Shakespeare Festival St. Louis will be producing 'Twelfth Night' for the 2013 season, it was announced today by Rick Dildine, executive director of the annual outdoor festival at Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park.
Believed to have been written in approximately 1602, 'Twelfth Night' centers on Viola, who after a shipwreck, is separated from her twin brother and washed ashore on an island known as Illyria. In order to survive she masquerades as a young male page and enters into the service of the Duke Orsino who is madly in love with the Lady Olivia. Orsino sends Viola to woo Olivia for him; however, Olivia quickly falls in love with the disguised Viola. Believed to be written as part of the traditional Twelfth Night celebrations as a close of the Christmas celebrations, "Twelfth Night" is one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies.
"Twelfth Night is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays," said Rick Dildine. "This romantic comedy celebrates the Twelfth Night traditions of inverting the social order by letting commoners and fools switch places with kings and nobles for a day."
The festival just concluded its 2012 season with "Othello" on June, once again setting an all-time attendance record of 66,000. Rain cancelled the second half of two performances, but other than that, all performances occurred as planned.
"The past three seasons have been an incredible run for Shakespeare Festival St. Louis," Dildine said. "Our niche is creating free outdoor Shakespeare theater for anyone who wants to come out to the park. The cast and crews we've been able to assemble for these productions have just been amazing and I am most looking forward to next year's 'Twelfth Night.'"
Next season's show will run from May 24 to June 16. The director and design team will be announced at a later date.
In the past 12 years, the Shakespeare Festival has attracted more than 550,000 people to the performances in Forest Park. The organization has reached an additional 200,000 students through its educational touring productions, school program, summer camps and community partnerships. For more information, please visit www.sfstl.com or call 314/531-9800.
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