Category Archives: Family-Friendly

The tour of over 40 locations starts in early June and runs all summer long!
View the complete schedule online here.

Cincinnati, May 28, 2021- Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s 2021 FREE Shakespeare in the Park Tour continues, after a few early May performances, on June 16 with 40+ performances of FREE Shakespeare all summer long through September 12, 2021!  This marks the return of the full outdoor program that had a truncated season due to the pandemic in 2020. The FREE Shakespeare in the Park tour will bring 3 different Shakespeare productions to parks and venues all across the tristate area including Cincinnati, Fairfield, Glendale, Lebanon, Madeira, Mason, Maysville, Milford, Oxford, Portsmouth, Sharonville, Springfield, and West Chester in Ohio, Burlington, Covington, and Erlanger in Kentucky, and Brookville, Lawrenceburg, and Richmond in Indiana – and more! These performances are FREE and open to the public to enjoy professional theatre outdoors in their community. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is constantly working to expand their reach further and further into the region and is proud to operate one of the largest programs for free outdoor Shakespeare in the nation, both in number of stops and the size of the region reached.

The popular Shakespeare titles, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Macbeth will be presented.  The cast features six actors from CSC Professional Touring Company including Marcus Anthony, Angelique Archer, Arrianna Chai, Tyren Duncan, Colleen Dougherty, and Brianna Miller. Directors include Jeremy Dubin (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Courtney Lucien (Romeo and Juliet), and Darnell Pierre Benjamin (Macbeth) under the direction of CSC’s Director of Education Candice Handy. Following the Park Tour, these shows will hopefully travel and tour to local schools, community centers, venues, and other performing arts locations through May 2022.

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s FREE Shakespeare in the Park tour is the only professional outdoor theatre opportunity of this king in Cincinnati each summer, attracting more than 10,000 patrons to over 40 area parks during the summer months. CSC’s FREE Shakespeare in the Park Tour enhances the vibrancy of neighborhoods throughout the region by creating traveling arts programs that increase the affordability, availability, and accessibility of the arts outside the downtown core.  If you would like to learn how you can support this program, visit our FREE Shakespeare in the Park Fund page online here. FREE Shakespeare in the Park is generously supported by: the Thomas J. Emery Memorial, Western & Southern Financial Group, GBBN, EY, Graeter’s, Taft Law, Clark Schaefer Hackett, Cincinnati Bell, Susan Esler and Steve Skibo, Vicky and Rick Reynolds, Redknot Homes, Tim Cagle and Rick Kammerer, Kim and Dirk Doebereiner, Mark and Sue Ann Painter, Rosemary and Mark Schlachter, and Friends of FREE Shakespeare in the Park. FREE Shakespeare in the Park would also not be possible without our season sponsors: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation; The John Bridgeland, Crilley, Long and Mason Families: Honoring James R. Bridgeland Jr.; the Ohio Arts Council; the Robert & Adele Schiff Family Foundation; the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr. Foundation; and the generosity of tens of thousands of contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign.

Admission to Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Shakespeare in the Park Tour is free and there is no ticket or RSVP required.  All performances are open to all and are general admission, open seating.  Arriving early is typically recommended for best seating and lawn chairs and blankets are recommended.  For questions regarding inclement weather or for details and rules regarding outside food and drink (including or excluding alcohol), please contact the individual parks and venues. Please check with each venue regarding specific COVID Protocols as the Public Health situation is constantly evolving.

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Production Information:

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM by William Shakespeare
What happens when feuding fairies meddle in the love lives of human couples? Comical adventures, mistaken identities, and a silly play-within-a-play! The cast of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is on tour with fairies, lovers and Nick Bottom and the Mechanicals as they hilariously attempt to rehearse and perform a play for the Duke’s wedding. In this whimsical forest, a happy ending is guaranteed for both sprites and mortals alike.

ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare
One of the most beloved romantic tragedies in Shakespeare’s canon, Romeo and Juliet is the tale of the Bard’s star-crossed lovers. Romeo and Juliet fall instantly in love only to discover they come from feuding families. In defiance of their families, amidst the animosity of friends, and in concealment from their mentors, a young couple risk everything to be together. CSC is proud to present this modern production of Romeo and Juliet and prove its continued relevance in the lives of the young and old alike.

MACBETH by William Shakespeare
Prophecies. Ambition. Murder. Madness. In Shakespeare’s famous cursed play “Macbeth”, we see the darkness of the world overcome the light. After an encounter with three witches on a Scottish battlefield, Macbeth must make a decision that will change the course of her life.  Betrayal, love, bloodshed and tragedy adorn the path in this chilling, supernatural tale, leaving us wondering how far Macbeth will go to get what she wants. Tormented by visions and guilt when the price of his crimes take their toll, what fate awaits Macbeth? Find out in Shakespeare’s supernatural thriller.

Both shows are suitable for children and families of all ages and are approximately 90 minutes in length with an intermission.

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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 made up of the works of William Shakespeare, literary adaptations, and contemporary classics.  CSC performs on a Small Professional Theatre contract with Actors’ Equity Association. Cincinnati Shakespeare is a member of the Theater Communications Group and the Shakespeare Theater Association.  Each year, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Education and Outreach Programs reach over 50,000 young people and underserved 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!