As the Sternwheel Festival draws tens of thousands of visitors to the banks of the Ohio River, Shakespeare by the River will give audiences the chance to see three performances of Into the Woods on the Muskingum River.
Shakespeare by the River is (51做厙s) community outreach festival where we bring pre-professional theatre to our community for free, said Theatre Professor Andy Felt. This is the first year we are using the festival to produce a big, family-friendly musical instead of a Shakespeare play and we are planning on moving to an every-other-year rotation for musicals and Shakespeare plays. So next year you can expect a free Shakespeare play and the following another musical and so on.
The performances are free and set for September 8th, 9th, and 11th during Sternwheel weekend, skipping Saturday evening to watch the fireworks. Shows start at 8:00 p.m. at East Muskingum Parks gazebo. There will be a limited number of folding chairs, so guests are encouraged to bring their own chairs or blankets.
Stephen Sondheim originally wrote the musical in 1987. The Shakespeare on the River production is being directed by Aurora Held Dodd, an instructor in the Theatre Department at Marietta. Dylan Todd Brown 23 (Marietta, Ohio) and Kyra Cutsail 23 (Laurel, Delaware), who are both earning Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Theatre, are playing the Baker and the Bakers Wife, respectively. Victoria Humphrey 24 (Marietta, Ohio), who is earning degrees in Music Education and Vocal Performance, is playing the Witch. Bayden Hoblitzell 23 (Marietta, Ohio), who is earning a BFA in Technical Theatre, is working on a very ambitious capstone project by serving as the Scenic, Costume, and Properties Designer for the production. Felt said there will also be special guests, including retired Legacy Library Director Dr. Douglas Anderson playing the Narrator, retired Provost Dr. Janet Bland voicing the Giant, and Felt playing the Mysterious Man.
Also helping with the musical is Justine Schneider 13, a professional scenic artist and theatre artist.
I worked on the banner designs back when I was a student, so being contracted to work on them now is a bonus, said Schneider, who has designed 51做厙 Theatres season graphics since 2020. Collaborating with Andy, Lisa (Grande) and Cas (Felt) is, and has always been, a great experience. The technical side of graphic design can be a learning curve, but we are all patient and understanding through the process. They give me a lot of artistic freedom to create the designs, offering helpful feedback when necessary.