Stratford Festival officially opens 2013 season

MEDIA ADVISORY

Antoni Cimolino’s first season as Artistic Director officially began on Monday, May 27, with the gala opening of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Tim Carroll and featuring Daniel Briere and Sara Topham in the title roles.

Six additional productions will open next week:

·         Fiddler on the Roof, directed and choreographed by Donna Feore and featuring Kate Hennig and Scott Wentworth.

·         Measure for Measure, directed by Martha Henry and featuring Carmen Grant, Stephen Ouimette, Tom Rooney and Geraint Wyn Davies.

·         Tommy, directed by Des McAnuff with choreography by Wayne Cilento and musical direction by Rick Fox and featuring Robert Markus as Tommy.

·         Mary Stuart, directed by Antoni Cimolino and featuring Seana McKenna as Elizabeth and Lucy Peacock as Mary.

·         The Three Musketeers, directed by Miles Potter with fight direction by John Stead and featuring Graham Abbey, Jonathan Goad, Luke Humphrey and Mike Shara.

·         Blithe Spirit, directed by Brian Bedford and featuring Ben Carlson, Michelle Giroux, Seana McKenna and Sara Topham.

Next week also marks the beginning of The Forum, the new festival within the Festival, featuring more than 150 events designed to make a visit to Stratford an immersive, all-encompassing cultural experience. This first week includes: Cynthia Dale in Concert: Outside Looking In; a special screening of The Stratford Adventure and a Q&A with Morten Parker, director of this 1954 Oscar-nominated documentary; Shakespeare and Feasting with New Yorker essayist Adam Gopnik; Original Pronunciation, a workshop with Tim Carroll; the Festival Exhibition: Four Shakespeare Masterpieces; and tours of the Costume Warehouse.

The Festival’s new Toronto bus service Stratford Direct is now available twice daily on performance days for only $20 return. Reservations can be made through the box office.

Five more productions will open later in the season:

Waiting for Godot, Taking Shakespeare, The Thrill, Othello and The Merchant of Venice.

For more information and to purchase tickets call 1.800.567.1600 or visit stratfordfestival.ca.

For details of dignitaries and celebrities attending the gala opening on Monday, please contact Ann Swerdfager, 510.271.4040 x2297 or aswerdfager@stratfordfestival.ca.

Full details of the balance of Opening Week are outlined below, along with details for access to production photos and videos.

Tuesday, May 28

Opening of Fiddler on the Roof

Festival Theatre, 55 Queen Street

8:00 p.m. Performance begins

10:50 p.m. Performance concludes

Wednesday, May 29

Opening of Measure for Measure

Tom Patterson Theatre, 111 Lakeside Drive

8 p.m. Performance begins

10:45 p.m. Performance concludes

Thursday, May 30

Opening of Tommy

Avon Theatre, 99 Downie Street

7:30 p.m. Red carpet arrivals

8 p.m. Performance begins

10:05 p.m. Performance concludes

FORUM:

2 p.m. Cynthia Dale in Concert

Studio Theatre, 34 George Street East

5:30 p.m. Screening of The Stratford Adventure and Q&A with Morten Parker, who directed this 1954 Oscar-nominated documentary about the founding of the Festival

University of Waterloo, Stratford Campus, 125 St. Patrick Street

Friday, May 31

Opening of Mary Stuart

Tom Patterson Theatre, 111 Lakeside Drive

8 p.m. Performance begins

10:50 p.m. Performance concludes

FORUM:
5:30 Adam Gopnik on Shakespeare and Feasting

Paul D. Fleck Marquee, Festival Theatre, 55 Queen Street

Saturday, June 1

Opening of The Three Musketeers

Festival Theatre, 55 Queen Street

2 p.m. Performance begins

4:50 p.m. Performance concludes

Opening of Blithe Spirit

Avon Theatre, 99 Downie Street

8 p.m. Performance begins

10:30 p.m. Performance concludes

FORUM:

10 a.m. Original Pronunciation, with Tim Carroll

Studio Theatre, 34 George Street East