration. That is, until he finds his muse - Viola. This beautiful woman is Will's greatest admirer and will stop at nothing (including breaking the law) to appear in his next play. Full of comedy, drama, swashbuckling action, and set against a bustling background of mistaken identity, ruthless scheming, and backstage theatrics, Will's love for Viola quickly blossoms and inspires him to write his greatest masterpiece: Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare In Love is directed by veteran Village Players member Holly Conroy from Royal Oak. "I fell in love with Shakespeare in Love when I saw it performed at the Stratford Festival about four years ago. I felt that this new play was right up my alley! It has a bit of Shakespearian dialog, of course, but it's also funny and romantic and presents the famous bard as very human...just an ordinary guy."

"I enjoy Will's relationships with both Viola and Kit, and how his experiences with them influence the writing of Romeo and Juliet," said Jude Purcell of Bloomfield Hills who plays William Shakespeare. "This play has something for almost everyone: comedy, tragedy, music, dancing, sword fighting and a dog."

Ashley Lane of Bloomfield Hills says this about her role: "The character of Viola has been a dream role of mine for a while. I love her tenacity and her courage. I love that I get to speak both modern text and Shakespeare's poetry in this play. It really embodies all of my favorite parts of acting!"

Shakespeare in Love runs approximately 2.5 hours with one 15-minute intermission. Show dates and times are March 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21 at 8:00 p.m. and March 8, 15 and 22 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $19.00 (plus a $1.00 processing fee for each ticket order) and are available online at www.birminghamvillageplayers.com or by calling the theater box office at 248-644-2075. The Village Players playhouse is located at 34660 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham.

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