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.

ISF Production History: 1977-1980[2]
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.

ISF Production History: 1981-1983[2]
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

Don Nigro

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

ISF Production History: 1984-1989[2]
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

Explains It All for You

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

ISF Production History: 1990-1997[2]
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

Jim Dale

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

William Shakespeare (Abridged)

Adam Long

Daniel Singer

Jess Winfield

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

ISF Production History: 1998-1999[2]
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

Rusty Magee

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

ISF Production History: 2000-2009[2]
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

Charles M. Schultz

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

Harvey Schmidt

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

Jimmy Roberts

2005 The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare
She Stoops to Conquer Oliver Goldsmith
A Funny Thing Happened

on the Way to the Forum

Bert Shevelove & Larry Gelbart

Stephen Sondheim

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

Fred Alley

Lee David Zlotoff

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

Alan Menken

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]

ISF Production History: 2010-2019[2]
Year Play Playwright Director
2010 A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare
Bat Boy: The Musical Keythe Farley

Brian Flemming

Laurence O'Keefe

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

John Van Druten

Christopher Isherwood

John Kander, Fred Ebb

The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare
Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps Alfred Hitchcock

John Buchan

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

Barber of Fleet Street

Stephen Sondheim

Hugh Wheeler

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

Claude-Michel Schönberg

Herbert Kretzmer

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

Lucy Simon

Frances Hodgson Burnett

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

Frederick Lowe

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

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Alan Menken

Stephen Schwartz

Peter Barnell

Victor Hugo

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

Stephen King

Charles Fee
Macbeth William Shakespeare Charles Fee
Mamma Mia! Benny Andersson

Björn Ulvaeus

Stig Anderson

Catherine Johnson

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

Frankin Lacey

Victoria Bussert
Julius Caesar William Shakespeare Sara Bruner
Million Dollar Quartet Colin Escott

Floyd Mutrux

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

  1. 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.
  2. "Plays: 1977 - Present". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  3. "Amphitheater". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  4. "Directors and Designers". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Archived from the original on 10 August 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. "2013 Plays". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. "2014 Plays". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. "2015 Plays". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. "2016 Season Brochure" (PDF). Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  9. "2017 Season Brochure" (PDF). Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  10. "2018 Plays". Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. Oland, Dana (23 May 2019). "Idaho Shakespeare Festival opens on Memorial Day weekend. Here's your season guide". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  12. "Visitor Health & Safety – Idaho Shakespeare Festival". Retrieved 2020-07-22.
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