Chesapeake Shakespeare Company Celebrates 20th Anniversary Season

In 2002, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (CSC) established itself with a single production of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, at a small black box theatre in Ellicott City, MD. Twenty seasons later, the company kicks off a year-long anniversary celebration by revisiting its inaugural presentation in their permanent home in downtown Baltimore, with the original director, Founding Artistic Director Ian Gallanar, at the helm. Twelfth Night runs from September 30 - October 23, 2022.

The company's first production was only seen by 100 people, Gallanar remembers, but goes on to add, "It started as an idea that maybe we could connect a new audience to Shakespeare. I couldn't conceive, when we started, that we would last to a twentieth birthday. I'm so excited to revisit this show and watch it usher in the next twenty years."

"We've created a season based on where we've been, where we're going, and what our patrons have been clamoring for. Twenty years deserves a lineup of great plays and great events, and this season is certainly that. I'm so grateful to all the artists, trustees, staff, donors, and audiences who have allowed us to reach this milestone and I know that this season will make them all proud.

This season's opening production will be immediately followed by a celebratory Anniversary Gala. The company will host a masked "Capulet Costume Ball" to celebrate 20 years of CSC on Sat., November 5, 2022.

CSC returns for the holidays with a new adaptation of their Charm City-themed A Christmas Carol, reimagined by Company Member and historian Laura Rocklyn and directed by Resident Director Matthew R. Wilson (December 2 - 23, 2022). Ian Gallanar first adapted the Charles Dickens classic to a family-friendly holiday stage play, set in Victorian-era Baltimore, in 2014, and it has become a local holiday tradition for families and theatergoers ever since.

The third time's a charm for the long-anticipated return of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). The popular comedy was postponed twice in two years because of COVID. Happily, the authors have significantly revised that script and made it available to CSC. This will be the first production of the revised script in the region. Gallanar will direct (February 10 - March 23, 2023).

After also being postponed in 2020, Hamlet returns to CSC for the first time in over a decade, and the first time on the company's downtown Baltimore stage. Nationally-acclaimed director Eleanor Holdridge leads Company Member Vince Eisenson in the title role, onstage from April 28 - May 21, 2023

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's Black Classical Acting Ensemble (BCAE) will close out the 20th Anniversary Season with a presentation of Macbeth in the company's popular summer slot. Company and Ensemble Member Lauren Davis directs the outdoor production (location to be announced) which runs June 16 - July 23, 2023.

This summer 2023 presentation will be a restaging of the BCAE's abridged version of Macbeth, created for CSC's School Matinee program, which will premiere this coming fall (2022). The customary production of Romeo + Juliet will also return for student audiences in spring 2023. Prior to the pandemic, over 14,000 Maryland middle and high school students attended student matinees at CSC annually.

Full details for each show, including casting, will be announced closer to the dates of production. For more information about subscriptions, single tickets and School Matinees, visit www.chesapeareshakespeare.com or call the box office at 410-244-8570.

TICKET INFORMATION

For those interested in securing their first choice of seats for CSC's 20th Anniversary Season, subscription packages go on sale today; Single tickets for all shows will go on sale later this summer.

With their fixed subscription package, full season subscribers save 20% or more on single ticket prices; pay no exchange or service fees; receive a 10% discount on additional single tickets; pay $5 parking at the Arrow garage in downtown Baltimore; secure early access to add-on shows like A Christmas Carol and Macbeth, before they go on sale to the public; and get discounts on signature drinks for each downtown production at The Company Bar.

"Mix-and-match" flex subscriptions are also available and guarantee subscribers 10% off single ticket prices; pay no exchange fees; a 10% discount on additional single tickets; $5 parking at the Arrow garage in downtown Baltimore; and the ability to secure early access to add-on shows like A Christmas Carol and Macbeth, before they go on sale to the public.

Any patrons who opted to keep their money "on account" for use at a future performance due to COVID-19 cancellations will be able to apply that reserve to a subscription or single tickets for any of these upcoming shows in 2022.

Full details for each show, including casting, will be announced closer to the dates of production. For more information about subscriptions, single tickets and School Matinees, visit www.chesapeareshakespeare.com or call the box office at 410-244-8570.