Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s 2024 Summer Festival, with productions of Shakespeare’s As You Like It & Hamlet, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie has begun!
We invite you to The Grove this summer to experience the magic of outdoor theatre in Santa Cruz. Enjoy one or all of our four productions, and be delighted by our professional theatre company.
The Grove in DeLaveaga Park offers breathtaking views of the Monterey Bay in the idyllic eucalyptus grove. Attendees are welcome to enjoy a picnic overlooking the bluffs or at your seat – bring your own food or purchase concessions courtesy of our partnership with Coffee Nine.
For a unique viewing experience, select our “Groundling” seating option positioned closest to the stage. The term “Groundling” was coined during Shakespeare’s time and refers to people who paid one penny in order to be able to stand in front of the stage to watch the play. Groundlings were known to be raucous and even throw food at characters they didn’t like. While we don’t encourage that behavior, we do think being a Groundling is a fun and unique way to experience our performances.
Here’s a bit more about our productions this summer:
As You Like It by William Shakespeare, directed by Carey Perloff
Performances now through Sept. 1
As You Like It is a tale of banishment and escape to the forest of Arden, where a merry band find unity, love, and rebirth. The ensemble includes the melancholy Jacques (“All the world’s a stage…), the vigorous Orlando, and the brilliant Rosalind. Amidst a hurly of comedy, disguise, and discovery, love is sought, debated, and eventually learned. As You Like It is a hilarious journey into the heart of human foible and frailty, showing us the myriad ways that love can rebuild the world.
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, directed by Paul Mullins
Performances now through Sept. 7
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest has not been done in the 42-year history of Santa Cruz Shakespeare. It is one of the greatest comedies ever written, filled with some of the sharpest wit in the English language. The most iconic figure of this masterpiece is the formidable Lady Bracknell; obsessed with tradition and propriety, she cannot countenance her daughter Gwendolyn’s love of our titular Earnest. It’s not his money she objects to, of which he has plenty, but his bloodline: he has seemingly, and famously, descended from a HANDBAG. At least, that’s where he was discovered as an orphan. The young strain and contrive against their elder’s conservatism; through fantasy, imagination, and so much wit, they will reshape the world; redefining, and reNAMING love’s conventions.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare, directed by Susan Dalian
Performances July 31 through Aug. 31
In the most famous play ever written, Prince Hamlet contends with the ghost of his father, with the swift marriage of his mother to his uncle, with himself… most potently with himself. His questions throughout, of what it means to be a man, a son, a citizen of the world; what it means to be alive; what is owed; these questions have echoed through the last four hundred years and will no doubt echo for as long as we stand up on a stage and tell stories. Not to mention that it’s a thrilling tale of murder, revenge, madness, and betrayal. Artistic Director, Charles Pasternak, will play Hamlet, with former Artistic Director, Mike Ryan, as Claudius.
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, directed by Charles Pasternak
Performances Sept. 11 through Sept. 28
Presented for the first time in the company’s history, Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie is an American masterpiece; an autobiographical “dream” play, Tom, young Tennessee, struggles in his claustrophobic home life, caught between his controlling mother and his damaged sister. He loves them. His battle is actually not that he wants to leave, but that he wants to stay. But if he does, can he ever become the writer and the man he aspires to be? A thrilling expansion for Santa Cruz Shakespeare: Menagerie will open at the end of our traditional summer season.
Ticket prices range from $20 to $70 and are available at www.santacruzshakespeare.org.
See you in The Grove!
