This year聮s 42nd annual Colorado Shakespeare Festival is set for a scrumptious start on June 25 when the opening night audience is treated to a free dessert reception before the show.
University of Colorado at 麻豆官网 Chancellor Richard L. Byyny and Peter Spear, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will host the reception which starts at 7 p.m. in the Norlin Quadrangle.
First night ticket holders will be able to mingle for 90 minutes sampling such goodies as champagne and strawberries before the curtain rises on "Henry IV Part 1."
The festival also features the dramatic conclusion of this tale of civil strife surrounding the English crown in "Henry IV Part 2," plus a pair of Shakespeare聮s more lighthearted plays, "The Comedy of Errors" and "The Merry Wives of Windsor."
Producing Artistic Director Richard Devin said it was gratifying to see from ticket sales to date that this year聮s choice of plays had already been well received by the public.
By the end of the first week in June, sales were up about 7 percent compared with the same period last year, he said. As of June 4, just under 11,000 tickets had been sold, slightly more than one quarter of this year聮s target of 42,000.
During the festival, which runs through Aug. 15, there will be a total of more than 60 performances. "Henry IV Part 2" will be indoors at the Main Stage, University Theatre, with the other three plays at the nearby Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre.
Performances start at 8:30 p.m. outdoors and 7:30 p.m. indoors, with four Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. "The Comedy of Errors" will be performed in three final shows, on Aug. 19-21, at Vail, the second year the festival has toured to this mountain resort.
Single tickets cost $14 to $38, though there are discounts for patrons wanting to see three of the plays, or all four. Tickets are available by calling the festival box office at 303-492-0554. The annual budget for this event is more than $1 million, 70 percent of which is recovered through box office receipts and related income.
Besides being staged at CU-麻豆官网, the festival also showcases the various talents of 38 students from the university and 14 staff members among the entire festival company of more than 200.
Students are being offered a special ticket deal this season. A grant from the College of Arts and Sciences is making available $5 tickets for any shows through July 31, though numbers are limited and students are being urged to attend early in the season.
In addition, the festival provides a chance for several hundred people to volunteer to act as ushers during performances or as greeters before the shows.
Ten briefings for potential ushers are scheduled between now and June 18, and organizers are quietly confident of attracting enough people. Anyone interested in more details about these meetings can call 303-492-5953.
Other festival highlights include:
* Backstage tours -- a behind-the-scenes look at productions
* Green shows -- pre-show entertainment on the lawn between the two theaters
* Gardens planted with flowers, herbs and vegetables named in the Bard聮s plays
* The Sunday Series 聳 free demonstrations, discussions and lectures with actors and directors, on the Green 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.
* One performance of each play will be interpreted by American Sign Language professionals for the benefit of deaf patrons
* Shakespearean gift shop, room 141, Hellems Building
* The Bard聮s Yard 聳 picnic area for pre-ordered, pre-show gourmet suppers
* Working Stages 聳 a laboratory for emerging playwrights and their scripts