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Utah Shakespearean Festival Announces
2006 Season Schedule

CEDAR CITY, Utah - The theatre company is back, rehearsals are increasing in intensity and the opening curtain of an exciting 2005 Utah Shakespearean Festival season is only days away. The work never stops at the Festival, however, even during those dark and damp weeks of winter. Plans have been firmed up and the schedule of plays for the 2006 season, the Festival?s forty-fifth, has already been established.

The 2006 summer season will feature two well-known Shakespearean plays, and one that is rarely produced. In addition, a madcap comedy, a timeless family drama and a musical romp featuring the Festival?s founder and executive director, Fred C. Adams, will take the stage.

Legend has it that Queen Elizabeth I was so amused by Falstaff, Prince Hal?s spurious, round mentor in Henry IV, that she directed Shakespeare to compose a play featuring Falstaff in love. True or not, The Merry Wives of Windsor is indeed a treasure. Yes, Falstaff is at it again! This time he stoops to conquer the hearts of two Windsor ladies - never mind that both are married. The honorable wives are well aware of the rogue?s intentions and turn Falstaff into a deserving dupe as they spin his attempted trysts into comic disaster. But laughter reigns supreme as feminine wisdom triumphs over a jealous husband, confused lovers, and a web of merriment.

A man of great vision, dedication, and purpose, Marc Antony is still no match for the passionate and irresistible Queen of the Nile, Cleopatra, in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. With his vision clouded and his purpose blunted, will this great military leader face catastrophic defeat? Reason battles emotion in this epic and seldom-produced portrayal of love, leaving us wondering until the very end: Which will win, or will all be lost?

Perhaps Shakespeare's best-known play is Hamlet. Prince Hamlet is haunted by ghosts, those of his father and those of his own confused psyche. Yet, as he plots his revenge, his hand stops in mid-move. Can he really play the deadly game to its completion? And how many kings and queens must he destroy? This timeless Shakespearean classic about revenge, honor-and self-asks the questions, but you must provide the answers.

Room Service, by John Murray and Allen Boretz, relates the story of the madcap (and completely broke) cast and producers of a new play who are trying everything imaginable (and some not) to get their work on-stage before they are evicted from their hotel/rehearsal space. Stirring up the hilarious chaos is a nutty cast of characters (a la the Marx Brothers) that pilfers meals, hides would-be strarlets, and struggles to be ready before the curtain rises. If you liked Noises Off!, you?ll love this crazy farce of the American Theatre.

Is there anyone who isn?t charmed by Ernest Thompson?s On Golden Pond? This glowing comedy of age, youth and the hope that ties them together will touch your heart and make chuckle as you see your own family in the lives of the Thayers. Whether your generation relates more to the retired curmudgeon, Norman, his daughter who longs for her father?s love, or her thirteen-year-old stepson, this play will ring true. You?ll definitely want to enjoy this with your parents-and your children!

Of course, no Festival season would be complete without the charm of a musical. Add the comic talent of the Festival?s own founder, Fred C. Adams, and W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan?s H.M.S Pinafore promises to provide a richly entertaining experience. From the moment the sailors of the H.M.S. Pinafore meet "Little" Buttercup, the plot of this delightful operetta begins to spin and twist. Ralph, a common sailor, is in love with the captain?s daughter, Josephine, who is promised to another. And the captain fancies Buttercup, though she is far beneath his station. But fear not, "if you please," it all works out in the end. "Hip, hip hoorah!"

The fall 2006 season will continue to build on the success and quality of its predecessors. Certainly, Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice continues to be one of the Bard?s most oft-discussed works. Whether you consider this though-provoking masterpiece a story of love and humor or one of racism and greed, this controversial comedy will touch your soul. Its themes and characters (including two of Shakespeare's most memorable, Shylock and Portia) will reverberate in your heart, causing you to pause and think about justice and mercy, the complexity of humankind, and the nature of forgiveness and love.

J. Hartley Manner?s Peg O? My Heart was one of the most successful Broadway plays of the early 20th century. Raised by her Irish father, young Peg O?Connell is off to live with her wealthy British relatives, to be trained (unbeknownst to her) as a proper and respectable lady. Of course, because money is involved (also unbeknownst to Peg), everybody?s motives are suspect. But Peg, with spunk, virtue, and endearing warmth, wins the day and her relatives? hearts - just as she?ll win yours in this cozy and charming play about love, morality, and goodness.

A dusty tumbleweed rolls across the stage. The spotlight shines on a guitar-strumming and handsome gunfighter. The heroin, a saloon-girl-turned-good, runs on, the back of her hand to her pale forehead, her calico-covered bosom heaving. Thus begins Johnny Guitar, with book by Nicholas van Hoogstraten, music and lyrics by Martin Silvestri and Joel Higgins. Place your tongue firmly in your cheek, tap your foot, and hum along; you?re about to ride along into the musical sunset on the back of this campy and fun spoof of a 1950?s "B" western.

Tickets go on sale to members on Thursday, June 9, and are available to the general public beginning June 23. Tickets may be ordered by phone at 800-PLAYTIX or on the Internet at www.bard.org.

Great seats are still available for the 2005 season running June 23 through October 29, Featured plays include William Shakespeare's Love?s Labour?s Lost, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night?s Dream, and All?s Well that Ends Well. In addition, you can take in Doctor Faustus, Stones in His Pockets, The Foreigner, and two musicals: Camelot and Pippin.

Recipient of the 2000 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, the Festival is hosted on the campus of Southern Utah University and is committed to entertain, enrich, and educate audiences through professional productions of Shakespeare and other master dramatists.

Media Contact:
Donna Law
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Utah Shakespearean Festival
351 West Center Street
Cedar City, UT 84720
435-586-1968
435-586-1971-fax
www.bard.org
High-res photos available at www.bard.org
For reservations or more information, call 1-800-PLAYTIX