Download FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Christina A. Patramanis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact
Christina A. Patramanis
Marketing Director, Riverside Theatre
213 N. Gilbert St, Iowa City
Phone (319) 887-1360
[email protected]
www.riversidetheatre.org
RIVERSIDE THEATRE IN THE PARK CHANGES VENUES TO IOWA CITY’S WEST HIGH AUDITORIUM
DUE TO CITY PARK FLOODING. SHOW DATES AND TIMES REMAIN THE SAME, JUNE 14 – JULY 7,
2013. SUMMER PLAYS ARE SHAKESPEARE’S DRAMA “HAMLET” AND SHERIDAN’S 18TH CENTURY
COMEDY, “THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL”. INFORMATION AND TICKETS AT 319-338-7672 OR
RIVERSIDETHEATRE.ORG
June 6, 2013 – Iowa City, Iowa – The shows will go on! Due to City Park flooding, Riverside Theatre
in the Park is moving indoors for its 14th summer season to West High Auditorium. Dates and times
remain the same, June 14 - July 7, 2013. This summer’s plays are William Shakespeare’s much
loved drama HAMLET, directed by Kristin Horton, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 18th century
comedy about English aristocracy, THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL, directed by Theodore Swetz. For
tickets and information, call 319-338-7672 or visit www.riversidetheatre.org. West High School is
located at 2901 Melrose Ave, Iowa City, Iowa.
About West High Auditorium
West High Auditorium is an air-conditioned indoor theatre with excellent acoustics. Located at
2901 Melrose Ave, Iowa City, there is easy access to the building and plenty of parking.
Bring your own picnic and enjoy the Green Show on the lawn near the auditorium one hour before
each performance. Riverside Theatre will be selling limited concessions. The Green Show is a short
performance that provides a humorous overview of the evening’s main production.
About Riverside Theatre in the Park
Riverside Theatre has a regular spring-fall season on Gilbert Street in Iowa City, but each summer
two classic shows are presented in June and July. This is the 14th season of summer classics.
Originally the summer season was called Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival, but the name
change in 2011 to Riverside Theatre in the Park (abbreviated RTP) reflects the varied offerings,
now not exclusively Shakespeare, though one Shakespeare piece has been produced each year.
Actors and crew are made up of local and national professional actors and production team
members, plus an apprentice company, who make Iowa City their home during the RTP rehearsal
and performance period.
HAMLET
Shakespeare’s stage play, HAMLET, written between 1599 and 1601, remains today one of the most
popular of his great works. Mystery, family, politics and love are explosively combined in the play,
erupting into a wild, unforgettable climax.
Christopher Peltier returns to Riverside Theatre in the Park to play the title role of Hamlet. In past
seasons he performed in the TWO GENTLEMAN OF VERONA and played Richard in AH
WILDERNESS! Eliza Stoughton plays Hamlet’s love interest, Ophelia.
Kristin Horton returns to RTP from New York to direct this production. Ms. Horton holds an MFA
from the University of Iowa and teaches at New York University.
The production design team for HAMLET is: lighting designer David Thayer, scenic designer Shelly
Ford, costume designer, Lindsay Davis and sound designer, Brianna Atwood.
THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
Written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL was first performed in London
in 1777 to rave reviews. THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL is a comedy of manners, a witty form of
dramatic comedy that often satirizes manners, affectations and social customs of a contemporary
society. Brinsley’s play, true to the form, contains many humorous subplots about both love and
money.
Director Theodore Swetz says of the play, “Sheridan’s writing is a response to the Restoration Age
where, in absolutely all plays written, the biggest bastard always wins the day. However, with
Sheridan the tables are turned; his plays reveal a world where true love and goodness is celebrated
while vice and hypocrisy go down in defeat.”
Mr. Swetz returns to Riverside Theatre in the Park. Past RTP directing credits include Love
Labuour’s Lost, Ah Wilderness! and As You Like It. Mr. Swetz currently serves as head of acting at the
University of Missouri-KC, MFA program. Returning RTP actors include Tim Budd as character
Peter Teazle, Jim Van Valen as Joseph Surface, and John William Watkins as Crabtree.
The SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL production design team is: lighting designer David Thayer, scenic
designer Shelly Ford and costume designer, Lauren Roark. Music was composed by Matthew
Janszen.
Costumes
Both plays this year will have costumes created in styles true to those of the story’s respective
period, HAMLET in Elizabethan style, and THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL in 18th century London
fashion.
Lauren Roark, costume designer for THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL, joins RTP from University of
Missouri-Kansas City. Both of the men’s and women’s costumes and wigs for this comedy are large
and elaborate, with the greatest attention to detail in each stitch.
Lindsay W. Davis is designing HAMLET. This is his fourth season with Riverside Theatre in the
Park, and his rich costume experience brings incredible designs to the stage. Mr. Davis is a Harvard
graduate and is currently a tenured faculty member at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Among his many accomplishments, he has designed costumes for 14 Academy Award winners and
designed the original production of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical The Mystery of Edwin
Drood.
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PERFORMANCE CALENDAR FOR RIVERSIDE THEATRE IN THE PARK
June 14- July 7, 2013
West High Auditorium, Iowa City
HAMLET by William Shakespeare
Directed by Kristin Horton
SHOW DATES & TIMES
Friday, June 14 8:00PM
Saturday, June 15, 8:00PM
Sunday, June 16, 7:00PM
Tuesday, June 25, 7:00PM
Wednesday, June 26, 8:00PM
Friday, June 28, 8:00PM
Sunday, June 30, 7:00PM
Wednesday, July 3, 8:00PM
Saturday, July 6, 8:00PM
THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Directed by Theodore Swetz
SHOW DATES & TIMES
Friday, June 21, 8:00PM
Saturday, June 22, 8:00PM
Sunday, June 23, 7:00PM
Thursday, June 27, 8:00PM
Saturday, June 29, 8:00PM
Tuesday, July 2, 7:00PM
Friday, July 5, 7:00PM
Sunday, July 7, 7:00PM