2023 Seattle Outdoor Theatre Festival
One of Seattle’s best summer entertainments will take place in Volunteer Park July 8th and 9th: The Seattle Outdoor Theatre Festival, which features many the outdoor touring shows in the Puget Sound area, including Shakespeare shows by Wooden “O”/Seattle Shakespeare Company, Greenstage, Mt. Vernon’s Shakespeare Northwest, Last Leaf Productions and CSZ Seattle.
It didn’t take the audience in the Luther Burbank Park long to figure out we were in for a very different rendition of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. A large white Ford van is parked upstage left; King Cymbeline enters the stage in pajamas and the proud husband of the king’s daughter, the valiant Posthumus, is wearing a bright yellow dress. Associate Artistic Director Makaela Milburn and artist Meme Garcia have created a wildly imaginative take on this problematic work for Seattle Shakespeare’s outdoor Wooden O series.
With this year’s Shakespeare in the Park productions in full swing, there is a sense of playfulness and dynamism throughout
Cancellations of the Wooden O productions of The Comedy of Errors and Othello, and Cry Havoc series
Today Seattle Shakespeare Company’s Artistic Director George Mount announced that the
company is canceling the Wooden O shows for the summer of 2020. The theatre is also cancelling its May
special presentation of Stephan Wolfert’s Cry Havoc!
“This summer, considering the dreadful novel coronavirus threat, the prospect of large group gatherings
poses too great a risk to the health and well-being of our audiences and our valued artists and support
teams,” said Mount. “For the safety of us all, this year, we cannot not go forward with Wooden O as usual.”
The cancelled Wooden O productions of The Comedy of Errors and Othello will be rescheduled for the
summer of 2021. Seattle Shakespeare was also to present Cry Havoc! In late May and has cancelled that
event. said Artistic Director, George Mount.
Patrons who have questions about tickets or about donating to Seattle Shakespeare Company may contact
the company through the Ticket Office at 206-733-8222 or online at www.seattleshakespeare.org.
# # # #
When performing a work of Shakespeare such as Romeo and Juliet, it is essential to not only stay true to the play’s original intent, but also remain unique among thousands of other adaptations. Luckily, Wooden O’s recent production of the tragedy stuck out as a great option for both newcomers and experienced viewers of Shakespearean theatre.
Shakespeare’s bawdy Merry Wives of Windsor has been revitalized by Wooden O in their ambitious adaptation of the classic comedy.
25 years on, Wooden O proves its reputation as one of the best Seattle Shakespeare companies with its King Lear,
While not the most familiar play to roll off people’s tongues, Much Ado, once viewed will hold a special place in your – “Oh how I love Shakespeare” corner of your heart. Much Ado is at once a comedy of errors, a love story, a near tragedy and a giant battle of gendered wits.
Seattle Shakespeare’s Wooden O Productions is featuring a delightful Henry IV Part I in their outdoor series this year. On a shirtsleeve July evening in a park in Issaquah, the talented troop laid out one of the Bard’s most cherished history plays with a remarkable degree of skill and focus, never thrown off by the passing skateboarders or blasting car radios.
A quick paced, enthralling Julius Caesar has begun its tour of local venues through the Wooden O’ Free Shakespeare in the Parks program. At a matinee in Volunteer Park, the all women cast crackled with energy despite having to deal with temperatures that hovered near 90 degrees.
