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Hamlet and As You Like It

By The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2011
Contact: Rebecca Gissel
Marketing Assistant
[email protected]
215-496-9722 ext: 105
 
Actress Mary Tuomanen to Play Hamlet and Rosalind at
The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre in
Hamlet and As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Directed by Carmen Khan
 
PHILADELPHIA, PA – From March 18 to May 15, The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre presents Hamlet and As You Like It at its intimate 122-seat theatre at 2111 Sansom Street in Philadelphia. 
Philadelphia’s own Mary Tuomanen plays both Rosalind in Shakespeare’s sunniest comedy, As You Like It and, in the role of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s great existential tragedy. 
The plays run in repertory Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm with a special 1pm Saturday matinee of As You Like It on May 7. Tickets are $25 Wed and Thurs, $35 weekends, and $20 previews. Student, senior, and group discounts are available. Tickets may be purchased online at www.phillyshakespeare.org or by calling 215-496-8001. Tickets may also be purchased at the door. Group organizers are encouraged to call the box office for pricing and availability. Season subscriptions are on sale.
Mary Tuomanen, who recently played Puck in The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is the first female in Philadelphia to play the role of Hamlet on a professional stage since Charlotte Cushman in 1861, marking a 150-year milestone.
Great actresses throughout history have been attracted to the role of Hamlet both for the androgynous quality of the title character and the timeless story. Hamlet is Shakespeare’s finest work and arguably the greatest play ever written in the English language. It is the great existential tragedy: Hamlet is bound inexorably to his fierce quest to find the truth at all costs. By juxtaposing a woman in a male role, The Theatre seeks to illuminate many facets of Hamlet’s character that would not otherwise be exposed. 
 
Artistic / Executive Director Carmen Khan describes her decision to cast a woman:
“We auditioned many men for the role before the decision to cast Mary. She had been cast as Rosalind in As You Like It, and it was during the audition process that I was struck by how Mary was able to seamlessly disappear as Rosalind and become Ganymede. It was truly fascinating to watch. She was the Hamlet I was looking for. Her luminous beauty, deep intelligence, and sense of fun and discovery were the qualities that shone through, as well as the androgyny I was looking for, which made her neither man nor woman, but human.”
“We have chosen to cast a woman to depict the man, Hamlet. Changing the gender of the character, making Hamlet, Princess Hamlet, forces too many convoluted ideas on the play. We have chosen to cast a woman to depict the man, rather than change Hamlet’s gender, because we want to explore the universality of Hamlet without drastically changing the relationships in the play.  Casting a woman gives us this unique opportunity”
Hamlet, as all great art, is a pathway into the unconscious world, that mysterious and irreducible part of us that is revealed through dreams, archetypes, and myths.
Khan and Set Designer David Gordon’s physical production has been inspired by the magical realism of artist Juan Gonzalez and the mystical music of Ärvo Part. This production has a contemporary feel but with a connection to other times and places. They achieve this by creating images through sound, movement, and color. By using water, a large white empty birdcage, and a portal, Khan and Gordon tap into what Carl Jung described as, the collective unconscious.
As You Like It is a play about metamorphosis. A young woman, Rosalind, flees from her uncle’s villainy, transforming herself into the boy, Ganymede, and seeks refuge in the Forest of Arden.
Inspiration for the physical production of As You Like It came from stories like The Chronicles of Narnia, Through the Looking Glass, and Coraline, where a door is opened into another world. In As You Like It, the forest of Arden is a place of transformation. The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre’s Arden is a whimsical playground, where objects, clothes, sound, light and color are transformed from what they are in the court. Doll’s clothes in a small toy box become the clothes worn in the forest. A small toy rocking horse becomes full-sized and interactive. A child’s wind up music box with a tinkling sound in the court becomes the ubiquitous music of the forest. The toys and whimsy of the forest allow the characters, especially Rosalind, to become bolder, truer, and more expansive.
Members of the press are invited to attend the press performance of Hamlet on March 23, 2011 and the press performance of As You Like It on April 13, 2011.
Please contact Rebecca Gissel, Marketing Assistant for ticket arrangements at 215-496-9722 ext. 105.
What: Hamlet and As You Like It
         By William Shakespeare
         Directed by Carmen Khan
         Featuring Mary Tuomanen as Hamlet and Rosalind
Summary: Artistic / Executive Director Carmen Khan explores universal themes of two classic masterpieces. Aligning her vision with Set Designer David Gordon to produce a dreamscape of magical realism for Hamlet, and a Through the Looking Glass whimsy for As You Like It. Philadelphia actress Mary Tuomanen is the first female in Philadelphia to play the role of Hamlet on a professional stage since Charlotte Cushman in 1861, marking a 150-year milestone. Tuomanen also plays the lead role of Rosalind in As You Like It.
Where:          The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre
                  2111 Sansom St.
                  Philadelphia, PA 19103
 
When: Hamlet: March 18 – May 14, Wed – Sat at 7pm, Sun at 2pm
As You Like It: April 7 – May 15, Wed – Sat at 7pm, Sun at 2pm
                    with a special 1pm Saturday matinee May 7
Tickets: Tickets are $25 Wed and Thurs, $35 weekends, and $20 previews. Student, senior, and group discounts are available. Tickets may be purchased online at www.phillyshakespeare.org or by calling 215-496-8001.  Tickets may also be purchased at the door.  Group organizers are encouraged to call the box office for pricing and availability. Season subscriptions are on sale.
THE PHILADELPHIA SHAKESPEARE THEATRE PRESENTS
Hamlet and As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Directed by Carmen Khan
Sets Designed by David Gordon
Lights Designed by Jerry Forsyth
Costumes Designed by Vickie Esposito
Music Composed by Fabian Obispo
Cast (actors used for both productions – in alphabetical order)
                                             Hamlet                  As You Like It
Ames Adamson*                           Claudius                  Jaques/Duke Frederick
(Resident of Philadelphia, PA 19144)
Victoria Rose Bonito                           Ophelia                  Celia
(Resident of Downingtown, PA 19335)
Sean Bradley                                    Player                           Oliver
(Resident of Philadelphia, PA 19148)
Dan Higbee                                    Rosencrantz                  Charles the Wrestler/
(Resident of Philadelphia, PA 19146)                           William/Oliver Martext
Terry Gleeson                                    Player King                  Old Adam
(Resident of Wenovah, NJ 08090)        
Jason Greenfield*                           Laertes                  Orlando
(Resident of Villanova, PA 19085)
Amanda Grove                           Gertrude                  Audrey        
(Resident of Philadelphia, PA 19123)
John Jarboe                                    Horatio                  Amiens
(Resident of Philadelphia, PA 19139)
John Little*                                    Polonius                  Duke Senior/Corin
(Resident of Philadelphia, PA 10034)
Kate Raines                                    Player                           Phoebe
(Resident of Philadelphia, PA 19104)
Johnny Smith                                    Guildenstern                  Touchstone
(Resident of Philadelphia, PA 19127)
Mary Tuomanen                           Hamlet                  Rosalind
(Resident of Philadelphia, PA 19143)
Eric Wunsch                                    Player                           Le Beau
(Resident of Philadelphia, PA 19146)
Jarrod Yuskauskus                           Osric/player                  Silvius
(Resident of Nesquehoning, Pa 18240)
*Member of the Actors’ Equity Association
About The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre
Since 1996,The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre has produced over 30 Shakespeare productions through fresh, muscular, and vivid interpretations that have at their center the actor and the playwright. The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre is one of the foremost proponents of text-based theatre.
Along with annual productions of works written by William Shakespeare, The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre’s decade long Open Door Project offers the highest quality Shakespeare programming to high school and middle school students including; student matinees, Artist-in-Residence, and professional touring productions. We have served over 40,000 students in the Delaware Valley. We also offer audience enrichment programs including, seminars, reading groups and symposia.