Schedule of Shakespear related events

The ‘First Folio!’ exhibition at the New Mexico Museum of Art has engendered a plethora of presentations that promise to keep Shakespeare aficionados very busy indeed. Here is your Shakespearean date book.

BOOK FIRST THAT FOLIO! GAVE THE US SHAKESPEARE Opening reception 5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5;

exhibit through Feb. 28 A free public opening of what is the first New Mexico display of a First Folio. To go, or not to go — there’s really no question. That is, unless you’d prefer to avoid the opening- night crowd and attend during regular visiting hours. The museum is usually closed on Mondays but will remain open every day through the duration of this show. Opening-night festivities include live music of Shakespeare’s time performed by Música Antigua de Albuquerque.

New Mexico Museum of Art, 107 W. Palace Ave., 505- 476-5072; entrance by museum admission STAGE, SETTING, MOOD:

THEATRICALITY IN THE VISUAL ARTS Opening reception 5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5;

exhibit through May 1 The exhibition, which complements the First

Folio! show, spotlights paintings and other visual artworks that depict performers or performances or take a particularly stagelike stance to underscore dramatic mood.

New Mexico Museum of Art; entrance by museum admission THE BOOK’S THE THING: SHAKESPEARE FROM

STAGE TO PAGE Opening reception 5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5,

exhibit through Feb. 28 As part of an exhibition it has put together about book arts and other printed materials inspired by Shakespeare, the Palace Print Shop & Bindery is producing broadsides of texts from Hamlet and facsimiles of a First Folio page using a replica Gutenberg-style hand press. The exhibition is at the Palace of the Governors, which was built a few years before the First Folio was published. Printing sessions, in which visitors may participate, are from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays throughout February.

Palace of the Governors, 105 W. Palace Ave., 505- 476-5200; entrance by museum admission

HAMLET

7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5 & Saturday, Feb. 6; 2 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 7. Final performances in a production of

Hamlet directed by David Richard Jones.

Vortex Theatre, 2900 Carlisle Blvd. N.E., Albuquerque, 505-247- 8600; $15 and $22,

reservations at www.vortexabq.org “SHAKESPEARE’S POETICS OF SCIENCE”

7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5. Tutor Natalie Elliot presents an hourlong lecture in which she considers how the rapidly evolving understanding of astronomy, anatomy, and other sciences are reflected in King

Lear, Hamlet, and other Shakespeare plays.

St. John’s College, Great Hall, 1160 Camino de Cruz Blanca, 505-984- 6000,

www.sjc.edu; no charge SHAKESPEARE TREASURE HUNT

10 a.m.- 6 p.m. daily, Saturday, Feb. 6- Feb. 28 The International Shakespeare Center has organized an adventure to encourage youngsters to befriend the Bard. They pick up a free treasure map at the New Mexico History Museum and follow clues involving quotations that, if correctly solved, will lead them to downtown merchants who will be eager to hear them declaim the relevant quotation and will present a reward in return. Participants who succeed in navigating the whole circuit will end up back at the museum, where a free poster from the Palace Press awaits them. New Mexico History Museum, 113 Lincoln Ave.,

505- 476-5200; no charge to participate

“LET’S READ SHAKESPEARE!”

6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8 Robin Williams and Kristin Bundesen offer a history of Shakespeare reading groups and lead attendees of all ages in reading the opening scene of KingLear. ( The program is repeated on Feb. 15 at the library’s Southside branch, 6599 Jaguar Drive). Santa Fe Public Library LaFarge branch, 1730 Llano St., 505-955- 4862; no charge

“HOW WOMEN TOOK SHAKESPEARE ACROSS AMERICA”

12: 15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9 Robin Williams’ lecture considers women’s involvement in American Shakespeare studies from the 17th century through the pioneer era to modern times. New Mexico Museum of Art, St. Francis

Auditorium

“THE MYSTERIES OF THE SHAKESPEARE

FIRST FOLIO”

6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10 In this hourlong lecture, Shakespeare scholar Eric Rasmussen, of the University of Nevada, recounts his i nternational adventures tracking down and documenting copies of the First Folio, some of which are tinged with eccentricity and even crime. New Mexico Museum of Art,

St. Francis Auditorium MUSIC AT THE MUSEUM: SHAKESPEARE

IN CONCERT

7 p.m. Feb. 12 Oliver Prezant conducts the Santa Fe Community Orchestra (www.sfco.org) in a concert of works inspired by Shakespeare, i ncluding Mendelssohn’s Midsummer

Night’sDreamOverture, Berlioz’s Overture to BéatriceetBénédict (an operatic version of

MuchAdoAboutNothing), Steven Paxton’s AHamletOverture, a suite from Walton’s

film music for HenryV, and a selection from

Prokofiev’s ballet RomeoandJuliet. New Mexico Museum of Art, St. Francis

Auditorium

UNSHAKEABLE

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Feb. 13 This new opera, by composer Joseph Illick and librettist Andrea Fellows Walters, commissioned by Santa Fe Opera, receives its world premiere on April 9 and 10 (see later in this calendar), but interested parties can get a preview of excerpts in a public discussion with production personnel at this event. New Mexico History Museum; no charge, but reservations must be made

through the Santa Fe Opera at 505-986-5900 or 800-280- 4654 HIGH SCHOOL/FAMILY DISCOVERY WORKSHOP

1 p.m. Feb. 13 An hourlong hands- on art workshop in which participants will consider Hamlet’s soliloquy “To be, or not to be” and create their own manga/graphic version of that text.

New Mexico Museum of Art THE TAMING OF THE

SHREW

11:15 a.m. Feb. 14 A screening of French choreographer Jean- Christophe Maillot ’ s adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy into a two-hour dance work for the Bolshoi Ballet, set to music by Dmitri Shostakovich. The Screen, Santa Fe University of Art and Design, 1600 St. Michael’s Drive, 505- 473- 6494; $20, discounts available, www.thescreensf.com

SHAKESPEARE SCENES

1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 14 The Upstart Crows of Santa Fe, a youth theater troupe, performs scenes f rom

TheWinter’sTale,Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at various locations within the New Mexico Museum of Art. Aug. 8-21, the company will be performing

Henry IV, Part 1 at the outdoor amphitheater at the Santa Fe Botanical Garden on Museum Hill.

New Mexico Museum of Art

CREATINGROMEO CLUES AND CHARACTERON JULIET:

Joanna Read, of 5 theto 8 Londonp.m. Feb. Academy16 of Music & workshop Dramatic on Art, the leads Balcony an Scene audience- fromRomeo interactive and

Juliet;tors over attendeestea and may scones. also visit with the instruc

$30, $15 Scottishfor students,Rite Center, Tickets 463 Santa Paseo Fe de at Peralta;the Lensic,

505-988-1234, www.ticketssantafe.org

SHAKESPEARE’S WHIRLED!

noon Feb. 17 The Santa Fe Shakespeare Society presents a performance of its hourlong play about stresses that surface when the Shakespeare family puts on a play in less than ideal circumstances.

New Mexico Museum of Art, St. Francis Auditorium;

THE EXPERIMENTAL HAMLET: PERFORMANCE AND

COMMUNITY SEMINAR

7:30 p.m. Feb. 17 and Feb. 20 and 1- 4 p.m. Feb. 21 Students from St. John’s College give live performances of Hamlet on Feb. 17 and Feb. 20. On Feb. 21, tutor Natalie Elliot leads a seminar to discuss both the text and the performance. (Participants choose to attend one evening performance or the other — not both.)

St. John’s College; $80, register at www.sjc.edu/programs-and- events/ DAMES OF THRONES:

WOMEN IN SHAKESPEARE’S HISTORIES

7:30 p.m. Feb. 17 The New York-based Ducdame Ensemble performs an original theater piece that introduces female characters — both exalted and not so much — from various Shakespeare plays.

Adobe Rose Theatre, 1213- B Parkway Drive (off Rufina Street), 505-780-5865; $20, $10 students, Tickets Santa Fe at the Lensic, 505-988-1234,

www.ticketssantafe.org

SONNET WORKSHOP

1:30 to 4 p.m. Feb. 18 We’re all focusing on Shakespeare’s plays just now, thanks to the visit of the First Folio, but Judith Phillips and Joanna Read, of the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art, look deeply into the Bard’s sonnets in a workshop that approaches them through breath, sound, and articulation.

New Mexico History Museum, Meem Room; $25 for participating actors, $15 students and observers, Tickets Santa Fe at the Lensic, 505-988-1234,

www.ticketssantefe.org “COLLECTING SHAKESPEARE: THE STORY OF HENRY AND EMILY FOLGER”

2 p.m. Feb. 19 Shakespeare scholars Stephen Grant and John F. Andrews (Santa Fe’s own) converse about the First Folio and the story behind the Folger Shakespeare Library. Following the discussion, Grant signs copies of his new book, Collecting

Shakespeare, which is available for purchase at

the event. New Mexico Museum of Art,

St. Francis Auditorium Rodney Cottier, SHAKESPEARE’SMASTERCLASS:FIRSThead5 to 8 of p.m. the FOLIOFeb. drama19 school of the Londonabout the AcademyGlobe of Theatre Music and & Dramaticissues Art,of stagingspeaks before interactive leading Museumlook participantsat of the Internationalopening through sceneFolk Art,anof King in-depth, Lear. observers,706 Camino TicketsLejo, Santa505- 476-1200;Fe at the $30, Lensic, $15 505-988-1234,students and

www.ticketssantafe.org MEXICO “SHAKESPEAREAND THE IN WEST”NEW

1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 20 Two lectures and a panel discussion about Shakespeare’s influence on the Southwest, with professors Heather James and Bruce Smith of the University of Southern California, Marissa Greenberg of the University of New Mexico, and local theater and film professionals who have been involved in Shakespeare productions.

New Mexico Museum of Art, St. Francis Auditorium SPEAK THE SPEECH: DIRECTORS’ CUTS

1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 21 Several l ocal directors and actors present 10-minute scenes from Shakespeare’s plays to illustrate their varying approaches to the playwright’s language.

New Mexico Museum of Art, St. Francis Auditorium

“WHY READ SHAKESPEARE “

1-3 p.m. Feb. 22 Robin Williams presents a Renesan Institute for Lifelong Learning session. She will consider how people have experienced Shakespeare as texts to read and how that practice differs from encountering his plays through stage performances. St. John’s Methodist Church, 1200 Old Pecos Trail; $15, call Renesan at 505-982-9274, register at www.ssreg.com/renesan/

AS YOU LIKE IT

7 p.m. Feb. 25 The National Theatre Live in HD series beams out Shakespeare’s As You Like It in high definition from the National Theatre in London, which is producing the play for the first time in 30 years. Polly Findlay directs and Rosalie Craig takes the role of Rosalind. Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco St.;

$22, 505-988-1234, www.ticketssantafe.org

“HAMLET, HAMLET, HAMLET”

6 p.m. Feb. 26 By the time the First Folio appeared, Hamlet had already been published in two single-play editions. In this lecture/conversation, Joshua Calhoun, of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, investigates their similarities and differences, as well as how performance tradition has mixed up the three early published takes on the melancholy Dane.

New Mexico History Museum; no charge SHAKESPEARE’S“SO LONG LIVES SONNETSTHIS …

LIVE1 to ON4 p.m. STAGE”Feb. 27 The and Rio amateur Rancho actors Publicto deliver Library dramaticinvites professionalrecitations of come Shakespeare’sprepared. sonnets — from memory, so

4800 V. LabanSue ClevelandRoad N.E., High Rio School Rancho, Auditorium,505-938- 0300

LEAR’S7 p.m. SHADOWFeb. 27 In this solo show, actor-playwright Geoff Hoyle plays various parts in King Lear — the king and his three daughters, but mostly the Fool, who, recently unemployed, tells his side of what happened. Lensic Performing Arts Center; $10-$35, 505-988-1234, www.ticketssantafe.org “PARTING IS SUCH SWEET

SORROW”

1 p.m. Feb. 28 The Santa Fe Shakespeare Society bids adieu to the visiting First Folio by presenting great farewell scenes and soliloquies from the Bard’s plays.

New Mexico Museum of Art

JULIUS CAESAR

8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays,

March 3- March 20 Duke City Repertory Theatre, a professional nonprofit theater company down Albuquerque way, presents Shakespeare’s drama of political backstabbing in an adaptation by John Hardy, who also directs. “Beware the ides of March,” warns the soothsayer; but since the ides fall on a Tuesday this year, that should not impact attendance. The Cell Theatre, 700 First St. N.W., Albuquerque, 505-797-7081; $22, discounts available,

www.dukecityrep.com

WEST SIDE STORY

7:30 p.m. Fridays & Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, March 4- March 27 (plus 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 17) The groundbreaking musical — music by Leonard Bernstein, book by Arthur Laurents, l yrics by Stephen Sondheim — transposes Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to the tough urban landscape of New York’s Upper West Side, roughly the neighborhood where Lincoln Center now stands. Albuquerque Little Theatre, 224 San Pasquale Ave. S.W., Albuquerque, 505-242- 4750; $24, www.albuquerquelittletheatre.org

UNSHAKEABLE

6 p.m. April 9 and 2 p.m. April 10 This new opera, by composer Joseph Illick and librettist Andrea Fellows Walters, involves two former Shakespearean actors — a he and a she — who have lost part of their memories due to a pandemic virus but manage to reconnect by engaging in scenes from various Shakespeare plays. Following these premiere performances of the work, Santa Fe Opera (which commissioned it) will take it on tour for performances before young audiences in 34 locations in New Mexico and Colorado. Scottish Rite Center; $10, through the Opera’s box office,

505-986-5900 or 800-280- 4654 ROBERTO DEVEREUX

11 a.m. and 6 p.m. April 16 Donizetti’s tragic opera isn’t strictly Shakespearean, but it does focus on the monarch who ruled over England during most of Shakespeare’s life. The opera elaborates on a historical incident: Elizabeth’s presumed infatuation with and subsequent beheading of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, an incident that occurred in 1601— the precise midpoint of Shakespeare’s career. Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky and tenor Matthew Polenzani sing the leads in these screenings from The Met: Live in HD. Lensic Performing Arts Center; $22-$28, 505-988-1234,

www.ticketssantafe.org

IMMORTAL LONGINGS

7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, April 29- May 22 “An Argument Erupts Among Shakespeare’s Greatest Women” is the subtitle of this theater piece, in which original text by Joseph McGrath binds together Shakespearean scenes that spotlight such memorable characters as Juliet, Cleopatra, Kate, and Lady Macbeth, all interacting with one another. Watch also for an upcoming announcement of the “Shakespeare on the Plaza” productions, which normally take place in June as a joint endeavor of the Vortex Theatre and the City of Albuquerque. Vortex Theatre, Albuquerque; $22, $15 students,

reservations at www.vortexabq.org

OPERATIC EXCERPTS

5:30 p.m. May 29 Among the selections in the New Mexico Performing Arts Society’s program of operatic excerpts is a scene from Verdi’s Falstaff, the plot of which is derived from Shakespeare’s TheMerry

WivesofWindsor and Henry IV. Franz Vote conducts. By way of preparation, Vote is joined by Robert Glick for a session at the Renesan Institute for Lifelong Learning titled “The Language of Opera,” on April 11 from 3:15 to 5:15 p.m.; registration for the class ($15), at St. John’s United Methodist Church, 1200 Old Pecos Trail, can be secured through www.ssreg.com/renesan/ or by calling 505-982-9274.

Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel, 50 Mount Carmel Road; $15-$25, 505- 886-1251,

www.nmperformingartssociety.org

ROMéO ET JULIETTE

8:30 p.m. July 16; performances continuing 8:30 p.m.

July 20 and 29, 8 p.m. Aug. 4, 9, 16, and 25 It ’s not too early to take note of Santa Fe Opera’s upcoming production of Gounod’s operatic setting of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy of “two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona.” Soprano Ailyn Pérez and tenor Stephen Costello portray the star- crossed lovers, and the company’s music director, Harry Bicket, presides at the podium. Santa Fe Opera, 7 miles north of Santa Fe on US 84/285; prices start at $37; 505-986-5900, 800-280- 4654,

www.santafeopera.org

Schedules sometimes change. The International Shakespeare Center will be providing up-to- date information at www.internationalshakespeare.center. All Folio-related events held in St. Francis Auditorium are

free with admission to the New Mexico Museum of Art.