Posted November 7, 2022
We’re proud to announce our complete lineup for the 2023 Summer Season, which will feature a double-bill of Shakespeare plays, the world premiere of a new music-theater piece, our educational tour, HVSF2 readings, and two interactive, site-specific events bookending the season.
LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Amanda Dehnert
With original music by Amanda Dehnert and Andre Pleuss
June – September 2023
“Let us once lose our oaths to find ourselves, Or else we lose ourselves to keep our oaths.”
Four young noblemen absent themselves from society, in order to focus entirely on their studies. They even take a monastic oath: No girls! All books! But when the Princess of France turns up with three young ladies, how long will the men’s resolve hold up? Director Amanda Dehnert (Pride and Prejudice) infuses Shakespeare’s delightful comedy with an original pop/rock score (by Dehnert and Andre Pleuss) that gives full voice to the heart-pounding experience of being young and in love.
HENRY V
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Davis McCallum
Starring Emily Ota
June – September 2023
“All things are ready, if our minds be so.”
This Shakespearean epic follows a charismatic warrior King and his cohort through the brutality of warfare, as the ragtag band confronts heavy opposition and their own destinies in an aggressive pursuit of the French crown. Henry V is a deeply ambivalent play about leadership, and the power of language and storytelling to shape our collective identity. The play’s central question – What kind of leadership would it take to forge a resilience and unified band of brothers and sisters from a fractious and anxious group of individuals? – resonates with fresh urgency in our contemporary world.
The World Premiere of
PENELOPE
Music and Lyrics by Alex Bechtel
Book by Alex Bechtel, Grace Mclean, And Eva Steinmetz
Directed by Eva Steinmetz
September 2023
“I could wait for you forever, If you told me what forever was for.”
A re-imagining of the story of The Odyssey from the point of view of a character often relegated to the margins of the story, Penelope is a musical love letter to all those who wait: For someone they love. For something they believe in. And hope that the wait will end well. An intimate and explosive music theater piece, Penelope invites the audience to join in a ritual act of storytelling to release the pent-up grief, anger, love and longing that are so familiar after the last three years. Penelope was developed, in part, through the Founders’ Club Residency as part of the Orchard Project (Ari Edelson, Artistic Director.)
On Tour: ROMEO & JULIET
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Emma Went
“…when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night.”
Two star-crossed souls collide and fall fast in love, only to take their own lives in a tragic twist of fate. In this music-driven, 90-minute production, heightened theatricality and original alt-rock anthems will engage audiences and bring a fresh perspective to Shakespeare’s classic tale. Narrated by Benvolio, an unsuccessful peacemaker, Romeo and Juliet is a lesson in loss, destiny, loyalty – and most importantly, love. Learn about the tour.
HIGHLAND LIGHTS
By Processional Arts Workshop
April 22, 2023
Featuring an outdoor procession of lights and community-built lanterns through The Garrison paths, Highland Lights celebrates the ongoing ecological restoration of the Hudson Valley landscape and heralds the arrival of spring. In the three weeks leading up to the event, HVSF invites the community to join guest artists Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles of Processional Arts Workshop for a series of free workshops to create the giant lanterns that will be used at the event.
