Shake It Out, the Bard in the Park
For those who like their iambic pentameter served alfresco while seated on lawn chairs or picnic blankets, this weekend should be a cause for celebration, with two free productions of Shakespeare plays to choose from and a new partnership that could offer more in the future.
In Sag Harbor, Bay Street Theater will present a reading of “Twelfth Night, or What You Will” at Mashashimuet Park tomorrow and Saturday. The staged reading will be a co-production of Bay Street’s Shakespeare Initiative and the Hamptons Shakespeare Festival. A benefit performance will take place at a private waterfront estate on Sunday.
In Southampton Village, Agawam Park will be the setting for “The Merchant of Venice” tomorrow and “The Merry Wives of Windsor” on Saturday, both presented by the Hip to Hip Theatre Company.
Scott Schwartz, the artistic director of Bay Street, will direct the reading of “Twelfth Night,” a play based on mistaken identity and disguise. David Brandenburg, the Hamptons Shakespeare Festival artistic director, will contribute original music and sound design.
“ ‘Twelfth Night’ is my favorite Shakespeare play,” Mr. Schwartz said. “It’s complicated, with themes of mistaken identity, gender identity, love both requited and unrequited. It’s a really funny romantic comedy.”
The Hamptons Shakespeare Festival produced plays from Montauk to Southampton from 1996 to 2005, and for Mr. Brandenburg, “Twelfth Night” marks a return to stage production after several years of educational initiatives, including his annual Camp Shakespeare. “There’s no better theatrical experience than the natural beauty of Shakespeare presented outdoors,” he said. He is tying his own fund-raising effort to the readings, hoping that his supporters are excited by the program and the possibility of future endeavors.
The original and reworked music Mr. Brandenburg is providing for the reading has always been a priority for him, as has the overall sound design. “Just as the lighting can’t compete with the sunset and the scenic design shouldn’t compete with the tree line in a full production, the sound has to meld with the outdoors,” he said.
The play will be presented in an interior corner of the park, insulated from the noise of nearby roads, “but I’m told crickets and cicadas will be in the scene,” Mr. Brandenburg said. “And I welcome them.”
Piper Perabo, a television, film, and stage actress who recently finished five seasons of the TV series “Covert Affairs,” will play the shipwrecked Viola, who becomes the center of a bizarre love triangle. Others featured in the production include Julia Motyka as Olivia, Josh Gladstone as Sir Toby Belch, and Kate Mueth as Maria.
The readings at Mashashimuet Park begin at 7 p.m. Seating in the bleachers will be available, but people are welcome to bring blankets, picnics, and beach chairs. Sunday night’s benefit will include cocktails at 6:30 before the reading at 7. Tickets begin at $250; information can be found on the Bay Street website.
To the west, the Hip to Hip Theatre Company’s performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. A children’s program called “Kids & the Classics,” to be offered at 7, will introduce children to Shakespearean style and language through games. Here, too, audiences may bring beach chairs, blankets, and picnics. In case of rain, the performances will move to the Southampton Cultural Center, next door to the park.
The mini-series opens with “The Merchant of Venice,” one of the bard’s darker plays, directed by David Mold, the company’s artistic director. It concludes the next night with “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” one of his broadest farces, directed by Murray McGibbon, who has taught and directed for many years in places as varied as Indiana University and South Africa. Both are family-friendly productions, meant for both the seasoned aficionado and the neophyte.
Hip to Hip’s actors include Evangelia Kingsley, William Oliver Watkins, Doug Hendel, James Harter, Chaunice Chapman, Kurt Kingsley, Lawryn LaCroix, Jason Marr, Joy Marr, Guy Ventoliere, Nestor Garland, Katie Kerr, and Erica Nichole Walker. All seating for performances is first come, first served, and early arrival has been recommended.