PRESS RELEASE – theater, family entertainment, community event
February, 2008

”All the World’s a Stage…” with the spotlight on
 The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck

April 4, 2008, Rhinebeck, NY. The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck proudly announces the opening of the first, annual Sam Scripps Shakespeare Festival, beginning with the unveiling of the new Globe Stage, designed and built especially for The CENTER.

A full production of Romeo and Juliet will raise the curtain on the Globe stage with a special Opening Night Reception on April 4. The festival itself will then span the month of April with performances of Shakespeare, about Shakespeare, and related to the time of Shakespeare. Highlights from the festival include Romeo and Juliet, An Evening of Elizabethan Madrigals, and Shakespeare for Kids.

This year’s festival will be a simple version of what organizers hope will become a huge, annual event incorporating the whole town of Rhinebeck. The stage and festival were conceived by The CENTER’s Artistic and Managing Director, Lou Trapani. The stage design is by Broadway scenic artist (and Rhinebeck resident) Richard Prouse, and built by The CENTER’s founder and president, Andy Weintraub. There are no absolute accounts of the theater’s original appearance, but based on photographs, drawings, and blueprints, The CENTER’s “Globe” will be an approximate recreation of Shakespeare’s famous Elizabethan playhouse, built to use the stage space of the present Sam Scripps Theater in The CENTER. The set is constructed so that it can be annually erected for the Sam Scripps Shakespeare Festival, then disassembled and stored until the following year.
 
The primary goal for the festival, according to Mr. Trapani, is to provide more access to Shakespearean and Elizabethan plays and concepts to school students. He hopes that the festival will grow to be a true community event. Having recently attended the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, in Ashland, Trapani was greatly impressed by the way the whole town seemed to embrace and have fun with the festival.

Trapani performed in a Shakespeare Festival, on a Globe reconstruction, from 1965 to 1969 while an undergraduate at Hofstra University. That stage was designed by the university’s former president, John Cranford Adams, and based on his model commissioned by the Folger Library, Hofstra’s Globe has been erected every year since 1952 and attracted more attention to its campus through Shakespeare on the Globe than it did through football, baseball, and basketball combined,” says Trapani, “and I wanted to capture that drive here in Rhinebeck.”

He continues, “The festival at Hofstra consisted of one Shakespearean play, one morality or mystery play, evenings of madrigals, tours of the globe, and Shakespearean scene competitions for high school groups. Hence, my idea: a Shakespearean play (CENTERstage), an alternate ‘hip hop’ version of the same play (Daytop), and two evenings of madrigals. In future years, I hope to do morality plays and have the high school competitions.”

When asked how he chose Romeo and Juliet as the Festival’s inaugural play, Mr. Trapani reveals, “because it’s read by every high school student, is the most accessible to students of all the plays (it is, after all, about teenagers), has been filmed at least a half-dozen times, is the well-spring of West Side Story (to be performed at The CENTER this summer, coincidentally) and appears in much rock and roll.”

When asked about the inspiration for his rendering of The CENTER’s Globe Stage, Richard Prouse’s reply is simple and poetic, “The stunning beauty and versatility of The Globe.”

The CENTER also has a sentimental and vaguely historical tie to Shakespeare’s Globe. That tie is the wonderful, late Sam Scripps. Scripps, noted philanthropist and life-long lover of the arts, was a long-time technical adviser and supporter of The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck — so much so that the performance area of The CENTER is named The Sam Scripps Theater. Mr. Scripps was also credited by Sam Wanamaker, head of the Shakespeare Globe Trust, "Sam Scripps is playing a key role in spear-heading the plans to make the recreation of Shakespeare's Globe in London a reality." A bas-relief of Mr. Scripps resides in the lobby of the London Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. In further recognition of Mr. Scripps’ kindness and generosity to The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck, and his love of Shakespeare, the Rhinebeck Shakespeare Festival will be dedicated to Mr. Scripps.

Join us for the first, annual Sam Scripps Shakespeare Festival! Experience Romeo and Juliet as it was meant to be, performed on the Globe Theater Stage - a detailed reproduction of Shakespeare's original stage. Be sure and join us for our special Opening Night Reception, April 4! Meet the artists involved in re-creating this all time classic. Great photo opportunities and a truly unique theater.

Romeo and Juliet
April 4 & 11, Fridays at 8 pm
April 5, 19 & 26, Saturdays at 8 pm
April 6, 13 & 27, Sundays at 3 pm
Tickets: $20 adults; $18 seniors & children
A CENTERstage presentation, directed by Shakespearean scholar Marcus D. Gregio.
 
Romeo and Juliet (Daytop version) Reservations for this production can be made only by calling: (845) 876-2657
April 12, Saturday at 8 pm                                                                          
April 20, Sunday at 3 pm
A modern day interpretation of Shakespeare’s play, by the Daytop Preparatory School. 
An Evening of Elizabethan Madrigals
April 18, Friday at 8 pm
April 25, Friday at 8 pm
Tickets: $16 adults; $14 seniors & children
A must for serious music lovers, performed by Ed Lundergan, Barbara Hardgrave and an ensemble of singers and period musicians.
Special Saturday Morning Family Series Presentation:
Shakespeare for Kids by Hampstead Stage Co.
April 5, Saturday at 11 am
Tickets: Advanced Reservations: $7 children, $9 adults;
Tickets sold at the door, as available, one hour prior to the performance: $6 children, $8 adults.
A wonderful introduction to the world of William Shakespeare in a live theatrical production! We meet the Bard as his words come alive with imagination, swordplay, and love.

There will be daytime Shakespearean Field Trip performances in our continuing effort to support the arts in schools. These performances are organized through The CENTER’s Education Department, please contact The CENTER for more information.

Tickets for the Opening Night Reception, and performances other than the Daytop productions, are available to the public through The CENTER’s box office (845) 876-3080. Box office hours: Tuesdays – Fridays 11 am – 5 pm and Saturdays 1 pm – 5 pm. The CENTER is located at 661 Route 308, Rhinebeck, NY. Free parking, on-site. Wheelchair accessible. Climate controlled. Concession stand. www.centerforperformingarts.org

The CENTER is a non-profit arts and education organization.

See you at The Center!