Michael Pennington, who is starring as King Lear in Theatre for a New Audience production, will participate in Drama Desk panel on Shakespeare
DRAMA DESK SPRING LUNCHEON AND PANEL DISCUSSION
Sardi’s Eugenia Room
234 West 44th St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
Friday, April 4, $50-$60, 11:45 am
212-352-3101
www.dramadesk.org
Has Shakespeare ever been hotter in New York theater? Mark Rylance just dazzled Broadway in Twelfth Night and Richard III; Kenneth Branagh will be starring in and directing Macbeth at the Park Avenue Armory in June, following Ethan Hawke’s portrayal at Lincoln Center; Julie Taymor inaugurated Theatre for a New Audience’s new Brooklyn space with A Midsummer Night’s Dream; the National Theatre of China just made its U.S. debut with Richard III at the Skirball Center; Romeo & Juliet could recently be seen on Broadway and at Classic Stage; the Public Theater moved Antony and Cleopatra to Haiti; and we’ve had a surfeit of King Lears, with Frank Langella at BAM, Michael Pennington currently at Theatre for a New Audience, and John Lithgow set to take on the role this summer at the Delacorte. On April 4, the Drama Desk will delve into this Shakespearean deluge with the panel discussion “Why Shakespeare? Why Now?” at its annual spring luncheon, taking place in Sardi’s Eugenia Room. The event will be moderated by theater teacher, critic, translator, and playwright Dr. Carol Rocamora and feature Taymor, who in addition to Midsummer Night’s Dream has directed productions of The Tempest, The Taming of the Shrew, and Titus Andronicus for stage and/or screen; John Glover, who played multiple roles in Macbeth at the Vivian Beaumont; Scott Shepherd, who starred in the Wooster Group’s Cry, Trojans! based on Troilus and Cressida; Daniel Sullivan, who has helmed seven Shakespeare in the Park plays; and Pennington, the cofounder of the English Shakespeare Company who has appeared in more than a dozen Shakespeare productions in addition to writing several books on individual works by the Bard.