WASHINGTON, D.C.: Folger Theatre has announced its 2016–17 season, featuring four productions.
“In this anniversary season, we’ll not only stage Shakespeare, but another literary icon—Jane Austen—and in a smart, sharp adaptation by an American woman,” said artistic producer Janet Alexander Griffin in a statement.
The season will begin with Sense and Sensibility (Sept. 13–Oct. 30), adapted by Kate Hamill from Jane Austen, about the Dashwood family’s sudden financial woes and heart-wrenching romances that ensue when they downgrade to a cottage in Devonshire. Eric Tucker will direct. The production will be presented in conjunction with the Folger Shakespeare Library exhibition Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity (Aug. 60–Nov. 6).
In time for the holidays will be The Second Shepherd’s Play (Nov. 27–Dec, 18), adapted and directed by Mary Hall Surface, a musical retelling of the Nativity story featuring music by the Folger Consort.
Following will be Shakespeare’s As You Like It (Jan. 24–March 5, 2017), in association with the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. Gaye Taylor Upchurch will direct.
Next up will be Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens (May 9–June 11, 2017), about a wealthy and popular aristocrat who suffers a downturn of fortune and friendship. Ian Merrill Peakes will star, and Robert Richmond will direct.
Folger Theatre, founded in 1991, is part of Folger Shakespeare Library’s programs. The theatre produces Shakespeare, classical work, and new plays inspired by classical traditions in its 250-seat Elizabethan style theatre.
