The plays are the thing for Shakespeareans

By Richard Duckett TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

It looks as if all’s well for the Worcester Shakespeare Company to perform Shakespeare outdoors at the Memorial Grove Amphitheater in Green Hill Park in Worcester this summer.

The company was founded by Mel Cobb to fill the gap left by the demise of the Redfeather Theatre Company, which had staged the Worcester Shakespeare Festival at the park from 2004 to 2009. Cobb, a veteran actor and Shakespeare specialist, was the artistic director of Redfeather when the company was dissolved last fall.

Now the Worcester Shakespeare Company will present the “Worcester Shakespeare Festival 2010” from July 21 to Aug. 22. The season will consist of two productions of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” The first will be a traditional staging of the play about the courtship of Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, and Katherina, who is headstrong and rather unwilling to be courted. There will also be a production of the play featuring an all-male cast.

Auditions for roles in both productions will be held Saturday in the Ship Room of the Hotel Vernon, 1 Kelley Square, Worcester.

In recent days the Worcester Shakespeare Company has received nonprofit status, meaning it can enjoy benefits such as being tax-exempt and eligible to receive funds that are tax-exempt. The company has also obtained permits for operating at the park. In addition to being staged at Green Hill Park, “The Taming of the Shrew” will be performed at The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, 2 Soutbridge St., Worcester, on Aug. 21 and 22, Cobb said. An invitational fundraiser preview to the summer season is being held tonight at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

“I’m absolutely pleased and absolutely terrified at the same time,” said Cobb of the pending Worcester Shakespeare Festival.

Cobb has changed the starting time of shows from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays. One of the ideas of the earlier start is to avoid having to set up and then take down lights every night, and instead perform in natural daylight.

As for the somewhat audacious idea of staging an all-male “Taming of the Shrew,” Cobb’s original intent was an even more ambitious staging of three productions of the play — one regular rendition, one all-male, and one all-female — but he couldn’t quite muster the resources to stage the latter.

People interesting in auditioning for “The Taming of the Shrew” should visit www.worcestershakespearecompany.org and respond by no later than today to info@worcestershakespearecompany.org.

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Prior to getting involved with Redfeather and the Worcester Shakespeare Festival, Cobb spent some time with Shakespeare & Company in Lenox. Meanwhile, Shakespeare & Company has endured some difficulties of its own, but now may also be looking at a brighter future.

Earlier this week it announced a restructuring of its bank debt, and the simultaneous out-of-court settlement of a lawsuit pending with a major vendor.

The theater company has restructured its debt with its principal lender, Century Bank of Medford. The arrangement includes lower interest rates resulting in a significantly reduced annual debt service obligation, the full payoff of a small, high-interest loan, and the consolidation of its remaining obligations to Century Bank into two newly structured notes, plus the 30-year mortgage on its 33-acre property.

Shakespeare & Company declared that the restructuring package provides the flexibility needed to put the company on much firmer financial footing as it moves forward.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for,” said Tony Simotes, Shakespeare & Company’s artistic director for the past 11 months. “Shakespeare & Company has found its financial footing and revitalized its relationship with Century Bank. These days, it’s not easy for anybody — this is still a period of economic anxiety for us, the entire arts community and many other sectors of the economy. But for our own part, we are on a much healthier financial path, and on good footing to continue implementing the new business plan we began introducing when I arrived a year ago.”

Interestingly, as storm clouds swirled on the financial front last summer, both the Worcester Shakespeare Festival and Shakespeare & Company saw significant increases in attendance.

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Calliope Productions of Boylston will present “Godspell” beginning at 8 tonight. The 1970 musical is based on St. Matthew’s Gospel with a captivating score (including the hit song “Day By Day”) by Stephen Schwartz.

Ray Gaspari directs, with musical direction by Bill Condon and choreography by Daisy Giunta. The cast includes John Bausch, Christopher Brousseau, Eric Darden, Kathryn Denney, Erica Dustin, Debby Greenbaum, Ariella Greenspan, Chris Harris and Heather Pruiksma. The show, at Calliope’s theater at 150 Main St., Boylston, will also be performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and June 2 and 5; and 2 p.m. Sunday and June 6. Tickets are $18; $15 students and seniors. Call (508) 869-6887 or visit www.calliopeproductions.org.