This Summer, Smith Street Stage Brings Shakespeare's Henry IV To Carroll Park

oo

This summer, Smith Street Stage, the wonderful Brooklyn-based theater company that has been bringing Shakespeare to Carroll Park since 2010, will be performing Henry IV Part 1 and 2 this summer. And as in years past, the performances will be absolutely free. All you have to do is to show up and bring your own chair.

This thoroughly modern production of "Henry IV" will be directed by Joby Earle. The cast includes Michael Hanson, Beth Ann Hopkins, Jonathan Hopkins, Jane May, Jonathan Minton, Lauren Pennline, Sam Reiff-Pasarew and Hannah Sloat.

From director Joby Earle:
"One of the things that most strikes me reading Shakespeare’s two part Henry IV is the distinct impression that one generation is on its way in, as another is on its way out. Everywhere I identify a country in transition, sometimes subtly and sometimes abruptly, but always the ground underfoot is shifting in a way that, for a multitude of reasons, reminds me of our current times. What is harder to identify, in the play and in our lives, is how these changes take root in a people’s thinking, acting and relating to one another. Usually in times of great transformation, we instinctively fight to keep our self, our values, and our ideals fixed, unbroken by the chaos of world events. The play examines the inevitability of change, and our deeply revealing struggle to try to hold firm or adapt.
The two parts of Henry IV deal with the sequence of such a transition in very different ways, and both seemed essential in wrestling with the questions of what’s gained and what’s lost. As such, Smith Street Stage will produce both parts, in repertory, on alternate evenings, with select nights featuring both plays back to back."

Here is the schedule of planned performances:

Preview Part 1 - June 30, 8pm: Part One
Preview Part 2 - July 1, 8pm: Part Two

OPENING NIGHT! July 2, 6:30pm: Part One; 8pm: Part Two
July 8, 8pm: Part One
July 9, 8pm: Part Two
July 10, 8pm: Part One
July 11, 6:30pm: Part One; 8pm: Part Two
July 12, 6:30pm: Part One; 8pm: Part Two
July 15, 8pm: Part Two
July 16, 8pm: Part One
July 17, 8pm: Part Two
July 18, 6:30pm: Part One; 8pm: Part Two
July 19: 6:30pm: Part One; 8pm: Part Two

Keep up with Smith Street stage here, and on Facebook here.