Displaying items by tag: Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces the cast and creative team for William Shakespeare's Henry V, staged by Artistic Director Edward Hall in the Courtyard Theater, September 6–October 6. Elijah Jones makes his Chicago Shakespeare Theater debut in the title role, leading a company that also features Scott Aiello, Donté Bonner, Ronald L. Conner, Rachel Crowl, Alejandra Escalante, Sean Fortunato, Kate Fry, Courtney Rikki Green, Gregory Linington, Jaylon Muchison, Adam Poss, and Demetrios Troy.

Following his groundbreaking production of Richard III last season, Artistic Director Edward Hall opens the fall season with Henry V. Shakespeare's tale of power and youthful ambition examines the realities of war and nationalism at its most dangerous and seductive. From the evocative opening line, "O for a Muse of Fire," the play includes some of Shakespeare's most famous speeches and stirring poetry. 

"Henry V remains one of the most revealing plays about war, nationalism, the consequences of both, and our need for common causes to bind us together," said Hall. "It is uncompromising in its honesty—a real world story about ideas that remain ever-present in our lives. There has never been a more prescient moment to explore our reflex for conflict through the prism of a story that contains some of the greatest writing in the English language."

Elijah Jones makes his Chicago Shakespeare debut as the young King Henry V. He is a recent graduate of the Juilliard School, where he performed the title role in Coriolanus, Orsino in Twelfth Night, and Leontes in The Winter's Tale. His other credits include Richard II at The Public Theater, The Rolling Stone at Lincoln Center Theater, Airness and As You Like It at Chautauqua Theater Company, and Macbeth, The Many Deaths of Nathan Stubblefield, and A Christmas Carol at Actors Theatre of Louisville. 

Jones leads an ensemble cast that includes both actors familiar to the Chicago Shakespeare stage and exciting debut performances. 

Scott Aiello (Duke of Salisbury/Williams/Nym) was recently seen as Clarence and Stanley in CST's Richard III, and other credits include an acclaimed performance as Eddie in Shattered Globe Theatre's A View From the Bridge. 

Donté Bonner (Duke of Exeter) makes his Chicago Shakespeare debut, with credits including Romeo and Juliet on Broadway, Occupied Territories at 59E59, and War at Yale Repertory Theatre.

Ronald L. Conner (Bardolph/Duke of Orleans) was recently seen as Lord Capulet in Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night at CST. 

Rachel Crowl (Fluellen/Grey) makes her Chicago Shakespeare debut, with recent credits including Between Two Knees at Yale Repertory Theatre, The Swindlers at Baltimore Repertory Theatre, and work at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Alejandra Escalante (Dauphin of France/Bishop of Ely/Nell) returns to CST after appearing as Mariana in Measure for Measure and Helena in All's Well That Ends Well, with other recent credits including The Cherry Orchard at Goodman Theatre.

Sean Fortunato (King of France/Erpingham/Duke of York) has performed in over two dozen Chicago Shakespeare productions, most recently as the Duchess of York and Lord Rivers in Richard III; other recent credits include Damn Yankees at Marriott Theatre and Young Frankenstein at Mercury Theater.

Kate Fry (Duke of Westmoreland/ Monsieur le Fer/Alice) has many Chicago Shakespeare credits, including As You Like It, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, and The Merchant of Venice and recently seen in acclaimed performances in The Cherry Orchard at Goodman Theatre and Birthday Candles at Northlight Theatre.

Courtney Rikki Green (Katherine, Princess of France/Lad) makes her Chicago Shakespeare debut, with recent credits including Romeo and Juliet at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and work with Drunk Shakespeare Chicago.

Gregory Linington (Archbishop of Canterbury/Bates/Governor of Harfleur) was seen in CST's in Measure for Measure, after 12 years with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Jaylon Muchison (Mountjoy/Scroop) makes his Chicago Shakespeare debut, with recent credits including The Royale at American Players Theatre and Much Ado About Nothing and King Lear with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.

Adam Poss (Constable of France/Cambridge) returns to CST after appearing as Antonio in Twelfth Night and Angelo in Measure for Measure, and most recently on Broadway in Patriots.

Demetrios Troy (Pistol/Duke of Burgundy) most recently appeared as King Edward IV and Richmond in Richard III, with many other CST credits including King Charles III, Henry V, and Julius Caesar.

In addition to Hall, the creative team of Henry V includes Scenic and Costume Designer Michael Pavelka, Musical Director, Arrangements, and Original Music by Jonathan Trenchard,, Lighting Designer Marcus Doshi, Sound Designer Emily Hayman, Voice and Dialect Coach Scott Aiello, Assistant Director Sola Thompson, Assistant Lighting Designer Daphne Manuela Agosin Orellana, Assistant Sound Designer Forrest Gregor, Directing Apprentice Philippa Lawford, Casting Director Bob Mason, Production Stage Manager Jinni Pike, Assistant Stage Manager Danny Fender, and Production Assistant Caroline Uy.

The press opening for Henry V is scheduled for Friday, September 13 at 7:00 p.m.

More information at www.chicagoshakes.com/henryv or on social media at @chicagoshakes.  

HENRY V

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Edward Hall
September 6–October 6, 2024 
Courtyard Theater 

PERFORMANCE LISTING

• Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. (except September 24)
• Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
• Thursdays at 7:00 p.m.
• Fridays at 7:00 p.m.
• Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (no matinee September 7)
• Sundays at 2:00 p.m.

Chicago Shakespeare strives to make its facility and performances accessible to all patrons. Accessible seating, assistive listening devices, large-print and Braille programs, and sensory tools are available at every performance. Enhanced performances include:

• ASL interpreted performance – Friday, September 27, 2024, 7:00 p.m.
  All dialogue and lyrics are translated into American Sign Language by two certified interpreters
• Audio-described performance with optional touch tour – Sunday, September 29, 2024, 2:00 p.m.
  A program that provides spoken narration of a play's key visual elements for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Touch Tours provide patrons the opportunity to experience, firsthand, a production's design elements.
• Projected Spanish translated performance - Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at 7:00 p.m.
  A text display of the words of the play, translated into Spanish, synced live with the dialogue.

Open captioning – Wed, October 2, 2024, 1:00 & 7:00 p.m.
A text display of the words and sounds heard during a play, synced live with the action onstage.

From Twelfth Night’s well-known opening lines “If music be the food of love, play on …,” the stage is set for Shakespeare’s madcap comedy of misplaced love and mixed-up identities. Woven throughout this production are the colors, culture, and Caribbean-inspired music that play almost as important a role as the actors on stage.

There are those who prefer their Shakespeare straight up and true to the Bard’s written word and intended setting. I, however, am not one of them. I enjoy seeing Shakespeare’s plays reimagined and reset into different settings and time periods, and I was thoroughly enchanted and entertained by director Tyrone Phillips’ interpretation of Twelfth Night.

In his debut as a director at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Phillips brings his personal background to the stage as a first-generation Jamaican America. The island kingdom of Shakespeare’s Illyria comes to life under Phillips’ direction as a Caribbean paradise, complete with swaying palm trees, a sandy shore, and a reggae-inspired beat that pulses throughout the show.

There’s no way you can leave the theatre without a smile on your face, as if you’ve just been on a mini-vacation.

We first meet the Duke Orsino, played by Yao Dogbe, a talented veteran of Chicago Shakespeare, lamenting his unrequited love for Countess Olivia, who has declared a seven-year period of mourning for her brother. The duke’s emissaries have all been rejected, and he is at wit’s end.

That is, until a spectacular storm at sea deposits the young Viola, aptly played by Jaeda LaVoone in her debut at Chicago Shakes, on the beach of Illyria. Believing that her twin brother, Sebastian, has drowned in the storm, she disguises herself as a young lad, Cesario, and seeks employment with the duke. There’s something about the well-spoken Cesario that prompts the duke to send him to Olivia to proclaim the duke’s love to her.

Viola is immediately smitten by the duke, but vows to serve her master, and so as Cesario, goes off to see Olivia, wonderfully played by Christiana Clark. Craziness ensues as Olivia becomes love-struck with Cesario, and comically, Viola finds herself trying to extract herself from this awkward love triangle.

Throw into the mix the subplot of characters, led by Olivia’s uncle, Sir Toby Belch, (Ronald L. Conner), and his sidekick, Sir Andrew (Alex Goodrich), who plot to prank the uptight Malvolio, Olivia’s stalwart steward, by leading him to believe that his mistress is deeply in love with him. Add the surprise appearance of Olivia’s twin, Sebastian, who in actuality also survived the shipwreck, and the series of mistaken identities that result add to the chaotic comedy.

 But, as with all Shakespeare’s comedies, all is resolved in the final scenes. Brother and sister are reunited. The Duke and Olivia, at last, find their true loves (and not with each other!), and even the mistreated Malvolio realizes that “everyone is fragile,” and makes his peace with his adversaries.

The production is a homecoming of sorts for Phillips, who first visited Chicago Shakespeare as a teen and later performed on its stage in A Midsummer’s Night Dream.  He has assembled a talented group of predominantly African-American actors who bring an energy and authenticity to the show. For me, the performances by Clark’s Olivia and Paul Oakley Stovall’s Malvolio stood out. Clark’s Olivia is bold, beautiful, and determined to win Cesario’s love. I was captivated by her larger-than-life presence whenever she was on stage. And Stovall shines as the puritanical prude, Malvolio, who underscores his performance with a subtle gesture or a raised eyebrow.

From the opening scene where Olivia’s jester Feste (Israel Erron Ford) invites islanders to stroll with him to a reggae-inspired beat to the curtain-call where the entire cast dances to that same exuberant rhythm, Twelfth Night is an energetic, joyous, laugh-out loud romp that is sure to entertain – a perfect escape for a couple hours from the holiday stress.

You can still get in on the fun as Chicago Shakespeare extended its run through Dec. 3.