A postmodern play is a bit of a departure for a classical theater troupe like Annapolis Shakespeare Company. But its sixth-season opener fits right into its mission to make the classics accessible and enjoyable for modern audiences.
Starting Friday, the company’s production of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” takes the stage, taking viewers into the world of “two minor characters in one of the greatest plays ever written, Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet,’ ” said founder Sally Boyett.
She said the production also connects to the present day, as the characters are at the mercy of political forces over which they have no control.
“The play has a lot to say about how easily we can become the victim of circumstances and forces beyond our control,” said Resident Director Donald Hicken, who spent a career as a theater director and teacher. He was in on the ground floor at Everyman Theatre and headed the theater department at the Baltimore School for the Arts for 37 years.
Based loosely on Samuel Beckett’s book “Waiting for Godot,” Tom Stoppard’s play focuses on the two main characters operating backstage and within a production of “Hamlet” and their part in Shakespeare’s work.
“They think they are double-crossing Hamlet, while in fact Hamlet is double-crossing them — it’s sort of a triple-cross,” Hicken said.
Stoppard’s absurdist play deals with the larger themes with loads of humor and inside jokes that theater fans will enjoy, according to Hicken.
But what audiences might enjoy more is the professional quality of the company and its maturation in the few years since its founding and first productions in a 50-seat space off Chinquapin Round Road.
“Annapolis Shakespeare Company has risen to the top very quickly,” said April Nyman, executive director of the Anne Arundel Arts Council, which promotes and provides grants to arts institutions, including the theater company. “It’s not often you see a nonprofit organize and stay on track and arrive that quickly. It says a lot about the organization,” she added. “And to top everything, their artistic ability and presentation is outstanding.”
Now in its second season in a new space on West Street, the company is attracting top-notch talent led by Boyett, Hicken and others. And in large part from the experience of core people. There is also Marc Irwin, a veteran of the New York and Washington theater scenes, assisting with music, and well-regarded speech and dialect coach Nancy Krebs. Actors from Washington, even some from New York are appearing in Annapolis Shakespeare Company shows.
“The company coming together has been an organic process,” Boyett said.
After years of stage work in New York, as a dancer in the New York City Ballet and on Broadway and national tours Boyett moved to Annapolis in 2009.
“Annapolis was a great little town, a small town yet cosmopolitan. Little by little the idea of a professional classical theater came together,” she said. “And our vision is for Annapolis to be the regional destination for the classics in Maryland.”
The mission: “To boldly produce the classics and reimagine them,” Boyett said.
She admitted it’s a big task. The major challenge is getting audiences in the door so they are not intimidated by coming to see a play by the likes of Shakespeare or Moliere.
That’s where its outdoor summer shows come in. Productions in the garden of Reynold’s Tavern, on the grounds of Charles Carroll House and on the lawn of St. Johns College draw audiences, in part, with the fun atmosphere.
“It’s classics light,” Boyette said.
At St. Johns College, the troupe used the marble steps of Woodward Hall and pulled out all the Edwardian stops.
“There were Edwardian costumes, ladies in wigs and parasols, the whole nine yards.” Boyett said.
Yet the goal is to bring audiences to the 125-seat black box theater set in the 8,200 square-foot space on West Street.
The theater space changes with each performance. The company uses screen projections almost exclusively in lieu of traditional stage backdrops, whether to set a tonal palette or create specific scenery and location.
The audience sits within 10 to 15 feet of the performers, an unusually intimate experience for classic works.
“The audience has the opportunity to see great plays with great texts, up close and personal,” Hicken said.
He and Boyett see audiences enjoying the work and coming back. “Subscriptions have doubled and donations have tripled,” he said.
He has seen it before, during his time with Baltimore’s Everyman and Center Stage theaters.
“I have seen this same kind of excitement and energy here that I saw in those,” he said. “People are creating the habit of attendance.”
They think audiences are taking in the shows here and saying to themselves, “Wow, I don’t have to go to Washington or Baltimore, even New York,” Hicken said. “I can see it right here in Annapolis with free parking right in front,” he added noting the parking could be a draw in the notoriously parking challenged city.
“And there is a bar,” Boyett added mentioning another draw, the 75-seat cabaret venue that doubles as a bar and intermission space.
The rest of the season includes “Pride and Prejudice,” March 16 to April 21; “Oliver! The Musical,” May 11 to June 9; “Tartuffe,” May 21 to Sept. 10; and “The Winter’s Tale,” July 12 to Aug. 4.
When you go:
“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” opens Friday night at the Annapolis Shakespeare Company, 1804 West St. The play runs Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. until Feb. 24.
Tickets are $39 to $59. Senior and young professional tickets are available. Season flex packages are also available.
For information and tickets, go to annapolisshakespeare.org. or call the box office at 410-415-3513.
