Nigel Gore, Rocco Sisto, John Douglas Thompson, et al. Set for Shakespeare & Company’s 2010 Season

Shakespeare & Company has announced its complete roster of shows for its 2010 season, which will include, as previously announced, Tony Simotes’ staging of Richard III (July 2 – September 5), which will star Obie Award winner John Douglas Thompson in the title role.

This production will be one of five in the company’s Founders’ Theatre, which will also include Tina Packer’s Women of Will: Following the Feminine in Shakespeare’s Plays (May 28 – July 24), in which Packer and Nigel Gore perform selections from the Bard’s works that demonstrate the chronological growth of Shakespeare’s portrayal of both female characters and feminine characters. This piece features selections from Packer’s five-part Women of Will series, which will also be offered in the Founders’ Theatre in its entirety, running August 25-27.

The Founders’ Theatre programming also includes The Winter’s Tale (July 15 – September 6), directed by Kevin G. Coleman and featuring Elizabeth Aspenlieder as Hermione and Joan Ackerman’s The Taster (July 28 – September 6), starring Rocco Sisto and Maureen O’Flynn. Tina Packer will direct the world premiere of this play that focuses on the trials and tribulations of a royal master taster.

In the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, the offerings will include Julius Caesar (May 21 – June 13), directed by Jonathan Croy and featuring Katherine Abbruzzese, Jake Berger, Dani Cervone, Sean Kazarian, Andy Talen and Ryan Winkles and the company’s Lunchbox Shakespeare offering, The Comedy of Errors (July 3 – September 4), which will be directed by Dennis Krausnick and feature the organization’s internship program participants.

In addition, programming in the Bernstein will include Emile Fallaux’s staging of Daniel Klein’s Mengelberg and Mahler (June 11-September 9), which will feature Robert Lohbauer as both characters; Gardner McKay’s Sea Marks (July 9 – September 4), directed by Daniela Varon and featuring Walton Wilson and Kristin Wold; and Theresa Rebeck’s Bad Dates (August 4 – September 12), which will star Aspenlieder.

The Shakespeare & Company season also includes the Bankside Festival, which will feature a production of Moliere’s The Amorous Quarrel (June 23 – August 28), More Words! More Play! (August 12 – September 5), a fast-paced tour through Shakespeare’s life and work; and Preludes (July 2 – September 5), pre-performance events that evoke Elizabethan-era street performance.

For further information, visit: www.shakespeare.org.