It's been four years since The Heritage Theatre Group put on a Shakespeare play. This summer, that's changing - completely.
Heritage's summer 2013 season opened Thursday, July 11 with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), written by Adam Long, Jess Winfield and Daniel Singer. Performances continue on July 18, 19 and 20. This production of their hilarious mashup of all the Bard's plays features local actors Adam Hyde, Alex Kempsell and Matt McKay, with direction by Walt Riegler.
The show is running at GRCC's Spectrum Theater (160 Fountain St NE); each performance starts at 8 p.m. Tickets ($20 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $10 for students) can be purchased in advance online or in person at the theater starting at 7 p.m. on show dates.
As the playwrights say, it's "one wild ride." While it is on the one hand an exploration of some of Shakespeare's most famous lines, director Walt Riegler explains that the script also "added a few homages to contemporary pop culture and threw in a generous helping of every comedic device imaginable: irony, deliberate obtuseness, hyperbole, double entendre, puns, ribaldry, reincorporation, slapstick, sight gags and even some words with K's in them." In short - it's a lot of fun, and audiences can expect to laugh 'til they're in stitches.
About Heritage Theatre Group: This local theatre company was incorporated in 1991 to present classic plays and plays with classic themes. Such productions were and are largely absent from the offerings of mainstream community theatre companies in the Grand Rapids area. In the years since, Heritage has staged over 70 productions, with offerings from Shakespeare, Molière, Shaw, Wilde, Chekhov, Miller, Williams and many others. These productions have won several local theater awards, including Best Lead Actor and Outstanding Ensemble in 2006 for Devour the Snow and Metamorphoses, respectively, and Best Supporting Actress for Agnes of God in 2008. The summer 2013 season will conclude with American Buffalo in August.
Contact information:
- The Heritage Theatre Group
- PO Box 1584
- Grand Rapids, MI 49501
- www.heritagetheatregr.org
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