Fri 6/24- Sun 7/10 @ 7PM
At last! The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival says, “After bringing you a plague induced “virtual” season, followed by a shortened 2021 season, The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival is delighted to be back to full capacity for our 25th Anniversary Season!” That means two full productions touring outdoor locations across Northeast Ohio.
The first of those is one of Shakespeare’s best-known works, a play so engrained in western culture that you probably have referred to it or quoted it even if you’ve never read it: Hamlet, the story of the brooding prince focused on avenging his father’s death.
CSF’s artistic director Dusten A. Welch directs the production, which — for those of you intimidated by Shakespeare — will be edited down to a digestible length, which can be done before darkness. (The performances, which start at 7pm, are performed without scenery or lights.)
Hamlet opens on Friday June 24 at Cleveland Heights’ Coventry P.E.A.C.E Park , Saturday June 25 at Bentleyville Community Park, and Sunday June 26 at Berea’s Coe Lake Park. Subsequent performances are at Notre Dame College in South Euclid (Friday July 1), the James A. Garfield Historic Site in Mentor (Saturday July 2), Shaker Heights’ Van Aken Market District (Sunday July 3), Tremont’s Lincoln Park (Friday July 8), Black River Landing in Lorain (Saturday July 9) and BAYArts in Bay Village (Sunday July 10.)
Their second show this year is Moliere’s The Learned Ladies, with performances Friday July 22-August August 7.
All performances are free. Find more information here.