2015 Season
During the 2015 Season at Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, our four productions were As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, The Fiddler on the Roof, and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
As You Like It
Our one-hour Family Shakespeare adaptation takes you on a comedic romp through the Forest of Arden, an enchanting world in which nothing is quite what it seems. Rosalind is our bold and witty heroine who discovers her true nature and the nature of love when forced into disguise as a boy. This play reveals the potential of poetry to make things happen—to transform and reform, to turn longing into love, and to reveal wisdom through silliness.
The Merchant of Venice
Comedy and tragedy collide in this story of lovers united and families torn apart. At the center is Shylock, the Jewish moneylender. When the Venetian merchant Antonio is forced to seek a loan from Shylock, a man he despises for his religion and profession, he is asked to enter into an impossible contract: he must give a pound of flesh if unable to pay back the borrowed sum. What follows is a complex and challenging exploration of love, mercy, integrity, and justice that reminds us that, “all that glisters is not gold.”
Fiddler on the Roof
This classic beloved musical tells the story of Tevye the dairyman who takes ultimate joy in his family and traditions. He works to raise his five daughters and see them married well, but must struggle against modern ideas and the rising tide of anti-Semitism in 1900s Russia that threaten to destroy his family and their way of life.
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Love and deception are the name of the game in the small town of Windsor when Shakespeare’s famous larger-than-life anti-hero Falstaff comes for a visit. Falstaff sets out to woo the Housewives of Windsor for some quick cash, but finds himself outfoxed by the wise Windsor Wives, becoming the buffoon instead of the leading man in his own ambitious tale of romance. The entire family will laugh their way through this energetic and charming farce.