Kate gets kissed in Liberty

Local teens bring Shakespeare to life in the great outdoors

WHERE: North Main Street Summer Stage, Liberty, NY.

WHEN: Friday, August 24, Saturday, August 25; Friday, August 31 and Sunday, September 2 at 7:00 p.m.; Sunday, August 26, Sunday, September 2 and Monday, September 3 (Labor Day) at 2:00 p.m.

COST: Free; free-will donations accepted.

CONTACT: 845/292-8202.

LIBERTY, NY — For the past two summers, Oliver King’s Shakespeare in the Park productions of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and “Romeo and Juliet,” have afforded area youth an opportunity to engage in, and appreciate, Shakespearean theatre as vibrant and relevant to issues they are encountering in their own lives. They have also given local audiences the chance to appreciate renditions of a timeless playwright. This year’s production continues the fine tradition of those stunning adaptations.

The immortal bard will return to the Summer Stage on North Main Street this year in a performance of “The Taming of the Shrew,” debuting on Friday. Under King’s direction, with production support from Liberty Community Development Corporation (CDC), an enthusiastic intergenerational and multicultural cast of 12 is on track to make the play a highlight of the cultural summer season during Liberty’s Bicentennial Year. It will be presented in an abridged version of approximately 90 minutes, with most of Shakespeare’s original language intact.

The Liberty Summer Stage is located opposite the Liberty town hall. A 50/50 raffle will be held at the event.

See next week’s issue of The River Reporter for a review of the production and an extensive photo album online at riverreporter.com.