Season extended at the Tom Patterson Theatre by Stratford Festival

MEDIA RELEASE

Shakespeare, Schiller and Beckett see surge in ticket sales

June 11, 2013… The Stratford Festival is extending the season at the Tom Patterson Theatre, adding performances of Mary Stuart, Measure for Measure and Waiting for Godot, all of which have been experiencing extremely strong sales.

“Ticket sales for the Tom Patterson Theatre are currently $1 million ahead of sales at this time last year,” says Executive Director Anita Gaffney.

“We added two performances of Mary Stuart a few weeks ago and demand continues to outstrip available capacity. All three productions at the Tom Patterson are very hot tickets and account for 60% of the sales growth we have experienced so far this year. At this time, we have sold an additional 24,000 tickets, compared to last year at this time, 15,000 of those to performances at the Tom Patterson.”

“It is extremely gratifying to see our audiences respond so enthusiastically not only to Shakespeare but also to the work of Schiller and Beckett,” says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino. “Our productions of Measure for Measure and Waiting for Godot are helmed by two of Canada’s finest directors, Martha Henry and Jennifer Tarver. I am very proud to be working alongside them at the Tom Patterson this year. Our work has been made all the more rewarding by the amazing performers we have on stage.”

Tickets for the following additional performances go on sale to Members at 9 a.m. on June 12 and to the general public at 9 a.m. on June 14:

Mary Stuart:

·         September 25 at 8 p.m.

·         September 27 at 8 p.m.

·         September 28 at 2 p.m.

Measure for Measure

·         September 25 at 2 p.m.

·         September 28 at 8 p.m.

Waiting for Godot

·         September 26 at 2 p.m.

 

Described as “electrifyingly entertaining and intellectually exciting” by the Toronto Star’s Richard Ouzounian and “edge-of-your-seat suspenseful” by The Globe and Mail’s J. Kelly Nestruck, Mary Stuart is directed by Antoni Cimolino, whose production of Cymbeline was one of the most in-demand tickets of the 2012 season. It features Seana McKenna as Elizabeth I and Lucy Peacock as Mary Stuart. “This is one for the memory books, with two remarkable actresses at the peak of their powers,” says Postmedia’s Jamie Portman. “A production that most definitely puts the class back in classical theatre,” says Sun Media’s John Coulbourn.

Measure for Measure, directed by Martha Henry, features “a crowd of good performances,” says the National Post’s Robert Cushman, adding: “You couldn’t hope to find better acting, directing or writing.” This production, defined as “a stunner” by Lynn Slotkin, of The Slotkin Letter, features Carmen Grant as Isabella, Stephen Ouimette as Lucio, Tom Rooney as Angelo and Geraint Wyn Davies as Duke Vincentio. “The cast is exceptional down through the smaller characters,” says The Globe and Mail’s Nestruck.

Waiting for Godot, directed by Jennifer Tarver, and featuring Brian Dennehy as Pozzo, Stephen Ouimette as Estragon and Tom Rooney as Vladimir, with Randy Hughson as Lucky, is one of this season’s most anticipated productions. It starts previews on June 13 and opens June 27.

Support for the 2013 season of the Tom Patterson Theatre is generously provided by Richard Rooney and Laura Dinner. Production support for Measure for Measure is generously provided by Karon Bales & Charles Beall; for Mary Stuart by Dr. Dennis & Dorothea Hacker, Drs. M.L. Myers & the late Dr. W.P. Hayman, Alice & Tim Thornton and Diana Tremain; and for Waiting for Godot by Sylvia D. Chrominska.

The Stratford Festival’s 2013 season features Romeo and Juliet, Fiddler on the Roof, The Three Musketeers, The Merchant of Venice, Tommy, Blithe Spirit, Othello, Measure for Measure, Mary Stuart, Waiting for Godot, Taking Shakespeare, The Thrill and more than 150 events at The Forum. To purchase tickets, contact the box office at 1.800.567.1600 or visit stratfordfestival.ca

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