CSF announces 2018 lineup
A summer of love and ambition under the stars kicks off June 9.
Epic love stories, family dramas and laugh-out-loud fun are coming to the Colorado Shakespeare Festival next summer.
On the heels of its wildly successful 60th season, the nation’s second-oldest Shakespeare festival is set to focus on hidden gems and modern classics in 2018.
The summer of romance and wit begins on June 9, 2018, with a production of “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” Shakespeare’s classic about the struggle between love and intellect. CSF sets this timeless comedy at the turn of the 20th century, when self-improvement, outdoor activities and continuing education were all the rage.
“Love’s Labour’s Lost is the original rom-com,” says CSF Producing Artistic Director Timothy Orr. “We haven’t seen it on our stage in 10 years and we can’t wait to revisit it. As with any Shakespeare play, it’ll be interesting to hear what this play has to say to us now.”
Next up is the mesmerizing “Richard III” inside the University Theatre, which concludes Shakespeare’s War of the Roses history plays, often called the Henriad.
“It’s amazing to think we began this in 2013 with ‘Richard II,’” Orr says. “Five years and eight plays later, we’re concluding this story with the most delightfully horrible supervillain ever, taking us on a ride through his world.”
For the first time in many years, CSF is set to bring two non-Shakespeare plays to its stages. The clever, dreamy “Cyrano de Bergerac” opens after “Richard III” in the Rippon, and the 1930s screwball comedy “You Can’t Take it With You” opens in late July in the University Theatre.
“Cyrano is no small undertaking for any theatre company—this is one we’ve been preparing for years,” Orr says. “And turning CSF’s deep bench of character actors loose inside the world of ‘You Can’t Take it With You’ will be a joy to watch. I’ll be there, front row.”
As is tradition, CSF also offers a one-night-only Original Practices performance on the Rippon at the tail end of its summer. This year’s title is “Edward III,” which journeys back to the beginning of England’s Hundred Years’ War.
The 2018 season will feature several notable milestones:
- CSF will perform “Edward III” for the first time in its history. The play’s authorship is mired in mystery. While many reputable scholars believe both Shakespeare and Thomas Kyd had a hand in writing it, no one is sure which man penned the majority.
- In 2018, “Richard III” will be presented on the indoor stage for the first time. While “Richard III” marks the end of a 150-year period of strife in England, “Edward III” marks its beginning.
- The two indoor productions, “Richard III” and “You Can’t Take it With You,” present a thought-provoking study in contrasts. While England’s short-lived monarch is ambitious to a fault, Moss and Hart’s 1930s classic presents the revolutionary idea that ambition and success don’t necessarily lead to happiness.
- Both outdoor productions, “Love’s Labour’s Lost” and “Cyrano de Bergerac,” explore themes of scholarship and romance.
- This summer will feature the CSF directing debuts of Brendon Fox, who has directed at The Old Globe, the Juilliard School and Cleveland Play House, and Kevin Rich, an assistant professor of theatre at CU Boulder and the former artistic director of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.
Season tickets are on sale now. Single tickets are available beginning Monday, Nov. 27, 2017 at 10 a.m.