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Photos (All Photos by Tom Kimmell)

1. Nick Henderson (Orlando) and Jane Noseworthy (Rosalind)

2. Nick Henderson (Orlando), Kaitlyn Riordan (Celia) and Jane Noseworthy (Rosalind)

3. Jane Noseworthy (Rosalind)

Press Release:

PDF version of Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

14 July 2008                                              Contact:  Drew Martorella,   Executive Director

                                                                                   (719) 262-3275  dmartore@uccs.edu

LOVE IN THE WOODS

THE THEATREWORKS SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

Love is in the air this summer at the THEATREWORKS Shakespeare Festival, which is presenting two of Shakespeare’s most delightful works in repertory.  As You Like It, one of Shakespeare’s happiest comedies, will play from 14 August through September 7.  Venus & Adonis, a new adaptation of the poem that was the bard’s greatest hit in his own lifetime, will play August 20-31.  Both productions will be staged in the Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

As You Like It features Shakespeare’s greatest comic heroine, Rosalind, a young woman who disguises herself as a boy and then pretends to be a girl while teaching her boyfriend how to woo.  She is only one of a dozen intriguing characters who have escaped from the oppressive court to the forest of Arden, where they celebrate their new life of freedom and discovery.  The play is full of courtship and song, ending with four weddings and no funeral.

Jane Noseworthy, a former Miss Nebraska, will play Rosalind, the girl who may be even more fetching when she’s a guy.  Nick Henderson is Orlando, the hunk turned lover-poet who wins her heart.  The incomparable Bob Rais is Touchstone, a clown who is as earthy as he is witty; Angie Kinnett is Audrey, his goathearding love.  David Pinckney plays Jaques, the melancholy philosopher who explains how all the world’s stage. Kaitlyn Riordan is Celia, Rosalind’s cousin and best friend, and Tom Paradise takes a turn as both the paranoid Duke Frederick and his benign brother, Duke Senior, who finds “sermons in stones, books in the running brooks, and good in everything.”  Brian McClure will play the music he has composed for this production, which features more songs than any other Shakespeare plays.  Michael Stansbery, the set designer, proves not only God can make a tree, and Japhy Weideman, direct from the La Scala opera house, designs the light slanting through the wide forest.  Elizabeth Ross creates the costumes; Murray Ross, THEATREWORKS Artistic Director, directs the production.

This same creative team will also mount Venus & Adonis, a theatrical adaptation of the narrative erotic poem that was Shakespeare’s most popular work in his own lifetime.  The poem tells the story of the goddess of love and her unrequited passion for the beautiful youth, Adonis.  She desperately needs a cuddle, but her would-be boyfriend only wants to hunt. Venus, the ripe, sensual and overheated goddess, will be played by the irresistible Tracy Hostmeyer.   Nick Henderson is Adonis. Richard Crawford, who appeared as the monster in Frankenstein a few years ago, returns to play the poem’s three animals:  a lusty stallion, a terrified bunny, and a savage boar.  Kaitlyn Riordan is the poem’s compassionate narrator.

This summer’s Shakespeare festival has many additional events designed to enhance audience experiences.  There will be audience forums and conversations following all Thursday performances.  Murray Ross, Artistic Director of THEATREWORKS will give two lectures on Shakespeare at 2:00 p.m. on August 17 and 24.  Professor Stephen Booth, one of the world’s preeminent Shakespeare authorities, will talk about Venus & Adonis on Sunday, August 31 at 2:00 p.m. prior to the final performance of this show.

There will be many opportunities for Shakespearean feasting and drinking.  The Boar’s Head Tavern will open its doors on the theater terrace Saturday afternoons August 23, 30 and Sept 6, with libations supplied by the Bristol Brewing Company.  There’s a gala opening party for audience members following the performance of As You Like It on Saturday, August 16. On August 23, the annual Shakespeare Festival dinner will be held at two private homes in the Colorado Springs North End. Finally, a special garden performance of Venus & Adonis together with a picnic supper will be held at the beautiful Forest Edge Gardens in the Black Forest on August 26. 

There are only six performances of Venus & Adonis in the Bon Vivant Theater: August 20, 22, 23, 28 at 7:30 p.m.; a Saturday matinee performance August 30 at 2:00 p.m., and a Sunday 4:00 p.m. performance August 31.   As You Like It plays August 14, 15, 16, 21, 27, 29, 30, and September 3, 4, 5, 6 at 7:30 p.m. There are Sunday 4:00 p.m. performances on August 17, 24 and September 7, and Saturday 2:00 p.m. matinees on August 23 and September 6.  Special student Matinees have been scheduled for 10:00 am on August 21, 26, 28 and September 2 & 4. Reserved tickets for all performances are $25.  A limited number of FREE tickets for As You Like It are available on a first come basis before every performance.  For reservations and further information go to the THEATREWORKS website at www.theatreworksCS.org or call the box office at (719) 262-3232.

THEATREWORKS Shakespeare FestivaL

A s You Like It

Venus & Adonis

The Shakespeare Gala

Boars Head Tavern

Stephen Booth Lecture

FACT SHEET

DIRECTOR:                       Murray Ross

DESIGNERS:                     Costumes                        Betty Ross

                                          Scenery                           Michael Stansbery

                                          Lighting                           Japhy Weideman

                                          Sound                                Will Boschelli

WHEN/WHERE:            As You Like It

                                          August 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 23, 24, 27, 29, 30,  September 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

                                          Venus and Adonis

                                          August 20, 22, 23, 28, 30, and 31

                                          Venus and Adonis at Forest Edge Gardens ONE SHOW ONLY

                                          August 26 at 7 p.m.

                                          Boars Head Tavern Between the matinees

                                          Saturdays August 23, 30, Setember 6

                                          Stephen Booth Lecture

                                          Sunday August 31 at 2:00 p.m.

                                          7:30 p.m.           Wednesday through Saturday

                                          2:00 p.m.           Saturday Matinees

                                          4:00 p.m.           Sundays

                                          Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater

                                          University Hall

                                          1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway

                                          Colorado Springs, CO   80918

                                          719.262.3232

                                          www.theatreworksCS.org

Tickets:                           $25-50   Reserved Tickets

                                          $15        Children Under 16

                                          $15        Group Rate

General admission tickets are free for As You Like It and will be distributed on a first-come-first serve basis beginning an hour before the show. General admission tickets are limited to no more than two per person.

Venus and Adonis tix are $25-50.                                    

                                          Children under 5 will not be admitted.                                                                                                             

For more information call the THEATREWORKS Box Office at (719) 262-3232 or e-mail: Tickets@uccs.edu. Reservations online at www.theatreworksCS.org