Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC) will bring "Hamlet," William Shakespeare’s powerful tragedy filled with passion, wit and poetic language, free to Boston audiences this summer in twenty performances on Boston Common.

Noted actor Jeffrey Donovan will star in the title role of this production, directed by Wang Vice President for Artistic Programming and CSC Artistic Director Steven Maler.

"Hamlet" will be performed Saturday, July 16, through Sunday, August 7. Performances, free and open to the public, are Tuesday - Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. "Hamlet" is presented by The Wang Center for the Performing Arts with support from Target Stores, in association with the Boston Globe and John Hancock Financial Services.

This production is CSC’s 10th annual “Free Shakespeare on the Common” offering. New this year, performances will take place at the Parade Grounds on Boston Common (at the corner of Beacon and Charles Streets). The relocation results from the large audiences that have turned out in recent years for CSC productions at the Parkman Bandstand. Last year’s "Much Ado About Nothing" drew more than 85,000; since its inception, CSC has played to 750,000 people.

Published in 1603, "Hamlet" is considered to be the most famous English-language play ever written. Shakespeare’s brilliant tragedy is set against the backdrop of a dysfunctional family dynasty’s vicious domestic politics. A loyal son returns home for his father's funeral to discover his mother is engaged to his uncle. An apparition convinces Hamlet his father has been murdered which throws his entire world into question. The riveting story of a young man thrust into a destiny he did not choose has mesmerized audiences for four centuries with its numerous twists and turns of unrequited love, betrayal, plays-within-plays and duels to the death.

Massachusetts native Jeffrey Donovan leads the cast in the role of Hamlet. His credits span television, film and theatre, including a cameo in the current blockbuster romantic comedy "Hitch" opposite Will Smith, recurring roles on “Spin City,” “The Beat” and “The Pretender,” plus guest appearances on “CSI-Miami,” “Law & Order” and “Homicide.”

Last year, Donovan starred as Detective David Creegan in the USA Network Original Series “Touching Evil.” Broadway credits include the Roundabout Theatre's Tony Award-winning revival of "A View From The Bridge," starring Anthony LaPaglia and Allison Janney, and the Tony-winning production of "An Inspector Calls." He has also appeared Off-Broadway in the hit comedy "Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight," "The Glory Of Living" (opposite Oscar winner Anna Paquin and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman), "Troilus and Cressida," "Skyscraper," "Oedipus" and the Pulitzer Prize runner-up "Freedomland." He is currently filming "Come Early Morning," in which he co-stars with Ashley Judd.

Joining Donovan in the cast are: Will Lyman as Claudius; Karen MacDonald as Gertrude; Jonno Roberts as Laertes; Georgia Hatzis as Ophelia; Sam Weisman as Polonius; John Kooi as Rosencrantz; John Kuntz as Guildenstern & Osric; Jacqui Parker as Player Queen; Jeremiah Kissel as Ghost, Player King and Gravedigger; Jeff Gill as Priest and Voltimand; Jonah Mitropoulos as Francisco and Lucius; John Porell as Marcellus and Captain to Fortinbras; and Pedro Pascal as Horatio.

Director Steven Maler is the founding Artistic Director of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and VP of Artistic Programming at The Wang Center for the Performing Arts. He most recently directed readings in the American Voices: Drama, Dialogue, Downtown play reading series presented by The Wang Center for the Performing Arts and the Poduska Family Foundation. Prior to directing "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Macbeth" on Boston Common, he directed the critically acclaimed opera "Powder Her Face." His CSC production of "Twelfth Night" won the Elliot Norton Award for Best Production while his production of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" won the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director.

"Hamlet" will feature scenic design by Leiko Fuseya, costume design by Clint E.B. Ramos, lighting design by Linda O’Brien, sound design and original music by J Hagenbuckle and fight choreography by Craig Handel.                                         
In addition to "Hamlet," CSC will bring its production of "Romeo and Juliet" this summer to several Boston neighborhoods in its third annual Tour of the Parks program. Since 1996, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company has presented free professional productions of Shakespeare to Boston audiences during the summer months.

The Wang Center for the Performing Arts, Inc., operator of The Wang Theatre and The Shubert Theatre, as well as Wang Center Productions, Inc., is a Boston-based non-profit organization dedicated to presenting the finest performing artists and cultural attractions from around the world.

-- OnStage Boston

06/04/05

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