Who doesn’t love wine and outdoor theater?! Some good news rolling out of tri-valley today. The Livermore Shakespeare Festival has announced it will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a double salute to the Bard.
This summer (2012), audiences will enjoy not one, but two Shakespeare plays: The Merry Wives of Windsor, sidesplitting comedy of comeuppance, and Hamlet, one of the most powerful and renowned dramas in the English language.
For ten years, the Festival has grown hand-in-hand with the City of Livermore, and, like Livermore, it now boasts some of the Bay Area’s finest talent—and finest wine.
According to organizers, the tenth anniversary season offers a unique opportunity to “look back and look forward.”
Merry Wives is in line with the comedies that initially defined the Festival’s bold, original style; by contrast, Hamlet is a mature play for a matured company. The title role will feature Bay Area favorite and seasoned professional Patrick Jones, who was last seen at Livermore Shakes as Henry in The Real Thing.
Producing Artistic Director Lisa A. Tromovitch anticipates that the all-Shakespeare anniversary season will not only mark the Festival’s past and present, but also raise the bar for its future. “Over the past ten years, Livermore Shakes has grown from an infectious idea into a tradition, a part of Livermore’s cultural identity,” she says. “Professional artists working together with local volunteers brought us to this milestone. It’s only right to celebrate and set the bar to become an indispensable part of the greater Bay Area’s cultural landscape.”
The 2012 Livermore Shakespeare Festival will run July 12 through August 12 at Concannon Vineyard. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 7 pm. Tickets range from $25-$39, day-dependent with discounts for seniors, students, and educators.