Shake at the Lake...and Indoors
By Kathy Janich
Georgia Shakespeare kicks off its season with "Shake at the Lake," an outdoor performance in around Piedmont Park's Lake Clara Meer before moving to its home at the Conant Center for the Performing Arts at Oglethorpe University. This year's Shake at the Lake" show is The Comedy of Errors, set for May 3-7.
Tickets for each evening’s show are available at 10 a.m. that morning at the park’s Visitors’ Center and at the Conant Center. They’re usually gone by 10:15, says GS marketing director Stacey Colosa Lucas. One day last year, the first patron in line at Piedmont Park got there at 6:15 a.m. with his sleeping bag.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, the grounds open for playgoers who claimed their free tickets, in the form of wristbands, that morning. At 7:30 p.m., the performance begins with a parade. The show goes on again every night through Sunday, May 7.
On Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Shakespeare company holds family day with crafts, mask-making, games, a display of swordplay and more. Then it's on to the Conant Center for its regular season, which is detailed below.
Hamlet. June 7-July 22. Shakespeare’s tale of ghosts, swordplay and revenge. With company regular Daniel May as Hamlet; Tess Malis Kincaid (Actor’s Express’ The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia, Kimberly Akimbo) as Gertrude; and company regular Chris Kayser as the Ghost of Hamlet’s father. Express Artistic Director Jasson Minadakis directs this rethought version. Runs 2 1/2 hours.
Twelfth Night. June 22-July 21, in repertory with Hamlet. Shakespeare’s gender-bending comic – and romantic – misadventure. With Courtney Patterson (Stella in last season’s A Streetcar Named Desire), Crystal Dickinson and Neal Ghant. Company regular Karen Robinson, an associate professor of theater at Kennesaw State University, directs. Runs 2 1/2 hours.
Metamorphoses. July 27-Aug. 20. A 24-foot-wide swimming pool becomes the playground for gods and mortals in the regional professional premiere of Mary Zimmerman’s Tony Award-winning drama based on the myths of Ovid. Contains brief nudity. Georgia Shakespeare Producing Artistic Director Richard Garner directs. Runs 90 minutes with no intermission.
Treasure Island. July 5-22. New this year is a family classic – Robert Louis Stevenson’s thriller about pirates, mutiny and treasure maps. Adapted by Larry Larson and Eddie Levi Lee; directed by Tim Conley and Allen O’Reilly. For ages 4 and up. Runs 60 minutes with no intermission.
Othello. Oct. 12-Nov. 5. Shakespeare’s tragedy of racism and betrayal features Brandon J. Dirden (7 Stages’ Come on in My Kitchen) in the title role in his own six-character adaptation. Alliance Theatre Associate Artistic Director Kent Gash directs. Runs 2 hours, 10 minutes.
Georgia Shakespeare is a professional regional theater in residence at Oglethorpe University’s Conant Performing Arts Center, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E. (2.5 miles north of Lenox Square mall). Tickets: $15-$40; $10 for previews; $8-$12 for Treasure Island. Box office: (404)264-0020, www.gashakespeare.org.
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