2017 Actors’ Renaissance Season

Shows

The Merchant of Venice

January 13 – April 8, 2017

Against the backdrop of social intolerance suddenly buffeted by inevitable change, Shakespeare weaves interconnected tales of friendship, love, and family while bringing to life one of his strongest and most resourceful heroines. Mingling dreamy romance with senseless and timeless cultural conflicts, The Merchant of Venice reveals that mercy and love can come from unexpected places.

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Performance Dates

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Coriolanus

January 18 – April 8, 2017

Loaded with startling contemporary commentary on politics, politicians, and "the people" politicians represent, Coriolanus gives us a stark look at the triumphs and failures of a tragic hero. With his insightful analysis on the political journey of Rome's most famous military man, Shakespeare highlights the pitfalls of pride and the danger of arrogance in one of his final and most complex tragedies.

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Performance Dates

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The School for Scandal

February 2 – April 9, 2017

Rumors abound in this searing comedy of manners, where no one can avoid the stinging bite of gossip – even when the truth is sometimes juicier. A rich guardian tests his wards to choose the worthier heir, but there's more to them than meets the eye. Throw in a few scandal-mongers, a wandering wife, and a sneaky hireling named Snake, and A School for Scandal will have you rolling in you seat. (How undignified.)

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Performance Dates

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Shakespeare’s Sister

February 23 – April 7, 2017

Judith Shakespeare has one ambition: to be a playwright, just like her famous brother Will. When her debt-ridden father forces her into an engagement, she runs away with the help of dashing actor Ned Alleyn, hoping to join her brother in London. But when Judith arrives in the plague-stricken capital, she finds her brother gone, Ned engaged to another, and her play refused. Judith befriends the women in a local brothel, and together, they decide to stage her play in secret. But Elizabethan London is a dangerous place to perform an unlicensed play. Shakespeare’s Sister is full of ideas and events as relevant to Shakespeare’s London as they are to today’s Virginia: the challenges of making a living, religious extremism, and the conflict between social expectations and individual dreams.

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Performance Dates

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The Fair Maid of the Exchange

March 22 – April 6, 2017

Everybody loves the fair maid, Phillis – or maybe it's just the three smitten Golding brothers. Anthony, Ferdinand, and Frank must battle it out to win her love, and they're not above underhanded tricks and disguises to get her attention. This wickedly witty city comedy pits brother against brother, and shows even in sibling rivalries, somebody has to come out on top. ASC veteran actor René Thornton, Jr. steps into the director/manager chair like Peter Quince in Midsummer to lead the troupe in reviving this show for (we think) the first time in over 400 years.

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Performance Dates