Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival Earns Drama League Nomination

From the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival:

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival has announced that their 2015 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Eric Tucker, and co-produced by The Pearl Theater Company, has won a 2016 Drama League nomination for Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play.

The HVSF/Pearl production of Midsummer memorably featured an ensemble cast of only five actors who played all 21 parts, never leaving the stage. The production was first staged at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival where it ran in repertory throughout the 2015 season. The production then transferred to The Pearl Theater Company where it ran on 42nd Street from September through the end of October, 2015. Terry Teachout wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “Not since Peter Brook’s now-legendary 1970 Royal Shakespeare Company version has there been so radically original or mysteriously poetic a production of the greatest of all stage comedies. It seals Mr. Tucker’s reputation as the outstanding American classical stage director of his generation.”

“We are absolutely thrilled that this co-production with The Pearl has been nominated,” said HVSF Artistic Director, Davis McCallum. “Eric and his incredible ensemble cast were set with quite a challenge, and they rose to the occasion with remarkable creativity and imagination. Everyone at HVSF is rightfully very proud of this recognition.”

Winners of the 82nd Drama League Awards will be announced at a luncheon ceremony at the Marriot Marquis Times Square in New York on Friday, May 20th.

About the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
Now celebrating its 30th anniversary season, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF) is a critically acclaimed (The New York Times, New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal), professional, non-profit theater company. Located one hour north of Manhattan in Garrison, NY, HVSF has established a reputation for lucid, imaginative, engaging and highly inventive productions staged on the Great Lawn of the historic Boscobel House and Gardens with a backdrop of stunning vistas overlooking the Hudson River. Each year, its productions attract a total audience of more than 35,000 from Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, New York City, New Jersey, and beyond, regularly achieving over 80% audience capacity.

HVSF also takes the magic of Shakespeare and live theater beyond their tent by touring shows throughout the Hudson Valley and by presenting limited runs of classic plays in local landmark venues. Their acclaimed arts education programs include training for early-career theater artists, professional development for educators, and programs and performances that serve nearly 50,000 middle and high school students each year.

The company’s mission is to “engage the widest possible audience in a fresh conversation about what is essential in Shakespeare’s plays. Our theater lives in the here and now, at the intersection of the virtuosity of the actor, the imagination of the audience, and the inspiration of the text.”

The HVSF 2016 season will run in repertory from June 7 – August 28. The season will include: Measure for Measure directed by HVSF Artistic Director Davis McCallum, As You Like It directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch,and an all-female production of Macbeth directed by Lee Sunday Evans. In addition, a milestone production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, directed by John Christian Plummer, will run September 2 – 5. The 2016 season will also include 4 performances of So Please You, an original production conceived and directed by Zachary Fine, featuring the HVSF Conservatory Company.

Tickets are now available online here. For more information visit here.