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Center Valley, PA, February 6, 2024—Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival is thrilled to launch single ticket sales for its highly anticipated 2024 summer season, running May 29 to August 4 at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, on the campus of DeSales University. Tickets will be available to purchase online, in-person, or by calling the box office beginning Monday, February 12.
Under the artistic direction of Jason King Jones and the managing direction of Casey William Gallagher, the 33rd season is themed around “Persistence of Love.” Jones reflects, “Last season was a mosaic of beauty, joy, and heart as we explored ‘Brave New Worlds.’ This summer, we’ll focus on the countless ways love is manifested in our lives, from Celie’s devotion to her family in The Color Purple to Imogen’s forbidden romance in Cymbeline. Whether for family, community, a partner, or an idea, love persists in all the stories we’ll examine this summer.”
The 33rd season will feature three Shakespeare plays, and, while rooted in the timeless works of the Bard, PSF continues to offer more than just Shakespeare. Audiences can anticipate a new hit comedy collaboration, two award-winning musicals, and two delightful children’s theatre productions.
In an exciting collaboration, PSF kicks off the Main Stage season with a production from Philadelphia’s esteemed 1812 Productions. Renowned for their all-comedy troupe, they present their smash hit The Play That Goes Wrong. This comedic sensation captivated audiences on Broadway and in London’s West End with sold-out performances before making its regional debut at 1812 last year, where it played to full houses. The Festival encourages patrons to order tickets early for the best seats.
For musical enthusiasts, the Schubert Theatre will open with Jason Robert Brown’s innovative two-person musical, The Last Five Years. This almost entirely sung-through musical has captivated audiences and critics alike, earning a Drama Desk Award, a film adaptation, and productions around the world. On the Main Stage, the epic novel by Alice Walker comes to life in the Tony Award-winning triumph The Color Purple infused with a soul-stirring score of jazz, gospel, ragtime, and blues.
Staying true to its mission, Shakespeare takes center stage beginning in the community with free performances of The Comedy of Errors as part of the second inaugural “Play On!” Community Tour. The festival then transports audiences into Falstaff’s humorous world in The Merry Wives of Windsor, followed by an “Extreme Shakespeare” presentation of the rarely produced Cymbeline. A delightful exploration of Twelfth Night awaits the younger audience in Shakespeare for Kids.
Families can look forward to the return of the Hundred Acre Wood to the Schubert Theatre in a world-premiere adaptation. Winnie-the-Pooh & Friends will come to life with live actors, puppets, and original music, bringing A. A. Milne’s enchanting stories to life.
“This season is an invitation for everyone in the Valley and beyond to enjoy some great stories performed by exceptional artists,” says Jones. “We encourage everyone to join us for an unforgettable summer.”
Single tickets, subscriptions, and packages can be purchased online at pashakespeare.org, or by calling the box office at 610.282.WILL [9455], ext. 1, or in person at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of DeSales University, in Center Valley, PA. Additionally, mark your calendars for PSF’s Community Day at DeSales on July 6 (more details will be available at pashakespeare.org in the coming months).
The Festival’s 2024 Season Sponsors are Lee and Dolly Butz. The Associate Season Sponsors are Linda Lapos and Paul Wirth, Kathleen Kund Nolan and Timothy E. Nolan, the Szarko Family, and Harry C. Trexler Trust.
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, the official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, features acclaimed actors from Broadway, television, and film, and is summer home to over 200 artists from around the country, including winners and nominees of the Tony, Obie, Emmy, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Jefferson, and Barrymore Awards.
The 2024 Summer Season—
“Play On!” Community Tour: May 31 to June 16
The Comedy of Errors
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Jessica Bedford
On the Main Stage:
May 29 to June 16
By Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, & Jonathan Sayer
Directed by Jennifer Childs
The Merry Wives of Windsor
June 26 to July 7
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Matt Pfeiffer
The Color Purple
July 17 to August 4
Book by Marsha Norman
Music & Lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray
Directed by Amina Robinson
In the Schubert Theatre:
June 12 to June 30
Written and Composed by Jason Robert Brown
Directed by Jason King Jones
July 24 to August 4
By William Shakespeare
“Extreme Shakespeare”
Children’s Theatre Productions:
Winnie-the-Pooh & Friends | Schubert Theatre
July 5 to August 3
Adapted by Jason King Jones | Directed by Jenna Place
Shakespeare for Kids (S4K) presents Twelfth Night | Main Stage
July 24 to August 3
By Erin Sheffield | Directed by Matt Pfeiffer
S4K Mini Tour:
Friday, July 26th at Allentown Public Library
Saturday, July 27th at Lower Macungie Library
Wednesday, July 31st at Bucks County Free Library (Quakertown Branch)
Thursday, August 1st at Hellertown Area Library
Visit pashakespeare.org for the most current information and to sign-up to receive emails for future announcements.
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival Artistic Leadership
Jason King Jones, Artistic Director
Casey William Gallagher, Managing Director
About Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival is the only professional Equity theatre of its scope and scale within a 50-mile radius. PSF is one of only a handful of theatres on the continent producing Shakespeare, musicals, classics, and contemporary plays, all of which can normally be seen in repertory and in multiple spaces within a few visits in a single summer season. Similarly, PSF was among just a handful of theatres on the continent in recent summers to produce three Shakespeare plays in a single summer season. A patron would have to travel seven to nine hours from PSF to find a comparable range of offerings at a single theatre within a few weeks’ time.
The Festival’s award-winning company of many world-class artists includes Broadway, film, and television veterans, and winners and nominees of the Tony, Emmy, Obie, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Jefferson, Hayes, Lortel, and Barrymore Awards. A leading Shakespeare theatre with a national reputation for excellence, PSF has received coverage in The Washington Post, NPR, American Theatre Magazine, Playbill.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The New York Times identified PSF as one of the leading summer theatre festivals in the nation. “A world-class theater experience on a par with the top Bard fests,” is how one New York Drama Desk reviewer characterized PSF.
Founded in 1992 and the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, PSF’s mission is to enrich, inspire, engage, and entertain the widest possible audience through first-rate productions of classical and contemporary plays, with a core commitment to Shakespeare and other master dramatists, and through an array of education and mentorship programs. A not-for-profit theatre, PSF receives significant support from its host, DeSales University, from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Traditionally, with 150 performances over ten weeks, the Festival attracts patrons each summer from 30+ states. In 32 years, PSF has offered 200+ total productions (82 Shakespeare), and entertained 1,000,000+ patrons from 50 states, now averaging 34,000-40,000 in attendance each summer season, plus another 13,000 students each year through its WillPower Tour to schools. PSF is a multi-year recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts: Shakespeare in American Communities, and is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group, and the Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA). In 2013, leaders of the world’s premiere Shakespeare theatres gathered at PSF as the Festival hosted the international STA Conference. The Festival’s vision is for world-class theatre.
Information provided to TVL by:
Tina Louise Slak
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
The Professional Theatre at DeSales University
2755 Station Avenue
Center Valley, PA 18034
p: 610-282-WILL [9455]
www.pashakespeare.org
