Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare
Directed by Laird Williamson

A love to die for

Shakespeare’s consummate tragedy about young lovers swept into a catastrophic vortex of misunderstandings, secrets and fate is set in 1840s Alta California—a vibrant and conflicted time in our history. Romeo and Juliet, the son and daughter of two landed families in locked in and old feud, are irresistibly drawn to each other. Defying the hatred and distrust surrounding them, they dare to believe they can, and must, be together. When you are passionately, purely in love, nothing else matters—not even life itself.

Animal Crackers
Book by George S. Kaufman & Morried Ryskind
Music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby
Adapted by Henry Wishcamper

Hello, I must be going!
Hurrah for Captain Spaulding, the African explorer, skirt chaser and wise-cracking guest of honor at a posh Long Island house party. High jinks meet high society when he and his cronies mix is up with social climbers and stolen paintings. Written for the Marx Brothers, this slapstick madcap musical busts out with zany songs and lavish dance numbers. Released as a film in 1929 Wall Street crash and recently adapted, it proves that you can’t keep an anarchic comedy full of pungent one-liners down.

The White Snake
World Premiere
Adapted and directed by Mary Zimmerman
Based on the classic Chinese Fable

Serpent spirits, meddling monks

In a beloved Chinese legend, a snake sprit disguised as a beautiful woman falls in love with a young scholar. White Snake keeps her true identity secret from Xu Xian, but a disapproving monk persists in unmasking her. With the help of Green Snake, White Snake summons all her magic powers to defeat the sprits and monsters threatening her life and her great love. With live music and beautiful visual metaphors, Tony Award—winning director Mary Zimmerman invites your imagination to her staging of this fantastical transcendent romance.

Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella
Adapted by Bill Rauch and Tracy Young
From the works by Euripides (translation by Paul Roche, music and lyrics by Shishir Kurup), William Shakespeare and Richard book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Directed by Bill Rauch and Tracy Young

A three-ring tour de force

A jealous wife sends an unthinkable message to her cheating husband. A lord, urged on by his aggressive lady, murders his king. A mistreated stepdaughter engages with magic for love and happiness. You know the theses three plays from two millennia of populist theatre—Greek tragedy, Elizabethan drama and American musical comedy. But will you be astonished by how these separate stories of ambition interweave into one revelatory whole that builds to an unexpected climax. Haunting, funny and filled with surprises, it’s a one-of-a kind musical adventure you won’t want to miss.



All the way
World Premier
Robert Schenkkan
Directed by Bill Raunch

Right out of Shakespeare’s playbook.

1963. An assassin’s bullet catapults Lyndon Baines Johnson into the presidency. A Shakespearean figure of towering ambition and appetite, the charismatic, conflicted Texan hurls himself into Civil Rights legislation, throwing the country into turmoil. Alternately bullying and beguiling, he enacts major social programs, faces down opponents and wins the 1964 election in a landslide. But in a faraway Vietnam, a troublesome conflict looms. In the Pulitzer

Seagull
Anton Chekhov
Adapted by Libby Appel, Literal translation by Allison Horsley
Directed by Libby Appel


You can’t always get what you want
On the 19th-century Russian lakeside estate, the magic of summer evokes passion in three generations of self-doubting artists. Masha pines for the young writer Kostya, but Kostya yearns for the aspiring actress Nina, who is infatuated with the older novelist Trigorin. Trigorin “loves” both Nina and theatre diva Irina. Irina decidedly loves her self. And everyone aches for recognition, as artists and as human beings. With material not in earlier stage versions, Appel delivers a sexy, full-blooded adaptation of Chekhov’s heartbreaking and comic expose of unfulfilled desire.

Troilus and Cressida
William Shakespeare
Directed by Rob Melrose
Produced in association with New York’s Public Theater

What are we fighting for?
The war has lasted seven drawn-out years. Few illusions remain about glory of armed conflict—or anything else for that matter, including love. Caught in the chaos is a traitor’s daughter whose romance with prince is domed as a casualty of wartime politics. Set during the Trojan War, Shakespeare’s cynical and bitterly funny indictment of the futility of war is made more immediate in OSF’s production, placed against the backdrop of conflict in the contemporary Middle East.


Party People
World Premiere
UNIVERSES
(Steven Sapp, Mildred Ruiz-Sapp and William Ruiz, a.k.a Ninja)Additional writing by Gamal Abdel Chasten
Directed by Liesl Tommy

Party on!
Prepare for a high-energy, infectious mix of theatre, poetry, jazz, blues, hip-hop, boleros, and salsa as UNIVERSES digs into the story and legacy of an American revolution. Four decades ago, the Black Panthers and Puerto Rican Young Lords were young activists providing food and health care in their impoverished communities while in a desperate struggle to survive the systematic dismantling of their movements. Now they are 60-somethings untangling a traumatic past and unclear future. In ensemble, OSF actors and UNIVERSES toggle between then and now in this meticulously researched, compelling work of fiction

Henry V
William Shakespeare
Directed by Joseph Haj

The spoils of a war

A gifted young English king makes a rash decision to go to war. Against overwhelming odds, Henry achieves heroic stature, leading his country to victory, conquering France and winning its princess. But the king’s hands are dirty. There’s a terrible cost in human life and ruthless acts of moral ambiguity. In a propulsive, provocative production with contemporary resonances, Shakespeare’s rousing history crowns Henry’s complicated three-play journey from disaffected price to legendary king.

The Very Merry Wives of Windsor, Iowa
World Premier
Alison Carey
Based on the play by William Shakespeare
Directed by Christopher Liam Moore

Hanky-panky in Windsor—Iowa, that is

Senator John Falstaff has lost the Iowa caucuses and is deep in debt. Hoping to unload some local purses into his pockets, the D.C. politician eyes two woman—both married, one to a man, one to a woman. But in this heartland homeland, where gay marriage is legal and the state fair is about to open, hubris gets its comeuppance. In a unique ‘’translation, ‘’ Carey blends today’s language with Shakespeare’s words, mirrors his outrageous plot and comical characters, and unleashes a rapid-fire, shamelessly witty twist on the original play.

As You Like It
William Shakespeare
Directed by Jessica Thebus

Can one desire too much of a good thing?

Threatened with her life, Rosalind flees court, disguises herself as a young man and takes a walk into self-discovery. In the magical Forest of Arden, she steps into a new world when she finds a community of rustics and court exiles—and the man she loves. Navigating some awkward comic twists and turns, Rosalind helps him woo the woman he loves—her! Falling in love and learning who you are by acting the part are at the heart of this sumptuous, Victorian fantasy production in which romantic playfulness builds to a woodland wedding extravaganza.

Check out the full 2012 Oregon Shakespeare Festival here