Production history of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival
Production history of plays performed by the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, as of May 2020. The sections are sorted by venue. The festival has utilized a single venue each season, starting with the plaza outside the One Capital Center, and eventually facilitating the construction of its own theatre known as the Idaho Shakespeare Festival Amphitheater and Reserve.
One Capital Center (1977-1980)
In 1976, founder Doug Copsey noted a green-space in downtown Boise, Idaho that could function as an outdoor performance area. The first performance of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival premiered in the summer of 1977 in the plaza outside the One Capital Center. The festival presented its first seasons in partnership with the Main Street Bistro, later known as Ray's Oasis.[1]
In the first years of the Festival, the only plays produced were works of William Shakespeare.
| Year | Play |
|---|---|
| 1977 | A Midsummer Night's Dream |
| 1978 | The Two Gentlemen of Verona |
| 1979 | The Merry Wives of Windsor |
| Romeo and Juliet | |
| 1980 | The Comedy of Errors |
| The Taming of the Shrew | |
| The Merchant of Venice |
The Plantation (1981-1983)
In the spring of 1981, Ray's Oasis announced they would be vacating the One Capital Center building and the festival would need to find a new outdoor performance venue. They were given permission to use a plot of land on the Plantation Golf Club. After they drained a pond located on the site, a part of the land-use arrangement, they were able to set up a new outdoor performance area.[1]
In the final year at this venue, the Festival produced their first work from an author other than Shakespeare.
| Year | Play | Playwright |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | The Tempest | William Shakespeare |
| Much Ado About Nothing | William Shakespeare | |
| As You Like It | William Shakespeare | |
| 1982 | Hamlet | William Shakespeare |
| Twelfth Night | William Shakespeare | |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | William Shakespeare | |
| 1983 | Henry IV, Part One | William Shakespeare |
| Love's Labor's Lost | William Shakespeare | |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | William Shakespeare | |
| The Curate Shakespeare As You Like It | William Shakespeare |
ParkCenter (1984-1997)
After the festival lost the lease at The Plantation, it moved to a park in Boise: ParkCenter.[1] The Festival remained here until 1997 until the construction of its own outdoor theatre space.
The 1980s
| Year | Play | Playwright |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | King Lear | William Shakespeare |
| The Taming of the Shrew | William Shakespeare | |
| Robin Hood | Don Nigro | |
| The World of Shakespeare | ||
| Billy Bishop Goes to War | John Gray | |
| Sister Mary Ignatius | Christopher Durang | |
| Crimes of the Heart | Beth Henley | |
| 1985 | Richard III | William Shakespeare |
| The Two Gentlemen of Verona | William Shakespeare | |
| The Winter's Tale | William Shakespeare | |
| Waiting for Godot | Samuel Beckett | |
| Robin Hood | Don Nigro | |
| 1986 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | William Shakespeare |
| Othello | William Shakespeare | |
| All's Well that Ends Well | William Shakespeare | |
| Pendragon | Don Nigro | |
| 1987 | Romeo and Juliet | William Shakespeare |
| The Comedy of Errors | William Shakespeare | |
| Pericles | William Shakespeare | |
| The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Mark Rosenwinkel | |
| Mark Twain, Hisownself | Cynthia Gaede (adapter)
Dan Peterson (adapter) | |
| 1988 | As You Like It | William Shakespeare |
| Measure for Measure | William Shakespeare | |
| Titus Andronicus | William Shakespeare | |
| Quilters | Molly Newman
Barbara Damashek | |
| What the Butler Saw | Joe Orton | |
| Macbeth | William Shakespeare | |
| 1989 | Much Ado About Nothing | William Shakespeare |
| Troilus and Cressida | William Shakespeare | |
| Richard II | William Shakespeare | |
| Waiting for the Parade | John Murrell | |
| A Touch of the Poet | Eugene O'Neill |
The 1990s
| Year | Play | Playwright |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Merry Wives of Windsor | William Shakespeare |
| The Merchant of Venice | William Shakespeare | |
| Henry VIII | William Shakespeare | |
| A Woman of Means | R.N. Sandberg | |
| The Skin of Our Teeth | Thornton Wilder | |
| 1991 | The Tempest | William Shakespeare |
| Twelfth Night | William Shakespeare | |
| Macbeth | William Shakespeare | |
| A Woman of Means | R. N. Sandberg | |
| The Crucible | Arthur Miller | |
| 1992 | Romeo and Juliet | William Shakespeare |
| The Taming of the Shrew | William Shakespeare | |
| Richard III | William Shakespeare | |
| Scapino | Frank Dunlop | |
| 1993 | Quilters | Molly Newman
Barbara Damashek |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | William Shakespeare | |
| Tartuffe | Molière | |
| The Comedy of Errors | William Shakespeare | |
| A Christmas Carol | Charles Dickens
Richard Hellesen (adapter) David de Berry (adapter) | |
| 1994 | Dancing at Lughnasa | Brian Friel |
| Much Ado About Nothing | William Shakespeare | |
| Julius Caesar | William Shakespeare | |
| As You Like It | William Shakespeare | |
| A Christmas Carol | Charles Dickens
Richard Hellesen (adapter) David de Berry (adapter) | |
| 1995 | The Two Gentlemen of Verona | William Shakespeare |
| Love's Labor's Lost | William Shakespeare | |
| Henry IV, Part One | William Shakespeare | |
| Henry IV, Part Two | William Shakespeare | |
| 1996 | The Complete Works of | Adam Long |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | William Shakespeare | |
| The Tempest | William Shakespeare | |
| Twelfth Night | William Shakespeare | |
| 1997 | Private Lives | Noël Coward |
| The Merchant of Venice | William Shakespeare | |
| The Taming of the Shrew | William Shakespeare | |
| Macbeth | William Shakespeare |
Idaho Shakespeare Festival Amphitheater (1998-Present)
In 1997, the Festival broke ground on their current home: The Idaho Shakespeare Festival Amphitheater and Reserve.[1] Due to an agreement with the Idaho Foundation for Parks & Lands and the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation, the theatre exists in a habitat reserve along the Boise River.[3]
The Late 1990s
| Year | Play | Playwright |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | William Shakespeare |
| Romeo and Juliet | William Shakespeare | |
| Cymbeline | William Shakespeare | |
| 1999 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | William Shakespeare |
| Scapin | Molière
Shelley Berc Andrei Belgrader | |
| The Winter's Tale | William Shakespeare | |
| Titus Andronicus | William Shakespeare | |
| The Complete Works of
William Shakespeare (Abridged) |
Adam Long
Daniel Singer Jess Winfield |
The 2000s
| Year | Play | Playwright |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Complete Works of
William Shakespeare (Abridged) |
Adam Long
Daniel Singer Jess Winfield |
| The Three Musketeers | Alexander Dumas
Linda Alper (adapter) Douglas Langworthy (adapter) Penny Metropulos (adapter) | |
| The Two Gentlemen of Verona | William Shakespeare | |
| Othello | William Shakespeare | |
| Pump Boys and Dinettes | John Foley, Mark Hardwick
Debra Monk, Cass Morgan John Schimmel, Jim Wann | |
| 2001 | The Two Gentlemen of Verona | William Shakespeare |
| Amadeus | Peter Shaffer | |
| Much Ado About Nothing | William Shakespeare | |
| Hamlet | William Shakespeare | |
| Forever Plaid | Stuart Ross
James Raitt | |
| The Complete Works of
William Shakespeare (Abridged) |
Adam Long
Daniel Singer Jess Winfield | |
| 2002 | Much Ado About Nothing | William Shakespeare |
| Arms and The Man | George Bernard Shaw | |
| Twelfth Night | William Shakespeare | |
| Macbeth | William Shakespeare | |
| You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown | Clark Gesner | |
| 2003 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Oscar Wilde |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | William Shakespeare | |
| The Comedy of Errors | William Shakespeare | |
| Henry V | William Shakespeare | |
| The Fantasticks | Tom Jones | |
| 2004 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Oscar Wilde |
| As You Like It | William Shakespeare | |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | William Shakespeare | |
| Julius Caesar | William Shakespeare | |
| I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change | Joe DiPietro | |
| 2005 | The Taming of the Shrew | William Shakespeare |
| She Stoops to Conquer | Oliver Goldsmith | |
| A Funny Thing Happened | Bert Shevelove & Larry Gelbart | |
| King Lear | William Shakespeare | |
| The Complete Works of
William Shakespeare (Abridged) |
Adam Long
Daniel Singer Jess Winfield | |
| I Am My Own Wife | Doug Wright | |
| 2006 | A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum |
Bert Shevelove & Larry Gelbart
Stephen Sondheim |
| Love's Labor's Lost | William Shakespeare | |
| Major Barbara | George Bernard Shaw | |
| Romeo and Juliet | William Shakespeare | |
| The Spitfire Grill | James Valcq | |
| 2007 | Hay Fever | Noël Coward |
| The Tempest | William Shakespeare | |
| Arsenic and Old Lace | Joseph Kesselring | |
| Measure for Measure | William Shakespeare | |
| Little Shop of Horrors | Howard Ashman | |
| 2008 | All's Well that Ends Well | William Shakespeare |
| The Crucible | Arthur Miller | |
| Into the Woods | James Lapine
Stephen Sondheim | |
| Macbeth | William Shakespeare | |
| Greater Tuna | Jaston Williams
Joe Sears Ed Howard | |
| 2009 | The Comedy of Errors | William Shakespeare |
| The Seagull | Anton Chekhov | |
| The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Rupert Holmes | |
| Twelfth Night | William Shakespeare | |
| A Tuna Christmas | Jaston Williams
Joe Sears Ed Howard |
The 2010s
This decade saw changes in leadership that brought new customs to the season construction. The "season musical", which had previously been performed in the fall, is now produced for the duration of the season. In addition, a slot has been specifically allotted to a murder mystery.[1]
| Year | Play | Playwright | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | William Shakespeare | |
| Bat Boy: The Musical | Keythe Farley | ||
| An Ideal Husband | Oscar Wilde | ||
| Othello | William Shakespeare | ||
| The Woman in Black | Stephen Mallatratt
Susan Hill |
||
| 2011 | The Two Gentlemen of Verona | William Shakespeare | |
| The Complete Works of
William Shakespeare (Abridged) |
Adam Long
Daniel Singer Jess Winfield |
||
| Cabaret | Joe Masterof | ||
| The Taming of the Shrew | William Shakespeare | ||
| Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps | Alfred Hitchcock
Patrick Barlow (adapter) |
||
| 2012[4] | Romeo and Juliet | William Shakespeare | Charles Fee |
| The Mousetrap | Agatha Christie | Drew Barr | |
| The Imaginary Invalid | Molière
adapted by Oded Gross & Tracy Young |
Tracy Young | |
| The Winter's Tale | William Shakespeare | Jesse Berger | |
| Noises Off | Michael Frayn | Gordon Reinhart | |
| 2013[5] | Blithe Spirit | Noël Coward | Charles Fee |
| Much Ado About Nothing | William Shakespeare | Sharon Ott | |
| Sweeney Todd: The Demon | Stephen Sondheim | Victoria Bussert | |
| King Richard III | William Shakespeare | Joseph Hanreddy | |
| The Foreigner | Larry Shue | Sari Ketter | |
| 2014[6] | Deathtrap | Ira Levin | Charles Fee |
| As You Like It | William Shakespeare | Edward Morgan | |
| Les Misérables | Alain Boublil | Victoria Bussert | |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | William Shakespeare | Tracy Young | |
| Steel Magnolias | Robert Harling | Sari Ketter | |
| 2015[7] | Dial "M" for Murder | Frederick Knott | Charles Fee |
| The Tempest | William Shakespeare | Drew Barr | |
| The Secret Garden | Marsha Norman | Victoria Bussert | |
| King Lear | William Shakespeare | Joseph Hanreddy | |
| The Fantasticks | Tom Jones
Harvey Schmidt |
Victoria Bussert | |
| 2016[8] | And Then There Were None | Agatha Christie | Charles Fee |
| Love's Labor's Lost | William Shakespeare | Tyne Rafaeli | |
| My Fair Lady | Alan Jay Lerner | Victoria Bussert | |
| Twelfth Night | William Shakespeare | Drew Barr | |
| Forever Plaid | Stuart Ross
James Raitt |
Victoria Bussert | |
| 2017[9] | Wait Until Dark | Frederick Knott | Joseph Hanreddy |
| Hamlet | William Shakespeare | Charles Fee | |
| Disney's | Alan Menken | Victoria Bussert | |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | William Shakespeare | Joseph Hanreddy | |
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Steven Canny (adapter) John Nicholson (adapter) |
Charles Fee | |
| 2018[10] | Misery | William Goldman | Charles Fee |
| Macbeth | William Shakespeare | Charles Fee | |
| Mamma Mia! | Benny Andersson | Victoria Bussert | |
| Pride and Prejudice | Jane Austen
Joseph Hanreddy (adapter) J. R. Sullivan (adapter) |
Joseph Hanreddy | |
| Beehive: The 60's Musical | Larry Gallagher | Victoria Bussert | |
| 2019[11] | The Taming of the Shrew | William Shakespeare | Sara Bruner |
| Witness for the Prosecution | Agatha Christie | Charles Fee | |
| The Music Man | Meredith Wilson | Victoria Bussert | |
| Julius Caesar | William Shakespeare | Sara Bruner | |
| Million Dollar Quartet | Colin Escott | Hunter Foster |
The 2020s
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the 2020 season, which was set to include Much Ado About Nothing, Ain't Misbehavin', Henry V, Emma, and Sleuth, was cancelled.[12]
Cumulative Shakespeare Canon Productions
A list of the number of times the Idaho Shakespeare Festival has produced each of Shakespeare's plays is available below. The Festival has produced A Midsummer Night's Dream the most. There are nine plays in the full Shakespeare Canon that have never been produced by the Idaho Shakespeare Festival.
| Play | Number of
Productions |
Seasons[2] |
|---|---|---|
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 9 | 1977, 1982, 1986, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2010, 2017 |
| The Taming of the Shrew | 7 | 1980, 1984, 1992, 1997, 2005, 2011, 2019 |
| Macbeth | 6 | 1988, 1991, 1997, 2002, 2008, 2018 |
| Twelfth Night | 6 | 1982, 1991, 1996, 2002, 2009, 2016 |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | 6 | 1979, 1983, 1990, 1996, 2004, 2014 |
| As You Like It | 6 | 1981, (1983), 1988, 1994, 2004, 2014 |
| Much Ado About Nothing | 6 | 1981, 1989, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2013 |
| Romeo and Juliet | 6 | 1979, 1987, 1992, 1998, 2006, 2011 |
| The Two Gentlemen of Verona | 6 | 1978, 1985, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2011 |
| The Tempest | 5 | 1981, 1991, 1996, 2007, 2015 |
| The Comedy of Errors | 5 | 1980, 1987, 1993, 2003, 2009 |
| Love's Labour's Lost | 4 | 1983, 1995, 2006, 2016 |
| Julius Caesar | 3 | 1994, 2004, 2019 |
| Hamlet | 3 | 1982, 2001, 2017 |
| King Lear | 3 | 1984, 2005, 2015 |
| Richard III | 3 | 1985, 1992, 2013 |
| The Winter's Tale | 3 | 1985, 1999, 2011 |
| Othello | 3 | 1986, 2000, 2010 |
| The Merchant of Venice | 3 | 1980, 1990, 1997 |
| All's Well That Ends Well | 2 | 1986, 2008 |
| Measure for Measure | 2 | 1988, 2007 |
| Henry IV, Part 1 | 2 | 1983, 1995 |
| Titus Andronicus | 2 | 1988, 1999 |
| Henry V | 1 | 2003 |
| Cymbeline | 1 | 1998 |
| Henry IV, Part 2 | 1 | 1995 |
| Henry VIII | 1 | 1990 |
| Richard II | 1 | 1989 |
| Troilus and Cressida | 1 | 1989 |
| Pericles, Prince of Tyre* | 1 | 1987 |
| Antony and Cleopatra | ||
| Coriolanus | ||
| Edward III* | ||
| Henry VI, Part 1 | ||
| Henry VI, Part 2 | ||
| Henry VI, Part 3 | ||
| King John | ||
| Timon of Athens | ||
| The Two Noble Kinsmen* |
*indicates shows not part of the First Folio canon.
References
- Bacon, Stephanie; Hervochon, Gwyn; Oestreicher, Cheryl; Copsey, Doug (1 January 2016). "What's Past is Prologue: Celebrating 40 Seasons of Idaho Shakespeare Festival". Boise State University ScholarWorks. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- "Plays: 1977 - Present". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- "Amphitheater". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- "Directors and Designers". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Archived from the original on 10 August 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- "2013 Plays". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- "2014 Plays". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- "2015 Plays". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- "2016 Season Brochure" (PDF). Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- "2017 Season Brochure" (PDF). Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- "2018 Plays". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- Oland, Dana (23 May 2019). "Idaho Shakespeare Festival opens on Memorial Day weekend. Here's your season guide". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
- "Visitor Health & Safety – Idaho Shakespeare Festival". Retrieved 2020-07-22.