Notre Dame's Shakespeare Festival Presenting 'The Merchant Of Venice'
Posted
Staff Report-
NOTRE DAME – Director David H. Bell tackles Shakespeare’s provocative comedy “The Merchant of Venice”, Aug. 16-28 at the Decio Theatre, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, Notre Dame. The show is part of Notre Dame’s Shakespeare Festival. Funded by an ill-conceived loan from Shylock, drawn against Antonio’s expected fortunes, the road to true love will not be smooth. When plans go awry, betrayal and blind anger face off against a cry for compassion and a clever young lawyer in disguise. In the end, on a moonlit night in Belmont, all are left to question justice, the power of love, and how far we are prepared to go to belong. The preview for “The Merchant of Venice” is at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 16 and Aug. 17, with opening night Aug. 18 at 7:30 p.m. Show dates and times then are: Aug. 19, 8 p.m.; Aug. 20, 2 and 8 p.m.; Aug. 21, 2 p.m.; Aug. 23, 7:30 p.m.; Aug. 24, 7:30 p.m.; Aug. 25, 7:30 p.m.; Aug. 26, 8 p.m.; Aug. 27, 2 and 8 p.m.; and Aug. 28, 2 p.m. Tickets are $12-35, with Opening Night Celebration Aug.18 special pricing. For details, visit http://shakespeare.nd.edu/special-events/opening-gala/ The complete schedule of the 2011 Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival Season and ticket information are available online at shakespeare.nd.edu or by phone at 574-631-2800. As the professional theatre in residence at the University of Notre Dame, the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival presents world-class productions on the mainstage while fostering young actors through unique educational performance opportunities such as the Young Company and ShakeScenes programs. Since inception in 2000, the program has grown exponentially. Today, housed in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, the festival reaches thousands of people each year with Shakespeare’s timeless words.The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival is a central component of Shakespeare at Notre Dame, which also consists of the McMeel Family Chair in Shakespeare Studies, the Ryan Producing Artistic Director, Actors From The London Stage, ancillary lectures and events and library collections. Shakespeare at Notre Dame’s mission is to become a pre-eminent venue for the study and performance of the works of Shakespeare, providing Notre Dame and the wider community an on-campus culture steeped in the works of William Shakespeare – both on the page and on the stage.
