The Pitt-Greensburg Theatre Company will present Ken Ludwig’s “Shakespeare in Hollywood” as its 2017 spring production. The show will run from March 30 through April 2 in Ferguson Theater. Curtain time through April 1 is 7:30 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee performance set for April 2. Tickets, available at the door, are $10 (regular) and $5 (students, seniors, and Pitt ID).
This year, the company’s theme of Thoughts and Dreams of Love evolved from William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” upon which “Shakespeare in Hollywood” is based.
In 1934, famous German director Max Reinhardt came to the US to stage his production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Hollywood Bowl, and then pursued the idea of turning the play into a movie. In this play, as Reinhardt attempts to inflict his overactive imagination on Hollywood bean-counting producers, the real Oberon and Puck appear, finding themselves far from their native Athenian Woods. The two quickly “go Hollywood,” and initiate many farcical antics and mismatched pairings that result from the nectar of that familiar flower from Shakespeare’s play. Oh, what chaos and hilarity arises from the mixture of fools, Shakespeare, and movie stars!
The original play was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and had its world premiere in 2003 at arena Stage and won the Helen Hays award for Best New Play of the Year. Ludwig, who has had six shows on Broadway, is probably best known for “Lend Me A Tenor,” and “Crazy for You,” which was performed for five years on Broadway and the West End, winning the Tony Award for best musical.
The play is described by “The Baltimore Sun” as both “poignant and funny, literary and farcical, sophisticated and silly, political and fanciful, high-brow and low-brow . . . a delight!”
The cast includes the following students:
Avella, PA
Freshman Rachel Sloneker (Tarzan’s Jane/Movie Extra) is a freshman Public Policy major.
Belle Vernon, PA
Summer Lash (Camera Operator) is freshman double majoring in Secondary English Education and Creative and Professional Writing.
Darlington, PA
Freshman Becca Beaumont (Olivia Darnell) is a freshman Business Management major.
Deer Lakes, PA
Brandon Levine (Jack Warner) is a senior Psychology major.
Ford City, PA
Kaitlyn Satterfield (Cowgirl/Movie Extra) is a sophomore double majoring in Psychology and Occupational Therapy.
Harrison City, PA
Lauren McGuigan (Wilma Hays) is a senior Communications major with a minor in Theatre who is participating in the Digital Studies Certification program.
Long Beach, CA
Dylan Knapp-Scott (Joe E. Brown) is a freshman majoring in Public Policy with an emphasis in Business and Economics.
Monroeville, PA
Stephanie Jenkins (Louella Parsons) is a senior Anthropology major.
Nemacolin, PA
Kerigan Fabery (Groucho Marx/Movie Extra) is a sophomore double-majoring in Secondary Education/English Writing.
New Kensington, PA
Brandon Farneth (Max Reinhardt) is sophomore VAPA major (Theatre concentration.
Penn Township, PA
Samantha McGuigan (Puck) is a senior Communications major, with a minor in English Literature.
Pittsburgh, PA
Patrouious Achatz (Harry Warner) is junior Visual and Performing Arts (Theatre concentration) major with a minor in Gender Studies.
Brian Joseph (Sam Warner) is a senior Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) major (Theater Concentration).
Shirley Petropoulas (Harpo Marx/Movie Extra) is a freshman double major in Secondary Education (Mathematics) and Applied Mathematics.
Kaitlyn Marie Schmidt (Lydia Lansing) is a senior Visual and Performing Arts major (Theatre concentration).
Kari Womack (Alberta Warner) is a junior Visual and Performing Arts major (Theatre Concentration).
Plum Boro
Logan Tomko (Daryl) is a freshman History major.
Republic, PA
Emily Buckel (Script Girl) is a freshman Creative and Professional Writing major.
Titusville, PA
Cameron Scott Collins (Dick Powell) is a freshman History and Secondary Education double-major.
Uniontown, PA
Wyatt Krater (Jimmy Cagney) is a freshman majoring in Anthropology and minoring in Philosophy.
Wilkins Township, PA
Matthew Burch (Oberon), a junior double-majoring in English Literature and English Writing.