Cymbeline

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Liz Lauren

Colleen Madden and Melisa Pereyra in "Cymbeline," American Players Theatre, 2021.

Cymbeline, one of Shakespeare’s late romances, is very much a British folklore/fairy tale. That particular groove is one APT does very well, and this production, featuring an all-female cast with Tracy Michelle Arnold, Gina Daniels, Sarah Day, Alys Dickerson, Elizabeth Ledo, Colleen Madden, Melisa Pereyra and Lisa Tejero, should prove magical outdoors at the Hill Theatre.

press release: By William Shakespeare; directed by Marti Lyons. Adapted by Henry Woronicz.

AUGUST 12 – SEPTEMBER 11. Tickets will go on sale 3 - 4 weeks before the first performance.

When his daughter Imogen secretly marries Posthumus – a good man without much financial means – King Cymbeline banishes Posthumus in a fury. In Rome, missing his wife and his home, Posthumus meets Iachmo, who plants a seed in his mind that Imogen will be unfaithful to him in his absence. In despair, Posthumus contacts his servant Pisanio with orders to murder Imogen, but the servant instead disguises her as a page and smuggles her out of court and off on a great Shakespearean adventure.

Like many in Shakespeare’s comedy quiver, this one kicks off with a young couple in love. But Cymbeline is not your average Shakespeare comedy, and things go rapidly off the rails, driven by wicked stepmothers, spoiled princes and a villain with no clear motive looking to flip a hero to the dark side. After all, if the Bard has taught us anything, it’s that there is no pain-free path to love, and happily-ever-after can look a lot different in reality than it looks in your head. Even the best of folks hit low points (and fair warning, some of these go lower than you might expect). But that just makes the high road gleam all the brighter. In a switcheroo on the Elizabethan days of all male casts, this one is played by a brilliant group of women, here to spark new insights in hero and villain alike. A Shakespearian rarity, seen only once before on an APT stage.

Featuring: Tracy Michelle Arnold, Gina Daniels, Sarah Day, Alys Dickerson, Elizabeth Ledo, Colleen Madden, Melisa Pereyra & Lisa Tejero.