Are you Shakespearienced?

Posted on by Alli Marshall
THE BARD IS BACK: Montford Park Players haven't staged The Asheville Shakespearience in five years. The popular show, featuring some of Shakespeare's greatest scenes, returns this month. Photo courtesy of the Montford Park Players

Music snobs are quick to decry greatest hits collections as being far inferior to an artist’s or band’s individual albums, but as the Montford Park Players know, there’s a certain appeal to encountering the best of someone’s works in one sitting. Celebrating that mindset, the local acting collective opens its outdoor season Friday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hazel Robinson Amphitheater. The production, The Asheville Shakespearience, is a collection of some of William Shakespeare’s most notable scenes. Directed by Christine Eide, Caleb Owolabi and Adrian Suskauer and starring many Asheville favorites and MPP regulars, performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays until May 28. The shows are free and open to the public.

Back by popular demand after a five-year absence, The Asheville Shakespearience not only provides audiences with an assortment of The Bard’s standout creations, but gives the actors a chance to stretch their onstage muscles in ways a single full-length play can’t. By experimenting with Shakespeare’s text and scenes through means often ill-fitted to the production of just one of his works, the Montford Park Players actors grow as performers and give themselves a creative head start on the season to come.

Upcoming shows include Much Ado About Nothing (June 3-July 2), Titus Andronicus (July 8-30), Measure for Measure (Aug. 5-27) and Pride and Prejudice (Sept. 2-24). Advanced seating reservations may be made at montfordparkplayers.org. — E.A.

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About Alli Marshall
Alli Marshall has lived in Asheville for more than 20 years and loves live music, visual art, fiction and friendly dogs. She is the winner of the 2016 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize and the author of the novel "How to Talk to Rockstars," published by Logosophia Books. Follow me @alli_marshall
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