“From Shakespeare with Love?”

Seaside Shakespeare Company returns to its home stage, the open air at Children's Beach, to present Jonathan Dorf's "From Shakespeare With Love?" a contemporary comedy set in an airport lounge where four of Shakespeare's characters await an overdue flight to London.  Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Viola (Twelfth Night), and Antipholus (A Comedy of Errors) are startled to learn of young Romeo's plan to kill Shakespeare for "ruining his life" (in Romeo and Juliet.)  The others must scramble to convince Romeo that Shakespeare "loves love.”  Using scenes from their plays, each character pleads Shakespeare's case with the lovesick Romeo.

Performances are free and will be presented September 1, 2, and 3 at 5 pm in the Children’s Beach bandstand.

Seashakes regulars Laurel Devaney, A.T. Wilce, Alex Kopko, and Susan McGinnis are among the cast, joined by Vince Veilleux and Bradford Garrison, whom local audiences have seen on the TWN stages in Peter Pan and The Fantasticks, respectively.  This blend of local performers is joined by off-island talent, Mark Byrne and Grant Harrison, New Yorkers both making their Nantucket debut in this production with Seaside Shakespeare Company. 

The show, directed by McGinnis, the company’s founding artistic director, features original music by Seaside Shakespeare's resident composer Kim D. Sherman, production design by Dani Henke, and music direction by Robert Behrman.  Look for local schoolchildren to round out the cast as fairies.  A delightful blending of the contemporary and Shakespeare's immortal works, the play's action jumps between the airport lounge and Shakespearean settings (a wood outside Athens, for example) to great comic effect.

Incorporated by McGinnis in 2003, Seaside Shakespeare is a professional theater company whose productions utilize the talents of visiting and local artists on Nantucket Island. The company’s goal is the serve this community by offering excellent theatre in unorthodox venues, and fostering appreciation for the works of William Shakespeare in a new generation, by making it accessible and available to all.