American Players Theatre (APT) is excited to announce its thirty-fourth season, which will run June 8 to October 20, 2013. APT’s flagship outdoor amphitheater Up the Hill will feature William Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Hamlet, along with W. Somerset Maugham’s comedy Too Many Husbands; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead - Tom Stoppard’s accompaniment to Hamlet; and Arthur Miller’s great American classic All My Sons.
In the indoor Touchstone Theatre, APT is proud to produce its very first indoor Shakespeare production, an adaptation of Antony and Cleopatra. Also in the Touchstone, Brian Friel’s gripping Molly Sweeney and a reprisal of James DeVita’s Dickens In America, featuring James Ridge.
Tickets will go on sale for returning patrons March 4 and to the general public on April 15.
APT is a professional repertory theater devoted to the great and future classics. It was founded in 1979 and continues to be one of the most popular outdoor classical theaters in the nation. APT is located in Spring Green, Wis., on 110 acres of hilly woods and meadows above the Wisconsin River. The APT amphitheater is built within a natural hollow atop an oak-wooded hill. Under the dome of sky, 1148 comfortably cushioned seats encircle three sides of the stage. In 2009, APT opened the indoor Touchstone Theatre, offering a different type of play and experience
For more information, visit www.americanplayers.org
The 2013 Season: June 8 – October 20, 2013
UP THE HILL
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Tim Ocel
One of Shakespeare’s early comedies, The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a coming of age story about youth, friendship and forgiveness. Valentine and Proteus are the best of friends. But when Valentine moves to the big city of Milan and promptly falls in love with the beautiful Sylvia (whose father has promised her to another suitor), Proteus can’t stay behind for long. Leaving his own newly won beloved Julia in Verona, Proteus also falls for Sylvia, committing the sin of putting his own desires before his friendship. But in friendship (and Shakespearean comedies) no one is ever beyond forgiveness. Featuring all the Bard’s greatest hits – mistaken identity, girls dressing up like boys, hilarious servants and one emotive dog – Two Gents makes for entertaining theater.
Too Many Husbands (AKA Home and Beauty)
By W. Somerset Maugham
Directed by David Frank
Prim English chivalry gets bushwhacked by fate in this hilarious comedy. In the wake of WWI, lovely Kate has lost one husband, but gained another. His charming best friend Frederick, in fact. But when husband number one is found unexpectedly alive, Kate and Frederick struggle to explain their relationship to chaotic (and very funny) results. Featuring characters who waltz with and around propriety, Too Many Husbands is one of those pieces that fits our players like an urbane second skin; an event not to be missed.
Hamlet
By William Shakespeare
Directed by John Langs.
The Prince of Denmark returns to the APT stage in all his hang-dog glory. A visit from the ghost of his murdered father sets Hamlet on a quest for the truth. Everyone is a suspect, from his uncle-turned-stepfather Claudius to his own mother, Queen Gertrude. But Hamlet’s investigation sets in motion events he couldn’t have imagined, as the kingdom grapples with what to do with their emotional and often dangerous Prince. Without hyperbole, Hamlet is one of the greatest plays ever written, covering all the big thematic bases – love, madness, revenge and murder are just the beginning here.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
By Tom Stoppard
Directed by James Bohnen
Hamlet bit players Rosencrantz and Guildenstern take center stage in Tom Stoppard’s philosophical comedy about free will and identity. Mssrs. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try to make sense of the world through a series of insightful, witty conversations with each other (or themselves, as they often forget which one of them is which) and other characters who make appearances along the way. A funny, philosophical commentary about life, with moments of Shakespearean poetry. And P.S. – All the players from APT’s production of Hamlet will be reprising their roles in this play.
All My Sons
By Arthur Miller
Directed by William Brown
The Keller family struggles with tragedy and scandal in the wake of World War II. Patriarch Joe discovers that his youngest son, Chris, is preparing to propose to his deceased brother’s fiancé. Which poses a problem, since Joe’s wife, Kate, refuses to believe that their son Larry is dead. As it turns out, this is the least of the secrets at hand, and as more revelations come to light, the Kellers and their tight-knit community struggle to survive the fallout. A mystery in the guise of family drama from great American playwright Arthur Miller.
IN THE TOUCHSTONE THEATRE
Dickens In America
By James DeVita
Directed by C. Michael Wright.
Join Charles Dickens on the last performance of his final American tour. Featuring readings from classic works such as Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and David Copperfield seamlessly paired with off-the-cuff insights, Dickens In America is a spellbinding combination of literature, history and fiction. Originally created in 2006 for James Ridge to play Mr. Dickens on the Uphill stage, we feel its true hearth and home is in the Touchstone Theatre.
Molly Sweeney
By Brian Friel
Directed by Kenneth Albers
Molly has been blind since she was a small child, and with the help of her father has learned to live contentedly using a combination of her other senses. After marrying the well-meaning dilettante, Frank, a new option becomes available via a struggling surgeon - one that may or may not restore at least some of her sight. Through a series of monologues, the three characters at the heart of this play investigate the question of “what have you got to lose”, as they struggle to stay connected in a hazy fog of memory and trust.
Antony and Cleopatra
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Kate Buckley
Adapted by James DeVita
Mark Antony – one of the three new rulers of the Roman Empire – has fallen desperately in love with Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, with whom he wiles away the time (and shirks responsibility). When Rome is threatened, though, he is forced to return. While away from his Queen, he dutifully marries another woman in order to bring peace between clashing emperors, angering everyone involved to the point of war and tragedy. APT’s new adaptation of Antony and Cleopatra allows the play to fit within the confines of the intimate Touchstone Theatre while retaining the power of the full production.
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