Actors’ Theatre of Columbus will present two Shakespearean works and two other classic plays next summer during its 41st season, including a collaboration on one of August Wilson’s acclaimed African American dramas.
“Whether they examine family, community or government, all these plays question what our responsibilities are when the power structures we live within fail,” Artistic Director Philip J. Hickman said.
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All four 2022 productions – with cast sizes limited to 10 or fewer actors for enhanced safety through social separation onstage and backstage, plus other health precautions to be announced as needed next May – will be presented outdoors at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays in the Schiller Park amphitheater:
• “Hamlet,” May 26 to June 19: The tragic drama, widely viewed as Shakespeare’s greatest play and presented here in a shorter version based on the First Quarto text, revolves around a Danish prince haunted by the recent death of his father and suspicious of the new king.
• “A Tale of Two Cities,” June 23 to July 17: The drama, first staged professionally in 2013, was adapted in 1935 by British playwright Terence Rattigan (“The Winslow Boy”) and British actor-writer John Gielgud (“Arthur”) from Charles Dickens’ 1859 bestselling novel about courage, sacrifice and resurrection in struggles for survival and justice during the late-1700’s events leading up to the French Revolution and Reign of Terror.
• “Queen Margaret,” July 21 to Aug. 14: Jeanie O’Hare’s 2018 British drama, initially announced for 2020 before the pandemic canceled that season, was adapted from Shakespeare’s history cycle to focus on a young queen who matured into the ruling force in the chaotic War of the Roses.
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• “King Hedley II,” Aug. 18 to Sept. 4: The company will collaborate with PAST Productions Columbus to present the Greater Columbus premiere of August Wilson’s Tony-nominated 2001 Broadway play about an ex-con trying to rebuild his life in 1985 in Pittsburgh. A 2000 Pulitzer finalist, this is the ninth play in Wilson’s 10-part cycle about African Americans in each decade of the 20th century.
Admission is Pay What You Will, or $25 for reserved seating with advance online purchase. Call (614) 444-6888 or visit www.theactorstheatre.org.
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