Great Lakes Theater Presents Shakespeare's Powerfully Poetic "Romeo & Juliet" at the Intimate Hanna Theatre

Charles Fee directs the production and celebrates his 10th anniversary as Producing Artistic Director of Cleveland’s Classic Company.

CLEVELAND, OH - Great Lakes Theater (GLT), Cleveland’s Classic Company, continues the second half its 50th anniversary season with William Shakespeare’s powerfully poetic love story, Romeo and Juliet. The production will be performed in the company’s intimate and audience-friendly home at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, April 13-28, 2012. GLT Producing Artistic Director, Charles Fee,directs the productionand celebrates his tenth anniversary at the helm of Cleveland’s Classic Company.

Great Lakes Theater’s 2012 spring productions and educational programs are sponsored by PNC. Additional production support for Romeo and Juliet was generously provided by John and Barbara Schubert. Great Lakes Theater is also generously funded by the citizens of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and receives season support from The Cleveland Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council. Media sponsors for GLT’s 50th season are Cleveland Scene, The FORM Group, The Plain Dealer, WCLV 104.9 FM, WCPN 90.3 FM ideastream and WKSU 89.7 FM.

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, a powerfully poetic tale of love and loss, is one of the world’s most enduring love stories. Transcending the hate of warring factions, in defiance of their parents and in secrecy from their friends, two young, star-crossed lovers risk all they have to be together. However, the same passion that stirs the lovers’ hearts also fuels the wrath of their feuding families and threatens to exact heart-rending results.

Charles Fee will direct the production and celebrate his tenth season as Great Lakes Theater’s Producing Artistic Director. Since assuming the post in 2002, Fee has directed The Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, All’s Well That Ends Well, Hamlet, Hay Fever, The Importance of Being Earnest, Arms and the Man and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). Under Fee’s leadership, Great Lakes Theater successfully completed a $19.2M capital campaign that created a visionary, new home for the company at the Hanna Theatre and established an endowment for the company – the first in the organization’s history. Fee holds a unique position in the American theater as Producing Artistic Director of three independently operated, professional partner-theater companies: Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland, Ohio (since 2002), Idaho Shakespeare Festival in Boise, Idaho (since 1991) and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival in Lake Tahoe, Nevada (since 2010). His appointments have resulted in a groundbreaking and nationally unique producing model for the companies, in which 37 productions have been shared since 2002. In 2009, Fee was recognized for his leadership by the Cleveland Arts Prize as a recipient of the Martha Joseph Award.

Great Lakes Theater’s award-winning home at the Hanna Theatre features a visionary “Great Room” inspired design that integrates the artist and audience experience into a single unified environment. Hanna patrons select from a variety of seating opportunities including traditional theater seats, club chairs, lounge/bar seats, banquette couches and private box seating. Arranged in an intimate 550-seat thrust configuration where the audience surrounds the stage, no seat is further than 12 rows from the performance.

Great Lakes Theater offers patrons a robust series of Experience Enhancement Programming that is organized by day of week. The series highlights the Hanna’s unique amenities and affords patrons access to GLT artists.

• Salon Thursdays feature an engaging pre-show discussionwith GLT artists beginning one hour before curtain. (Offered: Apr. 19 & 26)

• Happy Hour Fridaysafford audience members the opportunity to gather and socializeat the Hanna’s bar early. Savory and sweet snack boxes along with a complete range of beverages are available for purchase ninety minutes before the show. (Offered: Apr. 13, 20, 27)

• Nightcap Night Saturdaysencourage audience members to stay after the evening performance and enjoy live music while mingling with the GLT artistic company in the Hanna’s lounge. The Hanna bar is open until ninety minutes after the performance. (Offered: Apr. 21 & 28)

• Ice Cream Social Sundays offer patrons the opportunity to enjoy a London theatre tradition brought state-side. Audience members are invited to purchase a cool, personal ice cream treat before the show or at intermission. Ice cream will be offered at every GLT performance, but on Ice Cream Social Sundays, the treat is half price. (Offered: Apr. 15, & 22)

• Director’s Nights offer audiences the opportunity to take part in a pre-show discussion with GLT’s Producing Artistic Director, Charles Fee, before preview performances. (Offered: Apr. 13)

• Playnotes Pre-Show Discussions inform patrons with illuminating introductions to the content and history of the play presented by a guest scholar before Saturday matinee performances. (Offered: Apr. 21 & 28)

GLT will also continue to afford patrons extraordinary access to its artists and production process at every Hanna Theatre performance this spring. The Hanna opens its doorsninety minutes before each performanceallowingpatrons to observe the complete pre-show preparation process of GLT’s actors and technical staff. Elements traditionally hidden from audiences such as stage combat rehearsals, dance calls, prop/scenic pre-sets, technical cue rehearsals and actor warm-ups will be conducted in full view of patrons, offering audiences an unprecedented glimpse into the theatrical process.

The Opening Night performance of Romeo and Juliet is scheduled for Saturday, April 14th with a preview performance slated for the preceding Friday night. Curtain times for all evening performances will remain at 7:30 p.m., with a 1:30 p.m. curtain time for Saturday matinees and a 3:00 p.m. curtain time for Sunday matinees. GLT will offer a sign-interpreted/ audio-described performance of Romeo and Juliet on Sunday, April 15th.

Single performance tickets range in price from $15-$70 (Student tickets are $13 – any performance / any seat) and are available by calling (216) 241-6000, by ordering online at www.greatlakestheater.org or by visiting the PlayhouseSquare Ticket Office. Groups of ten or more receive discounts of up to 40% by calling (216) 241-5490 x302.

Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland’s Classic Company, has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience since 1962. The first resident company of PlayhouseSquare, GLT celebrates its 30th year in downtown Cleveland this season. On its main stage and through its extensive education programming, Great Lakes Theater positively impacts 85,000 adults and students annually.

Posted on: March 31, 2012

Category: Press Releases