Valley Shakespeare Festival celebrated its second season of Free Shakespeare in the Park with three performances of the Bard’s comedy “Much Ado About Nothing” on the evenings of July 10, 11 and 12 at Shelton’s Riverwalk-Veterans Memorial Park.
The weather cooperated with beautiful, sunny days fading into moonlit, mild nights as the company took to the newly-constructed stage to entertain the assembled audiences with Shakespeare’s tale of the battle of the sexes.
The 2014 cast featured Valley Shakespeare Festival veterans and newcomers from around the state and as far away as New York City and Ohio, who brought with them credits which included film, television and Broadway.
The three performances attracted over 600 audience members, a 30 percent increase over last year’s totals.
They came early, from all over Connecticut and as far away as New York City, Syracuse, Long Island and New Jersey, bringing picnic dinners from home or purchased from local eateries.
Children played in the park by the Housatonic River while families relaxed until the lights came on and the players took the stage to perform the play some have described as an Elizabethan Rom-Com. They laughed, sighed, shuddered and applauded as Beatrice, Benedick, Hero and Claudio stumbled through their journeys to a very happy ending.
The summer production is the culmination of Valley Shakespeare Festival’s season, the jewel in the crown, for which they prepare all year long. The proceeds from all of their many events throughout the course of the season are used to finance the production, along with a generous grant from the Valley Community Foundation and donations from audiences at the performances.
The cast, crew and staff of Valley Shakespeare Festival send their sincere gratitude to all the individuals, businesses, press and officials who have extended their support to VSF, especially the Valley Community Foundation, Twisted Vine Restaurant, Verace Pizzeria, Market and Italian Eatery, Amici’s Restaurant, Spence Sound & Stage and the City of Shelton.
You can keep abreast of Valley Shakespeare Festival’s activities and upcoming events by visiting their website at www.vsfestival.org, their Facebook page and by following them on Twitter.
Valley Shakespeare Festival is a non-profit organization, fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas, dedicated to bringing free Shakespeare to the communities of the lower Naugatuck Valley.”
