PORT TOWNSEND ––The bard among the bark tradition as Key City Public Theatre kicks off the Shakespeare in the Park mini-season with “The Trojan Women.”
“The Trojan Women” features an ensemble cast of women caught between slavery and marriage in this play directed by Amanda Steurer.
Staged in Chetzemoka Park, the play runs this weekend and next with shows Friday through Sunday at 6 p.m.
Admission is by suggested donation of $20-$24 or $10 for students.
“The Trojan Women” tells the story of the women of Troy awaiting uncertain futures after the conquering of their city and deaths of their husbands.
Steurer said she was motivated to bring this ancient Greek play to the Terry Tennsen’s Shakespeare in the Park stage both because of its beauty and its relevance.
“It is poetry. It is historical stories that still need to be told,” she said.
Katrina Hays, an accomplished performer and vocalist making her Key City debut in the leading role of Queen Hecuba, said she is deeply affected by the endurance of the play’s theme.
“It was written over 2,400 years ago, but it’s still happening,” she said. “Women are still being taken into slavery. Children are still being murdered.”
The leading women, chillingly referred to in the play as “brides of disaster,” are portrayed by Hays and Shakespeare in the Park favorites Emily Huntingford and Rosaletta Curry. The chorus of Trojan women includes Rosie Lambert, Ciel Pope, Lissa Staples, Lisa Wentworth and D.D. Wigley. Helen of Troy is played by Laura Eggerichs.
Ben Rezendes, Duncan Frost, Jason Noltemeier and Sam Cavallero portray the male soldiers. Eight-year-old Michael Dobbin plays Andromache’s son.
The Shakespeare season continues on weekends between Aug. 15-24, as a three-actor cast performs all 37 of the Bard’s plays in one show dubbed “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged).”
Audience members are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs for seating on the grass and to dress warmly for when the sun goes down.
Proceeds from a concession stand with hot dogs, beverages and light refreshments will go toward Key City Public Theatre’s Scholarship Fund.
Advance tickets are available from the playhouse box office at 360-385-KCPT (5278),or online at www.keycitypublictheatre.org.
