Sara Clark as Hamlet. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.
Portraying Hamlet as a female, CSC is finally able to present this production, 3 years in the making, after several pandemic related closures
Cincinnati, February 24, 2022 – Cincinnati Shakespeare Company continues its 2021-2022 Season at The Otto M. Budig Theater with Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This production is directed by Sarah Lynn Brown and features a cast of 14 with CSC returning favorites Sara Clark as Hamlet, Geoffrey Warren Barns II as Horatio, Crystian Wiltshire as Laertes, Sara Mackie as Gertrude, Jim Hopkins as Claudius, and more.
The mysterious death of a king is followed by his brother’s unconventional ascension to the throne. The Queen’s bed casts young Hamlet, usurped heir to the crown, in the role of reluctant avenger. Incest and intrigue, murder and madness, triumph and treachery all combine to paint one of the most complex and compelling portraits in all of English literature. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is delighted to present this groundbreaking and contemporary production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Starring as Hamlet is Sara Clark, who has made a home at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company for the past 16 years as an actor, director, teacher, and fundraiser. Also currently serving as Director of Development, Sara manages all philanthropic activities for the organization, raising over $1.5MM annually in support of Shakespeare and the Classics. As a member of the CSC Resident Ensemble, she has racked up over 75 productions with CSC, tackling such roles as Rosalind, Juliet, Marc Antony, Elizabeth Bennet, Lady Macbeth, and now, Hamlet!
In December 2019, Hamlet, Sara Clark took the Tedx Cincinnati Woman’s stage and joined 10 other female speakers and 3 female centered performances for an audience of over 500 at Memorial Hall. There she spoke about the importance of the decision to play the Bard’s most temperamentally capricious and preternaturally intelligent character as a woman and how it can help us imagine a better world. For Ms. Clark’s speech in its entirety, check out the video on YouTube at Hamlet, Thy Name is Woman. | Sara Clark | TEDxCincinnatiWomen. This is also not the first time that CSC has presented Hamlet with a woman in the infamous role. In 1997, when Cincinnati Shakespeare Company was under the name Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival, one of the company’s Founding Members, Marni Penning, played the title character role, Hamlet.
CSC is proud to welcome Sara Lynn Brown in her directorial debut at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Ms. Brown is based in Omaha, Nebraska where she works as a contract facilitator in Shakespeare and Gender Performance residencies and has worked for Utah Shakespeare, Folger Library Theatre, Denizen Theatre (NY), Nebraska Shakespeare, NTC productions, BlueBarn Theatre, Omaha Symphony, Opera Omaha, and Creighton University. She also runs Leavenworth Space (a micro artist space) in Omaha, Nebraska.
CSC welcomes collaborators from Brave Berlin back to the stage for this production to complete the Media Design. Brave Berlin are the Founding Creative Directors of Blink and are returning to CSC after their stunning projection and light mapping design for “1984” creating an immersive theatrical experience for “Hamlet.”
Get Tickets Now
Hamlet runs February 25- March 20, 2022 with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM. Tickets are on sale now. There are discounts available for students, seniors, local residents, and community partners as access to all is important to CSC. Each performance night has a limited number of $14 “Access” tickets in the Upper Gallery. These can be purchased in advance by going online or calling the Box Office. And starting 1 hour before each performance, any unreserved tickets may be available as a discounted Rush Ticket to anyone, not just students. These tickets are only $12 and could be located anywhere in the house depending on that evening’s availability. These cannot be reserved more than 1 hour before a show and must be purchased in person in the Box Office. Visa, Discover, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted. Ticketing fees apply. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the CSC Box Office at 513.381.BARD (2273) ext. 1, or go online at www.cincyshakes.com.
At this time, all ticketholders must be masked and show proof of a full COVID vaccination status OR provide a negative COVID test to enter The Otto M. Budig Theater. More details on the exact procedure are shared before each performance. Learn more at CSC’s Health and Safety page at cincyshakes.com/health-and-safety/. All polices are subject to change.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is located at The Otto M. Budig Theater at 1195 Elm Street in OTR, adjacent to Washington Park. There are many parking spaces available on the street and in nearby lots and garages- for more information visit http://www.otrchamber.com/pages/WheretoPark.
CSC also offers Valet Parking for every performance! Make reservations for $20 in advance when purchasing tickets or visit www.cincyshakes.com/parking. Purchasing in advance guarantees a spot. Valet is available right at the corner of 12th and Elm Street in front of the theater and begins approx. 1.5 hours before a performance. Cars can be picked up for up to one hour following a performance. (After one hour, you will need to arrange pick up with the valet service directly.) The valet will have your name on the list after you purchase- it’s that easy!
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s 2021-2022 Grand Re-Opening Season is generously presented by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation and the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr. Foundation; along with our Education Season Sponsor, Debby and Jim Mason Honoring James R. Bridgeland, Jr; and our Operating Support Partners, The Ohio Arts Council, The Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts with Arts Midwest, The Shubert Foundation, Lightborne, and the tens of thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign.
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About Cincinnati Shakespeare Company:
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is a professional theatre company dedicated to bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for all. In the summer of 2017, the theater relocated to the Otto M. Budig Theater, a brand new facility in OTR. CSC’s repertoire is composed of the works of William Shakespeare, literary adaptations, and contemporary classics. CSC performs on a Small Professional Theatre contract with the Actors’ Equity Association. Cincinnati Shakespeare is a member of the Theater Communications Group and the Shakespeare Theatre Association. Each year, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Education and Outreach Programs reach more than 50,000 young people and community members each season by taking Shakespeare into schools, parks, community centers and by hosting educational matinees of mainstage productions. In 2015, CSC was proud to become one of the first five theaters in the United States to “Complete the Canon” by producing all 38 plays by William Shakespeare. CSC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, and all donations are tax-deductible. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is proud to be Cincinnati’s stage for the classics!
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