GVSU to host largest and oldest Shakespeare Festival

The Bard lives again at Grand Valley State University, host of Michigan’s oldest and largest Shakespeare Festival. The 22nd annual Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival offers multiple events beginning October 2 and concluding November 7. Operated annually since 1993, more than 6,000 patrons attend Grand Valley’s Shakespeare Festival activities each season. All events will take place on the Allendale Campus.

“All’s Well That Ends Well”
October 2, 8, 9, 10, at 7:30 p.m.
October 3, 4, 11, at 2 p.m.
Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center
*Opening night reception to follow October 2 performance
Helena, one of Shakespeare’s most remarkable heroines, performs miracles and undertakes a perilous journey to win the love of nobleman Bertram. But, Bertram has a lot to learn about women, love and what it means to be a man. Set against the rising counterculture of the 1960s, “All’s Well That Ends Well” spins its fairytale plot of a lowborn woman who achieves greatness through her courage and imagination. Those who come in a 60s-themed costume for the October 8 performance will receive a half-off coupon for a future production and entry into a costume contest.

“My Sighs Stream: Comedy and Empowerment in ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’”
Presented by Grant Mudge, Guest Scholar-in-Residence
Friday, October 2, at 4 p.m.
Pere Marquette Room, Kirkhof Center
*A reception will precede this presentation at 3 p.m.
Grant Mudge is in his third year as artistic director for the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival after having served as the founding artistic director for the Richmond Shakespeare Festival in Virginia for more than 15 years. Mudge is a member of Notre Dame’s film, television and theatre faculty and also serves on the Executive Committee of the Shakespeare Theatre Association.

Renaissance Faire and Greenshow
October 3 and 4, from 10 a.m.-dusk
Cook Carillon Tower
All ages are welcome to enjoy bagpipers, sword-fighting demonstrations, face painting, dancing, crafts and much more at this year’s Renaissance Faire. A free traveling festival Greenshow, “Jack Juggler,” will also be performed at various times both days. “Jack Juggler,” a lively comedy of deception, identity and misunderstandings, will also perform outside the Performing Arts Center Thursday, October 8, at 4:30 p.m.

Bard To Go presents “Witty Fools and Foolish Wits”
Friday, October 9, at 2 p.m. (preview show), Mary Idema Pew Library
Saturday, November 7, at 1 p.m. (public performance), Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center
Through the eyes of the Bard’s fool characters, audiences will journey through the scenes from Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” “As You Like It,” “The Tempest,” “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” and “King Lear” during “Witty Fools and Foolish Wits.” Shakespeare’s fools and clowns are more than just comedians, but rather they often turn out to be the wisest of his characters, speaking the truth with wit and humor. This event will also feature the awards ceremony for the annual Shakespeare Festival Student Competition.

For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/shakes or call (616) 331-2300.