John Douglas Thompson as “Satchmo”, a new play by Terry Teachout. (photo by Kevin Sprague)

Tony Simotes was in an ebullient mood today as he played ringmaster for Shakespeare & Company’s news briefing on his 2012 season selections. For their 35th Year, Simotes will have the feisty company mixing up the classics with some hot new properties to stretch the troupe’s creative muscles. Remarking on a friend’s observation that it seems the coming Summer will see lots of old standards like A Chorus Line and Fiddler on the Roof populating the region’s major theatres, he reminded everyone that “Nobody does older plays than us!”

Olympia Dukakis to take on Prospero in “The Tempest”

With both Shakespeare’s Tempest and King Lear on the docket for 2012, drama will be king at the Company’s 412 mainstage Founder’s Theatre. Simotes will direct The Tempest with the incomparable, Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis as Prospero, along with a staggering list of other talented actors. They include her brother Apollo Dukakis, who plays Gonzalo, Rocco Sisto who reinvents his Caliban (this three time OBIE Award winner and S&Co. founding member played Caliban in a past production at S&Co.) and Kristin Wold, who will reprise her role as Ariel which she played here in 2001.

Click to read the rest at Berkshire on Stage.

The Conservatory at Shakespeare & Company will offer a winter production of Cymbeline, featuring Shakespeare and Company founder and Director of Training, Dennis Krausnick, in the title role. Performances will be on December 16 and 17 2010. Dennis Krausnick is seen above in a photo by Kevin Sprague, taken for his Lear Project several years ago.

The Story of Cymbeline

A princess who longs to be with her true love, a contriving stepmother, and a wise king who is led astray; Cymbeline was listed in the First Folio as a tragedy, but is now classified by many scholars as a romance, sharing this distinction with a handful of Shakespeare’s late plays such as Pericles for their mystical and redemptive final acts. Written by Shakespeare in 1609, Cymbeline plumbs the depths of family dysfunction as tensions grow when King Cymbeline’s daughter, Imogen, marries the modest Posthumus instead of Cloten, the son of her stepmother Queen. Meanwhile, the vindictive and divisive Queen conspires to murder Imogen and her father Cymbeline, thus paving the road for Cloten to take the throne. Posthumus is consequently banished by the King and Imogen runs away—in true Shakespearean fashion—disguised as a boy.

Cymbeline learns of his wife’s murderous conspiracy and longs for the return of his beloved daughter. In her wanderings, Imogen finds her two brothers, who were kidnapped at birth. Fate continues to align the stars of Cymbeline, Imogen, and Posthumus, ultimately leading to a long-awaited reconciliation. Beyond the convoluted plot, Cymbeline is a story in which the characters are subjected to the harsh trials of fate, but ultimately their faith and goodwill lead to a redemptive reunion.

Click to read the rest at Berkshire on Stage.