Shakespeare's ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ to be staged outdoors at The Ringling
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
After a nearly five-year run at Selby Botanical Gardens, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory is bringing Shakespeare outdoors once again in a new venue.
For this spring’s production of “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” director Jonathan Epstein and his cast of second-year acting students will perform the early Shakespeare comedy under the banyan trees in the Bayfront gardens of The Ringling Museum of Art.
“Being outdoors is a big deal for me,” Epstein said. The setting requires added energy from the actors to compete with the natural beauty of the banyan trees. “Otherwise you’ll be invisible.”
Arts Newsletter: Sign up to receive the latest news on the Sarasota area arts scene every Monday
Events, concerts, arts and more: 100-plus fun things to do in April in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties
A twist on traditions: Ringling Bros. brings back 'Greatest Show' for 50-city tour. But is it still a circus?
The production will be staged mostly in the round, and there will be seating for about 160 patrons for each performance. The actors will use microphones to make sure audiences can hear (though Epstein would prefer to rely on the natural acoustics of the setting), and there will be microphone stands for the singing of a half dozen original songs by composer Daniel Levy.
“He is my favorite composer,” Epstein said. “I met him in 1998 when I was playing Feste and he came back with Feste’s six songs written on my voice and in my temperament.”
For “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” Levy has written new songs, parodies, new music, rap music, and a sing-along with Elvis. “It really does a lot for the storytelling,” Epstein said.
The play follows the efforts of Ferdinand, King of Navarre (played by Rueben Wakefield) and his three companions (Lords Berowne, Dumard and Longaville) to commit to abstinence for three years while they devote themselves to study. But their attitudes change when they encounter the Princess of France (Brielle Rivera Headrington) and her ladies-in-waiting, along with some trickery by others trying to unravel their pledges.
“It’s a competition,” said Epstein who thought hip hop music fit best for the story. “We have hip hop talking about Eros as a contest. Are you man enough for me? Are you woman enough for me? That’s what ‘Love’s Labour’s' is about. Men are saying women aren’t worthy of us and then change their minds and women are sort of trying out the men. Hip hop is using language, really strong rhythmical shifts with a lot of double meanings, exactly the way Shakespeare wrote.”
Classics and new works: See what's coming to Sarasota's Asolo Rep with its 2023-24 lineup
Meet Andrei Malaev-BabelProfessor of acting named new leader of FSU/Asolo Conservatory
Artists with ties to Florida: Contemporary Native American artists get a first-of-a-kind showcase at The Ringling
In addition to the music, there are other more contemporary touches, and shifts in the gender of some characters.
“All my shows are gender blind in casting,” he said. For example, he cast male actor Falcian Page as Jacquenetta, who is described as a country wench, and Macaria Chapparo-Martinez plays Don Amato as a man. “Every story should be told from the perspective of diversity. We owe it to the audience to present a diverse cast in terms of gender, ethnicity and age.”
Andrei-Malaev Babel, director of the conservatory, said the move to The Ringling is significant because it was where the program began performances nearly 50 years ago. “What better way to begin celebrating this landmark anniversary than going back where it all began.” The conservatory has received a grant from the Charles and Margery Barancick Foundation to support the outdoor performances.
‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’
By William Shakespeare. Directed by Jonathan Epstein. Presented April 4-23 by the FSU/Asolo Conservatory at The Ringling’s Bayfront Gardens. 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota. Tickets are $35. 941-351-8000; asolorep.org
Follow Jay Handelman on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Contact him at jay.handelman@heraldtribune.com. And please support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Ringling Museum new outdoor home for Asolo Conservatory Shakespeare
