St. Louis Shakespeare Festival Announces 2022 Season

St. Louis Shakespeare Festival (Tom Ridgely, Producing Artistic Director) announced today that its 22nd Shakespeare in the Park production will be Much Ado About Nothing. The production, originally slated for summer 2020, will begin performances on Wednesday, June 1, with an opening night set for Friday, June 3 at 8:00pm, and will play through June 26. Festival-favorite Bruce Longworth will return for the fifth time as director.

"Shakespeare in the Park has always been about joyfully gathering as a community. Keeping it free and open means that it truly is for everyone," said producing artistic director Tom Ridgely in a statement. "It will have been almost three years since we were able to freely invite all of St. Louis to hear one of these gorgeous stories. Now finally, and fully, it's back."

Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare's most popular and enduring comedies. The central characters, Beatrice and Benedick, are thorny, intelligent, witty and hopelessly bad at love. A battle royale ensues in a hilarious attempt to resist their overpowering mutual attraction that makes Much Ado such a timeless story of romance, suspicion and restoration.

This will be Longworth's fifth time helming a Shakespeare in the Park production, having previously directed Hamlet (2010), Othello (2012), Henry V (2014) and The Winter's Tale (2017). The creative team includes New York-based Josh Smith (Scenic Design) and Festival veterans Dorothy Englis (Costume Design), John Wylie (Lighting Design) and Matt Pace & Brien Seyle (Original Music).

"Much Ado is Shakespeare's reminder that loving relationships are what life is all about," Ridgely continued. "It also happens to be the blueprint for just about every romantic comedy that's come since. It's a celebration of love, and that's exactly what we'll be throwing every night in the Glen: a great big party for love."

On May 19-21 the Festival is partnering with Cinema St. Louis to present the first Shakespeare Movie Weekend in the Glen, with three free nights of Shakespeare-inspired films for all ages. On Thursday, 10 Things I Hate About You starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew will kick off the weekend. 1994's beloved The Lion King, based loosely on Hamlet, will follow on Friday; and the series will end Saturday with St. Louis-born Vincent Price's Theatre of Blood, a camp horror-comedy in which a slighted Shakespearean actor (Price) seeks poetic and murderous revenge on his critics - killing them in the same ways made infamous by Shakespeare.

The Festival's 20-year-old touring program returns for the second time as the free and outdoor public park tour, TOURCO, throughout Missouri and Illinois with A Midsummer Night's Dream. The production will be directed by Tre'von Griffith, the St. Louis/NYC based theater artist, composer and founder of WerQfest also known as Tre-G, and featuring costumes by acclaimed local fashion designer Brandin Vaughn. This 90-minute highly musical afro-futurist adaptation will play in 24 different locations August 2-27 starting on opening night at Kiener Plaza in the heart of downtown St. Louis.

Shakespeare in the Streets, the internationally recognized community engagement program will take place in the historic St. Louis immigrant neighborhood of Bevo Mill. After months of community listening and partnership with the St. Louis International Institute and Oasis International, there will be three free performances of a new play and Shakesepare adaptation written by Deanna Jent (Drama Desk Nominee) near the landmark intersection of Gravois Ave. and Morgan Ford Rd. on September 22, 23, and 24. Bevo's rich history as a port of entry for so many immigrants since the city's founding - from German settlers, to Bosnian refugees, to today's Afghan families - will be explored with a large-scale Shakespeare adaptation featuring stories and performances from community members alongside professional artists.

The 22nd season will conclude with the wild and witty holiday spectacular Q Brothers Christmas Carol in December 2022 at the National Blues Museum. Created by the Chicago based Q Brothers Collective (Dress the Part at The Ready Room in 2020), this hip-hop musical and comedic take on Dickens' A Christmas Carol has thrilled audiences and critics at Chicago Shakespeare Theater every holiday season since 2013 and this will be its first production outside of Chicago. The Chicago Sun Times called it "unlike anything you might imagine Dickens could be."

In addition to a full season of performances, the Festival's commitment to developing new work and talent is continuing with a fourth Confluence Regional Writers Project cohort and Directing Fellowship. The three midwest playwrights joining a growing group of emerging playwrights include E.K. Doolin (Edwardsville), Hanna Kime (Chicago) and Novid Parsi (St. Louis). The Festival has awarded Directing Fellowships to Miranda Jagels Félix and Cameron Jamarr Davis both of St. Louis.

Leadership support for the 2022 season is provided by The Whitaker Foundation, Regional Arts Commission, Missouri Arts Council, The Bellwether Foundation, Inc., National Endowment for the Arts / Art Works, The Trio Foundation of St. Louis and The Gertrude and William A. Bernoudy Foundation.

Performances for Shakespeare in the Park, TourCo and Shakespeare in the Streets are free and open to the public. Seats and blankets may be reserved or audiences may bring their own. Please visit www.stlshakes.org for more information.

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