Shakespeare comes to Wright Park
Enjoy a classic comedy with a contemporary twist
Metro Parks will for the first time this summer host an outdoor production of a William Shakespeare play.
“As You Like It,” one of the bard’s most popular comedies, comes to Wright Park on Friday, July 31. The free, two-hour show starts at 7 p.m. and will be staged on north end of the 27-acre park, in a spot south of Division Avenue about midway between South I and South G streets.
The lively love story arrives in Tacoma courtesy of Seattle Shakespeare Co.’s Wooden O productions, a traveling troupe that specializes in open-air shows. The last time Wooden O came to Pierce County was in 2009 for a show in Bonney Lake’s Allan Yorke City Park. The production takes place thanks to the support of a Tacoma arts patron, who prefers anonymity, and who is among a number of South Sound Shakespeare enthusiasts eager to showcase a Wooden O production here.
To make it happen, advocates reached out to Metro Parks Commissioner Erik Hanberg, who several years ago tried to start his own Tacoma theater. Hanberg plans to welcome the audience to “As You Like It” before the Wright Park show starts. “I’ve been a theater guy since high school,” he said. His acquaintance with “As You Like It” dates back to a bit part he had in a show when he was a student at Bellarmine Preparatory School.
“Putting it on in Wright Park is great because a large part of the show is set in forest. Having people watch it in an outdoor venue is very exciting,” Hanberg said.
Jeff Fickes, Seattle Shakespeare Co.’s communications director, said the action takes place primarily on the ground, without a stage. The 17 actors who also serve as the set-up crew generally arrive at each show location about 1 ½ hours in advance of the event; they unload a cargo van carrying all the props and set pieces.
If you’re planning to go and would like to get close to the action, bring a blanket to sit on the ground. Alternatively, low-rise, collapsible beach chairs work well, Fickes said. If you’d prefer a higher seat, the company recommends sitting in the back of the crowd.
It’s hard to say how many will turn out for the Friday evening production, but the Seattle company is hoping for 200. Hanberg, for one, is enthusiastic about this chance to “make Shakespeare accessible to people who might not be able to afford to go to the theater.”
Regardless of Shakespeare’s celebrated status, his work sometimes confounds. Perhaps with that in mind, the Seattle Shakespeare Co. director has given this version a contemporary twist. For example, Fickes said, it features a 6-piece Bluegrass band. And the forest, where passions flare, is as lively as a country fair.
The show also takes Shakespearean gender-bending shenanigans to a new level by casting women in two pivotal roles. Instead of dueling dukes whose dispute sparks the action central to the play, this Wooden O production features a pair of duchesses, one of whom flees to the forest to find herself. And becomes a singer in the band.
“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Fickes said. If all goes well, the Wright Park production could be the first of many. “Our hope is that we would be in the South Sound year after year.”
Metro Parks Commissioner Hanberg agrees: “I would love to see it continue here.”
What: “As You Like It,” a production of Seattle Shakespeare Co.’s Wooden O productions
When: 7 p.m. Friday, July 31
Where: Wright Park, 501 S. I St. Look for the event near South I and South 4th streets, directly to the left (north) of the restrooms.
Cost: Free
Shakespeare in Bloom
Can’t get enough Shakespeare? Check out the W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory’s Shakespeare in Bloom program, running now through Aug. 3, and learn about some of his plant loves. See the conservatory’s Exotics & Exhibits page for more details.