TheatreSquared Opens Architecturally Distinctive, Intimate New Home With Shakespeare In Love

T2’s largest-cast production to date takes the stage August 14–September 8, 2019

Single tickets for adaptation of Academy Award-winning film now on sale

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS—July 10, 2019—TheatreSquared will open Northwest Arkansas’s $31 million, state-of-the-art home for professional theatre with the acclaimed new adaptation of the Academy Award-winning film, Shakespeare in Love, on August 14. Featuring a cast of 18, the production brings an epic-scaled romantic comedy to an intimate theatrical setting. 

“The first show in the new facility had a high bar to clear,” said T2 artistic director Robert Ford. “Shakespeare in Love is a love letter to live theatre—joyfully written with hilarity, romance, and swashbuckling adventure.”

“And, to quote the play,” said T2 Executive Director Martin Miller, “a bit with a dog.”

Co-directed by T2 Associate Artistic Director Amy Herzberg and Southern Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Aimée Hayes, Shakespeare in Love will be on stage August 14-September 8. Tickets are now on sale from $17-$54 at (479) 777-7477 or theatre2.org. 

About the Play

Shakespeare in Love is a comedy about the greatest love story almost never told. Wildly funny and full of mischief and romance, this new adaptation of the Academy Award-winning film arrives fresh from its critically acclaimed debut in London’s West End. Young Will Shakespeare has writer's block and fears he’ll never finish Romeo & Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter — until he meets Viola. Against a bustling backdrop of mistaken identity, ruthless scheming and backstage theatrics, their forbidden romance inspires a masterpiece. 

Adapted for the stage by Lee Hall (Billy Elliott), the play is based on the award-winning motion picture by Marc Norman and acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Arcadia).  Critics from both sides of the Atlantic have praised the new adaptation:

“5 STARS!  A complete and utter invigorating joy." – The Daily Telegraph

"Marvelously fluid, riotously funny, and startlingly poignant. This may be a comedy about Shakespeare falling in love; but it could just make you fall, all over again, in love with Shakespeare." – Chicago Tribune

Cast & Creative Team

The cast & creative team for Shakespeare in Love is led by directors Amy Herzberg (Once, Fun Home) and Aimee Hayes (Detroit) and includes award-winning Broadway veterans, with artists hailing from Northwest Arkansas, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, and many returning from past T2 productions. 

Stephanie Bignault and Matthew Goodrich are star-crossed lovers Viola de Lesseps and Will Shakespeare.  The cast includes, Mason Azbill, Molly Anne Elizabeth Billman, James Bowen, Broderick Clavery, Beck Crabb, Justin Cunningham, Xavier Davis, Alison England, Bob Hart, Chris Hecke, Rick Holden, Drew Johnson, Bryce Kemph, Steven Marzolf, Kevin Orton, Cat Patterson, Chris Tennison.  The cast also features two rotating canine cast members, Freckles and Pearl. 

The creative team includes William Boles, scenic design; Ruby Kemph, costume design; Shawn Irish, lighting design, Eric Backus, sound design; Jason Burrow, music direction/supervision; Gail Leftwich, choreography;  DC Wright, fight choreography; and Ben Corbett, dialect coach. 

Performance Schedule

Performances are scheduled August 14-September 8, Tuesdays through Sundays, at the new TheatreSquared, located at 477 West Spring Street in downtown Fayetteville. 

Tuesday–Friday: 7:30 p.m.

Saturday: 2:00 p.m.; 7:30 p.m.

Sunday: 2:00 p.m.

Ticket Info

Single tickets range from $17-$54. Founding Subscriber packages for TheatreSquared's Grand Opening Season are also on sale. Subscription options include seven-play packages starting at $110, with four- and five- play flex packages starting at $69. Series options include Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 pm, as well as Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm. Tickets and subscriptions are available at (479) 777-7477 or online at theatre2.org.

Through T2’s Lights Up! For Access program, supported by the Walmart Foundation, SNAP benefit recipients can purchase $5 tickets, while students and patrons under the age of 30 can purchase $10 tickets. For more information, visit theatre2.org/lights-up. Fully subsidized, free tickets are also available for clients of a number of local community service organizations.  If you know of a deserving non-profit, visit theatre2.org for more information or contact the theatre.

About TheatreSquared

TheatreSquared is Northwest Arkansas’ professional regional theatre, offering an intimate live theatre experience for 45,000 patrons each year in its intimate space and in schools throughout the state. TheatreSquared was recognized by the American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards, as one of the nation’s ten most promising emerging theatres. TheatreSquared has experienced remarkable growth in recent seasons, expanding its audience tenfold in the past five years. In 2019, the company is opening a brand new, 50,000 square foot theatre center, featuring two state-of-the-art performance spaces. Tickets for the Grand Opening Season are on sale now. For further information, contact TheatreSquared at (479) 445-6333 or visit theatre2.org.

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Shakespeare In Love is made possible in part by lead show sponsors Bob & Becky Alexander, as well as show sponsors Ben & Christine Clark, Greenwood Gearhart, Stout Executive Search, and John & Kitten Weiss.

Major funding for the TheatreSquared Season 14 is provided by The Walton Family Foundation, Inc.; the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts; the Walker Charitable Foundation; the Walmart Foundation; and by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Marketing support for TheatreSquared Season 14 is provided by Experience Fayetteville, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville Flyer, CitiScapes, KUAF, MailCo USA and Univision.