Shakespeare Theatre Presents 'Hero/Traitor Repertory' with CORIOLANUS and WALLENSTEIN, Now thru 6/2

The Shakespeare Theatre Company, recipient of the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award, probes the burdens of leadership and the price of power in its Hero/Traitor Repertory of Coriolanus and Wallenstein. In the hands of The Studio Theatre's Artistic Director David Muse and STC's Artistic Director Michael Kahn, this pairing of Shakespearean and German epics challenges the concept of control among military and government institutions. Coriolanus and Wallenstein play at Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW) from tonight, March 28-June 2, 2013.

Both plays revolve around military leaders who have gained fame through deadly prowess. In William Shakespeare's Coriolanus, the title character must re-examine his loyalties when the country he championed turns against him; in Friedrich Schiller's Wallenstein, translated and adapted for its American premiere by former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, the main character must choose between the ideal for which he fights and his government's agenda. Each play depicts the warrior's struggle when the lines of battle cross between friends, family and former comrades.

Actors Patrick Page and Steve Pickering have been entrusted with the leading roles of Coriolanus and Wallenstein, respectively. "I am pleased to welcome both Patrick Page and Steve Pickering back to the Shakespeare Theatre Company," said Kahn. "Patrick has had terrific turns as Macbeth and Iago for STC and has just finished a great run as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway. And Steve was wonderful as Kent in our production of King Lear with Stacy Keach. I look forward to working with both actors again on the Hero/Traitor Repertory."

Kahn and Muse have previously worked on the Roman and Leadership repertories at STC. "This is the third time that I have collaborated with David On a repertory season, and I've found that we work together very well in sharing designers and casts," Kahn said. "It's extremely collegial and exciting. We've known each other for long time, and I've always known that if we did Coriolanus again then David would do it."

Coriolanus is performed in repertory with Wallenstein as part of the Clarice Smith Repertory Series.The Clarice Smith Repertory Series is sponsored by the Robert H. Smith Family Foundation. Wallenstein was commissioned through the generous support of The Beech Street Foundation and production support for Wallenstein is provided by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Clarice Smith Repertory Series also includes a thematic educational programming series each year during the run of the repertory to further educate and engage the audience. The first year of programming will include a symposium and other related discussions on leadership, the trauma of war, women and the military and the poetics of battle.

To purchase tickets or to learn more, patrons can call the box office at 202.547.1122 or visit ShakespeareTheatre.org.

THE HERO/TRAITOR REPERTORY CAST

Affiliated Artist Patrick Page returns to STC to play Coriolanus. Page was previously seen on the STC stage as Claudius in Hamlet (Free For All), Iago in Othello and Macbeth in Macbeth. A veteran Broadway actor, Page most recently appeared as the Green Goblin in Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark. His other Broadway credits include Cyrano de Bergerac, A Man For All Seasons, Grinch - The Musical, The Lion King, Julius Caesar, Beauty and the Beast, The Kentucky Cycle and A Christmas Carol. Off-Broadway, he has performed in Rex, The Duchess of Malfi and the title role in Richard II. Regional productions include roles as Antony, Cyrano, Hamlet, Henry V, Iago, Macbeth, Malvolio, Richard II and Richard III at such theatres as ACT, Arizona Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Indiana Repertory, Long Wharf Theatre, Missouri Repertory, Old Globe Theatre, Pioneer Theater, Seattle Repertory and the Alabama, New York, Oregon and Utah Shakespeare festivals. Page can be seen in the Miramax film The Substance of Fire and on the television shows Law & Order: SVU, One Life to Live and All My Children.

Steve Pickering will play the title role in Wallenstein and Cominius in Coriolanus; he last appeared at STC in the 2009 production of King Lear. Pickering has several credits with the Goodman Theatre: Ask Aunt Susan, Thomas Bradshaw's Mary, The Seagull, King Lear, Long Day's Journey into Night, On the Open Road, Good Person of Setzuan and Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Other Chicago credits include the world premiere of Joshua Rollins' A Girl With Sun in Her Eyes at Pine Box Theater (where he is now an ensemble member), Jason Loewith's War with the Newts, the title roles in Macbeth and Coriolanus at the Next Theatre Company, Fatboy at A Red Orchid Theatre and as Iago in Othello at both the Court Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Pickering can be seen in the television shows Boss, Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order. In 1997, he was named Actor of the Year by Chicago Magazine.

The cast of Coriolanus also includes Lise Bruneau as Valeria, Diane D'Aquila as Volumnia, Nick Dillenburg as Lartius, Philip Goodwin as Brutus, Reginald Andre Jackson as Aufidius, Aaryn Kopp as Virgilia, Hunter Zane Pugh as Young Martius, Michael Santo as Senator, Robert Sicular as Menenius and Derrick Lee Weeden as Sicinius. The rest of the cast includes John Bambery, Jeffrey Baumgartner, Philip Dickerson, Avery Glymph, Chris Hietikko, Jacqui Jarrold, Joe Mallon, Glen Pannell, Max Reinhardsen, Brian Russell, Jjana Valentiner and Jaysen Wright.

The cast of Wallenstein also includes Jeffrey Baumgartner as the Astrologer, Colin Carmody as Boy, Diane D'Aquila as Countess, Nick Dillenburg as Max, Avery Glymph as Swedish Captain, Philip Goodwin as Questenberg and Gordon, Chris Hietikko as Bailey, Reginald Andre Jackson as MacDonald, Aaryn Kopp as Thekla, Glen Pannell as Lundquist, Brian Russell as Harvaty, Michael Santo as Czerny, Robert Sicular as Octavio and Derrick Lee Weeden as Kolibas. The ensemble includes John Bambery, Andrew Criss, Philip Dickerson, Jacqui Jarrold, Michael Leicht, Joe Mallon, Max Reinhardsen and Jaysen Wright.

THE DIRECTORS

Coriolanus director David Muse is the former STC Associate Artistic Director and current Artistic Director for The Studio Theatre. He previously staged productions for STC including Henry V in the 2010 Leadership Repertory, the 2009 Free For All production in Sidney Harman Hall of The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, which was featured as part of the Roman Repertory at Sidney Harman Hall, the inaugural Youth and Family Series production of On the Eve of Friday Morning and the 2006 Free For All production of Pericles at Carter Barron Amphitheatre in Rock Creek Park. Muse served as assistant director for the mainstage productions of Othello, Lady Windermere's Fan, The Tempest, Pericles and Macbeth. Other Washington credits include Studio Theatre's An Iliad, Dirt, Bachelorette, The Habit of Art, Venus In Fur, Circle Mirror Transformation, Reasons To Be Pretty, Blackbird, Frozen and The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune at Arena Stage and The Bluest Eye at Theatre Alliance, among others. Muse has taught Acting and Directing at Yale, Georgetown and STC's Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University. A five-time Helen Hayes Award Nominee for Outstanding Direction, he is a recent recipient of the DC Mayor's Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist and The National Theatre Conference Emerging Artist Award. He is a graduate of Yale University and the Yale School of Drama.

Wallenstein director Michael Kahn recently directed The Government Inspector at STC. Prior to that, he staged a production of Strange Interlude to celebrate his 25th anniversary as STC's Artistic Director. Kahn has directed a wide variety of Shakespearean and classical works for STC, including The Heir Apparent, Old Times, All's Well That Ends Well, The Liar, Richard II, The Alchemist, Design for Living and The Way of the World, among many others.

In 1991, he created the Free For All, which brings an STC production to audiences completely free of charge every year. The Free For All has reached more than 630,000 people to date. In addition to leading STC, he is also the founder of the Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University and the former Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division at Juilliard. Since the 1960s, Kahn's work has been seen by audiences across the country and the world: in New York City, both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, as well as at both the American Shakespeare Theatre and the McCarter Theatre where he served as Artistic Director concurrently. In 2003, STC performed his production of The Oedipus Plays at the Athens Festival in Greece, where it received standing ovations and critical acclaim. In the summer of 2006, the Company took Kahn's production of Love's Labor's Lost to the Royal Shakespeare Company's "Complete Works Festival" in Stratford-upon-Avon. Most recently Kahn was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

THE DESIGNERS

The design team for Coriolanus and Wallenstein includes Set Designer Blythe Quinlan, Costume Designer Murell Horton, Lighting Designer Mark McCullough and Voice and Text Coach Ellen O'Brien. Mark Bennett is the Composer and Sound Designer for Coriolanus and Fitz Patton is the Composer and Sound Designer for Wallenstein.

THE ARTISTIC TEAM

Directors Muse and Kahn are assisted by Production Stage Managers Bret Torbeck for Coriolanus and Joseph Smelser for Wallenstein, Assistant Stage Managers Hannah R. O'Neil for Coriolanus and Elizabeth Clewley for Wallenstein, Assistant Directors Jenny Lord for Coriolanus and Gus Heagerty for Wallenstein and Directorial Assistant Robert Lutfy. Daniel Neville-Rehbehn is the Resident Casting Director for STC and Binder Casting provided New York Casting for these shows. Rick Sordelet is the Fight Director and Drew Lichtenberg is the Literary Associate for this repertory.

*Artists and dates are subject to change.

The Robert H. Smith Family Foundation established the Clarice Smith Repertory Series at the Shakespeare Theatre Company to generously underwrite Michael Kahn's vision of having repertory programming in the next three seasons, beginning with Coriolanus and Wallenstein this season. The Clarice Smith Repertory Series also includes a thematic educational symposium each year during the run of the repertory to further educate and engage our audience.

Recipient of the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award, the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) has become one of the nation's leading theatre companies. Today, STC is synonymous with artistic excellence and making classical theatre more accessible.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Kahn and Managing Director Chris Jennings, STC's innovative approach to Shakespeare and other classic playwrights has earned it the reputation as the nation's premier classical theatre company. By focusing on works with profound themes, complex characters and poetic language written by Shakespeare, his contemporaries and the playwrights he influenced, the Company's artistic mission is unique among theatre companies: to present theatre of scope and size in an imaginative, skillful and accessible American style that honors the playwrights' language and intentions while viewing their work through a 21st-century lens.

A leader in arts education, STC has a stable of initiatives that teach and excite learners of all ages, from school programs and acting classes to discussion series as well as accessible programs like the annual Free For All, one of STC's most beloved annual traditions, allowing audiences to experience Shakespeare at no charge.

Located in our nation's capital, STC performs in two theatres, the Lansburgh Theatre and Sidney Harman Hall in downtown Washington, D.C., creating a dynamic, cultural hub of activity that showcases STC as well as outstanding local performing arts groups and nationally renowned organizations. STC moved into the 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre in March 1992, after six years in residency in the Folger Library's Elizabethan theatre. At that time the Penn Quarter neighborhood was not considered desirable by many; since then, STC has helped drive its revitalization. The 774-seat Sidney Harman Hall opened in October 2007.

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