Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival 2013 at Boscobel
The 2013 Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, at the Hudson River estate, Boscobel in Garrison, has something for everybody; a tragic masterpiece, a comedy and some swashbuckling adventure. (They know their market.)
Each week from June 11 to September 1, HVSF will present two shows each of King Lear, All’s Well That Ends Well, and The Three Musketeers, by Ken Ludwig from the novel by Alexandre Dumas.
HVSF, a What To Do Fave Rave, easily made it to What To Do: Armonk, Bedford & Chappaqua’s area bucket list, 55 Things to Do before you die or move to Taos, in 2009. WTD is a big fan of their bawdy take on Shakespeare’s comedies but even his most difficult plays are made accessible by their economy of style, clarity and invention. Terry Teachout, of the Wall Street Journal, wrote of HVSF’s Artistic Director Terrence O’Brien, he “has a knack for handling Shakespeare’s problem plays so deftly that you come away wondering why anyone ever found them so difficult.”
As acclaimed as they are they must compete with the theatrical setting on which they play because nature is the stage at Boscobel. The theater is an outdoor tent over a dirt floor with the Hudson Highlands in the background. And the directors use the setting to great effect. Grand entrances with actors slowly rising from the hillside below are one of their signature devices. “Few directors have been blessed with a stage like that overseen by Terrence O’Brien …” wrote Ben Brantley of the New York Times.
Pack a picnic lunch, a bottle of wine, a blanket or your soccer chairs and arrive early for dinner overlooking the Hudson River before the performance. Or order from their picnic menu when you buy your tickets. They’ll even sell you a righteous Sauvignon Blanc for $20 if you don’t have one chilled at home. 6/11-9/1: Mon-Thurs: 7pm; Fri-Sat: 8/pm. (Boscobel, 1601 Rt. 9D, Garrison) www.hvshakespeare.org