Capital Classics

We gathered together last Friday to celebrate all of our festival volunteers, who — once again — received high marks in our recent audience survey for making attendees “feel welcome.”

And this year, we awarded Erin Robinson with the Titus Andronicus Meritorious Award for going above and beyond to make the 2024 Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival such a hugh success. Erin has been with us for over ten years, and always shares her positivity and can-do energy at our festivals, book clubs, and Celebrate West Hartford booths.

We could not provide such a welcoming audience experience without our dedicated volunteers. Thank you all — and especially To Erin!

Can you name the Shakespeare play that inspired this song? Extra points for the character and scene. Hint: We performed the play this past summer!

NICK LOWE - CRUEL TO BE KIND - HQ Best Version. New Audio. NICK LOWE - CRUEL TO BE KIND.re-rendered video with re-imported audio.The Stiff stable of artistes included:The 45s, The Adverts, Jane Aire & the Belvederes,...

Our friends at Art Museum, USJ are opening their Fall Exhibition! They have an Opening Reception on Thursday, September 19 from 5-7:30 p.m. This is a free event but registration is encouraged at ArtMuseumUSJ/eventbrite.com.

And, the Fall Exhibit "On Paper: Media and Techniques" runs September 19 through December 14 and provides an opportunity to examine and better understand the many materials and processes used to produce works of art on paper, including drawings, watercolors, and the various printmaking techniques. Featured in the exhibition are several recent acquisitions by internationally recognized women artists, including a large lithograph by Elizabeth Murray (1940-2007), a multi-media work by Emma Amos (1937-2020), and a colorful drypoint/aquatint by Saito Noriko (born 1973).

On Paper begins with a selection of unique works, ranging from sixteenth century Italian drawings to twentieth-century ink studies and pastels. Among the artists represented are Joseph Pennell, Elaine de Kooning, James Daugherty, Richard Yarde, and Cleve Gray. It is followed by works of art created as multiples. Intaglio printmaking techniques include drypoint, engraving, mezzotint, etching and aquatint, as seen in prints from Europe, the Americas, and Japan. Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Francisco Goya, Marc Chagall, Imna Arroyo, and Imamura Yoshio are among the artists featured in this section. Woodcut wood-engraving, and linocut, the relief processes, are represented by an equally international selection. Appropriately in this election year, the wood-engraving section includes two Thomas Nast political cartoons about the American Presidential elections of 1872 and 1876. The planographic printmaking technique of lithography and screen printing close the exhibition with examples by Jacob Lawrence, Betye Saar, George Bellows, and Wako Shuji.

Shakespeare in the news again!

British Man Claims He Owns the Only Portrait of Shakespeare Painted During His Lifetime | Artnet News British window washer Steven Wadlow says his family owns the only known Shakespeare portrait that the Bard actually sat for.

A 600-year-old doorway that may have once led to William Shakespeare’s dressing room has been revealed in the UK’s oldest working theatre.

Theatre makes 'mind boggling' Shakespeare discovery St George's Guildhall believes a 600-year-old doorway could have led to Shakespeare's dressing room.

Saved by a fat suit!

Sir Ian McKellen says fat suit saved him when he fell from stage Sir Ian, 85, says he is still recovering after falling from a West End stage nearly two months ago.

JOIN US IN PERSON OR ONLINE for the 11-year anniversary of our Shakespeare Book Club with the West Hartford Public Library! The 8-month theme will be “Power Plays & Players!” Visit capitalclassics.org/book-club for the dates, details, and plays.

You loved Jaeme Brennan McDonald onald in HAMLET, catch him live in the Blue Back Square courtyard in West Hartford THIS Sunday, September 8 at 4pm!

Learn about sports and games in Shakespeare's plays, including children's games still played today, the anachronistic suggestion of "billiards" in a play set long before it was invented, and a worried English queen seeking a sport to distract her.

Quiz: Games, sports, and Shakespeare | Folger Shakespeare Library Shakespeare's plays are full of sports and games. Test your knowledge with these questions.

You loved Jaeme Brennan McDonald onald in HAMLET, catch him live in the Blue Back Square courtyard in West Hartford on Sunday, September 8 at 4pm!

In this book excerpt from Cunning Folk, a lawsuit from the 1400s reveals how people in early modern times sometimes hired magic practitioners for tasks such as finding a new husband—and sued them, as in this case, when their arts failed.

A real-life lawsuit over failed magic | Folger Shakespeare Library Tabitha Stanmore describes how a 15th-century widow hired a magic practitioner in this excerpt from her book "Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic."

Summer Reading News: Here are some very different novels, all inspired by "Romeo & Juliet:" a touching "coming of age" story, a supernatural novel about zombies, and a San Diego tale that includes a struggle between a taco chain and a family restaurant.

Summer Reading: Romeo and Juliet, Revisited | Folger Shakespeare Library Looking for summer reading? Try a novel based on "Romeo and Juliet," from a San Diege restaurant feud to a zombie horror tale to a story about first love.

Booksellers found out about the 1623 First Folio of Shakespeare (as we call it today) a year early, at the Autumn fair in Frankfurt, Germany. Folger's Librarian Greg Prickman explains how it was described in 1622 and the bustling book trade it was part of. To see what else was being published, visit our "Books of the 1620s" special exhibition, on view through September.

Announced in 1622: A Book Now Known as the First Folio | Folger Shakespeare Library Greg Prickman explains how advance news of the 1623 book we now call the  First Folio appeared a year earlier, in a catalog for a fair in Frankfurt, Germany.

Don’t forget to support our friends at Time’s Fool Theatre Company and see their superb production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”! 💕 Enjoy outdoor Shakespeare on the pleasant Keeney Center Lawn, 200 Main Street, Wethersfield! Three shows remain so catch it while you can!

If you loved seeing the University of Saint Joseph Dance Ensemble at our Shakespeare Festival, they will be performing at the Third Annual Hartford Dance Festival on August 24 at Elizabeth Park in Hartford. This free event will feature 25+ diverse dance companies and performers from 4-8 p.m. Be sure to bring your blanket, lawn chairs, and picnic dinner.

Our longtime friend and performer, Debra Walsh, has written a play. Please come to a free reading of "The Hanging of Rebecca…A Symphony in Spoken Word" on Friday, August 16 at 6 p.m. on the corner of Bartholomew and Park Street, as part of the Greater Hartford Arts Council "Street Scenes." Directed by Bryan Swomstedt. Assistance from Pat O’Sllivan and Alyson Danielczyk. Learn about the hysteria and the hangings in the colony of Connecticut, long before Salem was hanging witches. Be sure to bring a chair. The evening will also feature Hartford’s own BapPack.

Can you name this play?

Our longtime friend and performer, Debra Walsh, has written a play. Please come to a free reading of "The Hanging of Rebecca…A Symphony in Spoken Word" on Friday, August 16 at 6 p.m. on the corner of Bartholomew and Park Street, as part of the Greater Hartford Arts Council "Street Scenes." Learn about the hysteria and the hangings in the colony of Connecticut, long before Salem was hanging witches. Be sure to bring a chair. The evening will also feature Hartford’s BAP Pack.

Staging the Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival is a marathon race and a labor of love. 11 months of hard work paid off with a new record for attendance. And, that success would not be possible without the hard work of our dedicated board of directors, volunteers, cast, and crew, as well as our passionate foundations, sponsors, donors, advertisers, partners, and — most importantly — our fans. Thank you all for a wonderful season, and stay tuned for our plans for 2025!

And that’s a wrap! A huge thank you to all of our sponsors, donors, advertisers, supporters, volunteers, board members, the University of St. Joseph staff, caterers, and YOU, the audience!! This year’s Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival was a resounding success and we look forward to seeing you all next year!!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Anthony DeJesus, Associate Professor of Social Work and Equitable Community Practice at the University of St. Joseph, leads tonight’s pre show discussion on “The Taming of the Shrew”! ❤️

We had a furry visitor come by today by the name of “Hamlet” our final performance! Check out his ruffled collar and Yorick!

What's on deck for the Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival tonight? Find out which play is showing, additional entertainment, food vendors, times, etc. in the graphic! Tickets at the door (subject to availability) or by clicking CapitalClassics.org. See you soon!

I ain’t afraid of no ghosts! 👻

Tonight’s final performance of Hamlet may have been indoors due to rain, but that did not stop Hamlet from mingling with the audience! 😀

Another happy audience member proudly displays her Yorick signed by the cast! 💀