Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival Reveals Its Stand Out 2008 Playbill Feb 27, 2008 Media Contacts Kristen Power RKPR, Inc (775) 323-6333 Julie M Malkin Sales & Marketing Manager Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival (775) 298-0163 When the 36th season of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival raises its curtain on July 10, audiences will see the evolution of a year-long planning process that includes a new in-house directorial and artistic team, a new stage, two classic Shakespeare performances, an original musical production and live music to accompany it all. Set to run through Aug. 17, the 2008 season is the Festival's most ambitious to date and brings together Richard III and A Midsummer Night's Dream to headline the playbill, complemented by CAMBIO, an original musical love story based on Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. "To say we're excited about our 2008 season is an understatement," said Catherine Atack, executive director for the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. "The combination of gleefully wicked royalty, impishly interfering immortals and passionate Cuban lovers sets the stage for a diverse and inspiring summer theatre experience. Audiences are also in for a season of firsts as the Festival debuts multiple venue enhancements and live music scoring each performance. These additions are made possible by the creation of our new in-house production team led by Festival Artistic Director Jan Powell. In just one season, our Festival experience has transformed into a true world-class theatrical venue." With the addition of Powell to the Festival staff, audiences will see more local influence integrated into the crew and production teams, more diverse talent as brought in through local and national auditions and the local debut of a renowned international guest director, Michael Walling who will direct A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Festival's upcoming season also features performance embellishments that include dramatic broadsword action scenes, original choreography and sets designed to incorporate the natural surroundings of Lake Tahoe into the plays. Richard III combines it all-action, sensuality, historic events, larger than life characters and humor-making it one of Shakespeare's most revered performances. The play follows the conniving and hunchbacked Richard III as he slaughters his way through family members and friends, allowing nothing to stand in the way of his bloody path to the throne. Set in the late 15th century and with the fate of England's crown in jeopardy, Richard III is a domestic squabble par excellence with wrangling, mercurial twists of fate, astonishing seductions and splendidly selfish maneuverings. Advancing his purposes through shrewd manipulation, Richard III feigns tenderheartedness one moment and in the next orders the murder of his innocent nephews, the princes, and shortly thereafter attempts to persuade their mother to let him marry their sister, his niece. The action of the play accelerates until the brutal climax and yet Richard III is perhaps the most charming villain to take the stage. Directed by Powell, Richard III entertains audiences with dazzling swordplay and a glimpse into two tumultuous years in England's history. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a complex and thought-provoking comedy as well as one of the Bard's most original plays. Guest director Michael Walling, who is the artistic director for London's Border Crossings Theatre, provides his take on the performance by incorporating the natural beauty of Lake Tahoe into the production, drawing inspiration from the area's rich Native American heritage in contrast to its contemporary inhabitants. Beginning with the celebration of the impending marriage of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta, the festivities are interrupted by a dispute over Hermia's arranged marriage. The story takes a turn as Hermia flees her marital fate and retreats into the woods with her true love to secretly marry, pursued by her betrothed and the girl that pines for him. The two couples, along with a troupe of mechanicals who are rehearsing for a play in the woods for the Duke's wedding celebration, become entwined in the mischievous plot of the fairy king and his trickster servant Puck. As the two conspire to sabotage the fairy queen, the four lovers and one of the mechanicals become unwitting victims of a love elixir administered by Puck. The lovers' shifting affections create havoc in the forest until Puck creates a heavy fog to lead the characters back to sleep and applies the antidote. Upon waking, all the young people find they are in love with the right person and the fairy king and his foe reconcile, just in time to head off to a gala triple wedding and hilarious performance acted by the mechanicals. CAMBIO is an original musical love story created exclusively for the Festival and inspired by Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Set in modern day Havana, CAMBIO is a passionate and powerful love story about a poor young man who is a social outcast and the rebellious and disdainfully beautiful woman he loves from afar. Social caste, the poverty of Cuba and the constraints of an inflexible regime make his situation seem hopeless. But the two are more alike than he can imagine. Driven by an original score of rock and salsa-inspired music and written and directed by Powell, CAMBIO combines brilliantly colorful costuming and exhilarating dance with deep emotion and a touch of comedy into this thought-provoking context. Annually, the Festival draws more than 30,000 attendees from the across the country to its specially built Warren Edward Trepp Stage at Sand Harbor State Park. The plays are complemented by gourmet food and drink from Shakespeare's Kitchen, the fresh Sierra Nevada air and the crystal blue waters of Lake Tahoe, making the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival a one-of-a-kind theatre experience. Tickets for the 2008 season are now available online at www.LakeTahoeShakespeare.com with reduced handling fees for all purchases, or by calling 888-32-SHOWS (888-327-4697). Tickets start at $22 for open seating tiers and range in options up to the premier reserved seating section from $67. Information about the 2008 season, membership, volunteer opportunities and sponsorships is available online. The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established for the cultural benefit and enjoyment of all residents and visitors to Lake Tahoe and Reno. Annually drawing more than 30,000 attendees from across the country to the specially built Warren Edward Trepp Stage along the north shore of Lake Tahoe, the Festival is a regional advocate for producing the finest cultural events in the region. Through its in-house artistic direction, the Festival produces three plays each summer, creating original costuming, set design and choreography, and attracting a team of national and international stage talent. The Festival's community outreach includes and annual program, InterACT, designed to educate future generations on the importance of the arts, theatre and music.                                                                                                    ###