Norwalk, CT - Shakespeare on the Sound (Joanna Settle, Artistic Director), Connecticut’s premier outdoor summer theater company presenting free Shakespeare in the park, will present Othello, under the direction of Joanna Settle this summer. Also returning for another season will be Tony Award-winning singer-songwriter Stew, who will provide original music and songs for the production, and set designer Andrew Lieberman.
“In Othello, we have the deepest possible look into the psyche of friendship, class, race and love. I cannot wait to dig into this script with my colleagues and with our devoted audience,” enthused Settle. “And how fortunate to have the magnificent Stew returning this season, joined by visionary designer Andrew Lieberman, my collaborator of 11 years. Othello is one of Shakespeare's most complex and thrilling narratives, ideal for our location and just right for the times. See you in the Park!”
“No one had ever been brave (or crazy) enough to give me the opportunity to do anything with Shakespeare until Joanna asked if I wanted to come along on her Midsummer ride last year,” commented Stew. “I am forever indebted to her for creating the kind of trusting and open artistic environment that allowed me to work with Big Willy on my own rock and roll terms. As a result of our work on Midsummer, Shake has become my homey and I'd like to work with him (and Joanna) as much as possible. Othello is my next chance.”
“Joanna and I have a longstanding collaboration around site-specific work, but the new set of outdoor parameters has added another challenging and rewarding dimension to our partnership,” explained Andrew Lieberman. “I look forward to devising an environment for Othello that in every way belongs to our location and the play's spirit.”
Currently in its 15th Season, Shakespeare on the Sound will present Settle’s site-specific production at two beautiful locations on the Long Island Sound in Pinkney Park, Rowayton and Baldwin Park, Greenwich. Performance dates in June and July, 2010 will be announced shortly.
Shakespeare on the Sound has established itself as one of the most popular summer theater companies on the east coast, drawing large audiences to each performance in the unique under-the-stars settings of its venues.
Audiences are invited to arrive early and picnic in the park before the performance. There is no admission fee, but a donation of $20 ($10 for students and seniors) is suggested. In Rowayton, parking is limited and early arrival is suggested. In Greenwich, the production is a five minute walk from the Greenwich Metro-North stop. Ample parking is available.
For rail and road directions, visit www.shakespeareonthesound.org.
Complete casting for Othello and other Shakespeare on the Sound summer news will be forthcoming.
Bios
Joanna Settle. Othello will mark Settle's second production directed for Shakespeare on the Sound. She has directed classic and modern classic work by Sophocles, Ionesco, Shakespeare, Euripides, Harold Pinter, and Samuel Beckett, among others. Her direction of contemporary plays includes 9 Parts of Desire, which won two Lucille Lortel Awards. 9 Parts of Desire was presented in New York at Manhattan Ensemble Theatre, in Chicago at the Museum of Contemporary Art, at California’s Berkeley Rep, Washington, DC’s Arena Stage and in numerous other theaters across the country. Settle also directed In Darfur for the New York Public Theater downtown and at the prestigious Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Other work at the Public Theater includes Future Me (Summer Play Festival) and the Finale week of Suzan Lori Parks 365 Plays/365 Days. She is a graduate of the inaugural Andrew W. Mellon Directing Program at The Juilliard School and a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts/Theater Communications Group Fellowship for Directors. She served as Artistic Director of Division 13 Productions in Chicago and NY from 1997-2005, and is entering her second season as Artistic Director of Shakespeare on the Sound, which last year launched an apprentice company and a new play reading series in addition to its season offering of A Midsummer Night's Dream with music by Stew.
Stew is the recipient of the 2008 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, for Passing Strange, a film of which was directed by Spike Lee. Passing Strange - The Movie debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and recently completed a successful run at IFC theaters in select cities. As a two-time Obie Award-winner and four-time Tony Award nominee, Stew also leads, along with his collaborator Heidi Rodewald, two critically acclaimed bands: The Negro Problem and Stew. But what he'll ultimately be remembered for is having composed "Gary Come Home" for the 0SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon. Passing Strange - The Movie will screen on PBS in late January. Stew's Making It will be at St. Ann's Warehouse February 17 – 21, 2009.
Andrew Lieberman is the head of set and film design at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Mr. Lieberman’s recent opera projects include Aida and L’isle de Merlin, both directed by Christopher Alden, as well as the Philip Glass Orphée, directed by Sam Helfrich. His designs for opera and stage have been seen in the US and abroad at Deutsche Oper Berlin, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Montreal Opera, New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Spoleto Festival USA, Long Beach Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Gotham Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, The Kennedy Center, Second Stage, The Public Theater, and at America’s most prominent regional venues, including the McCarter Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf Theater, and Baltimore’s Centerstage. He is 2005 Barrymore Award nominee for Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House at the Wilma Theater, a 2004 Drama Desk nominee for Chuck Mee’s Wintertime at Second Stage, and a Princess Grace USA award winner and an Associate Professor of Stage Design at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
