American Shakespeare Center’s 2021 Actors’ Renaissance Summer Season features a trio of classics: Macbeth, Henry V, and All’s Well That Ends Well beginning July 9.
Beginning July 9, American Shakespeare Center’s staging of Macbeth moves indoors to the beautiful Blackfriars Playhouse, the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre, joining the previously announced Blackfriars performances of Henry V and All’s Well That Ends Well.
At all Blackfriars Playhouse performances (until further notice), audience, staff and volunteers will be required to wear masks. American Shakespeare Center pioneered pandemic safety practices in 2020 with its SafeStart Season, in which a full season of live theatre was produced with no cases of Covid reported from the artists, staff or audience.
Up-to-date information on SafeStart accommodations at performances are available on the ASC website at AmericanShakespeareCenter.com.
Schedule
July 2021
Fri 9 Macbeth 7:30pm
Sat 10 Henry V 2pm
Sat 10 Macbeth 7:30pm
Sun 11 Henry V 2pm
Thu 15 Macbeth 7:30pm
Fri 16 Macbeth 7:30pm
Sat 17 Henry V 2pm
Sat 17 Macbeth 7:30pm
Sun 18 Henry V 2pm
Thu 22 Henry V 7:30pm
Fri 23 Macbeth 7:30pm
Sat 24 Henry V 2pm
Sat 24 Macbeth 7:30pm
Sun 25 Henry V 2pm
Thu 29 Macbeth 7:30pm
Fri 30 Macbeth 7:30pm
Sat 31 Henry V 2pm
Sat 31 Macbeth 7:30pm
August 2021
Sun 1 Henry V 2pm
Thu 5 All’s Well 7:30pm
Fri 6 All’s Well 7:30pm
Sat 7 Henry V 2pm
Sat 7 All’s Well 7:30pm
Sun 8 Macbeth 4pm
Thu 12 Henry V 7:30pm
Fri 13 Macbeth 7:30pm
Sat 14 All’s Well 2pm
Sat 14 Henry V 7:30pm
Sun 15 All’s Well 2pm
Thu 19 All’s Well 7:30pm
Fri 20 Macbeth 7:30pm
Sat 21 Henry V 2pm
Sat 21 All’s Well 7:30pm
Sun 22 Macbeth 4pm
Thu 26 Henry V 7:30pm
Fri 27 Macbeth 7:30pm
Sat 28 All’s Well 2pm
Sat 28 Henry V 7:30pm
Sun 29 Macbeth 4pm
September 2021
Thu 2 All’s Well 7:30pm
Fri 3 Macbeth 7:30pm
Sat 4 Henry V 2pm
Sat 4 All’s Well 7:30pm
Sun 5 Macbeth 4pm
Dates, times and performances subject to change.
The Performances
In its return to live performances, ASC productions are led by a cohort of actor-managers: Brandon Carter, John Harrell, Chris Johnston, and Zoe Speas. In keeping with early modern theatre tradition and ASC’s own critically acclaimed, audience-beloved practice of presenting actor-directed “Actors’ Renaissance” selections each year, the plays in this season were selected and cast by the actor-managers, and the performances will be actor-led in an extraordinary collaborative atmosphere.
The Casts
Macbeth features company veteran Chris Johnston (he/him) as the power-hungry Macbeth; Johnston has performed 23 seasons and more than 160 roles with ASC. Zoe Speas (she/they), a 10-season veteran with ASC, plays the plotting Lady Macbeth, Brandon Carter (he/him) the doomed Banquo, and Jeremy West (he/him) the magic-touched Macduff in this tale of murder and madness.
The cast of Henry V—and the armies of England—are led by Brandon Carter, believed to be the first Black man in the U.S. to portray the title character in the three history plays devoted to his journey to the throne (Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V). Carter has played seven seasons with ASC, and has performed around the world, from Johannesburg’s famed Market Theatre to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to the Kennedy Center, the Apollo and Classical Theatre of Harlem. In a play rich with memorable characters, Chris Johnston portrays the swaggering Pistol, John Harrell (he/him) the loyal Welshman Fluellen. Meg Rodgers (she/her) plays five roles including the boastful Dauphin and the princess Katherine, whom Henry woos; and newcomer Meme García (they/them) plays the cowardly soldier Nym, Princess Katherine’s lady-in-waiting Alice, and the hot-headed Orleans. John Harrell is celebrating his 28th season with ASC and has played more than 200 roles including Falstaff in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 and Iago in Othello, both in the 2020 season. Meme García’s path to ASC includes a Fulbright Scholarship and roles at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Intiman Theatre Festival.
In All’s Well That Ends Well the part of Helena will be played by Meg Rodgers, who won praise for her “subtle and nuanced” (DCTheatreScene.com) performance as Beatrice in ASC’s 2020 Much Ado About Nothing. The haughty Bertram will be portrayed by Sam Saint Ours (he/him), who toured with the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Once before joining ASC in 2020.
For a full performance calendar and more information on the plays and players, see AmericanShakespeareCenter.com.
Tickets for the 2021 Actors’ Renaissance Summer season shows are available now. Memberships for the 2021 season are also on sale, with such benefits as discounts on tickets, insider events and more.
Tickets and memberships can be purchased online at AmericanShakespeareCenter.com or by calling 1.877.MUCH.ADO (1.877.682.4236).
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