September 3rd, 2024


The Ballad of King Henry
Highlighting Local Playwright: Music and Lyrics by Jeffrey Barg & Book by Sally Ollove
Conceived by Benjamin Kamine
Directed by: Mike Sokolowski
 
Special Event:
March 28-April 5, 2025
Fridays and Saturdays 7:30
Sunday 2
 
You never knew Shakespeare was all about the hootenanny. This raucous original new musical presents the Bard’s classic tale of a prince’s coming-of-age as it was intended–with all the foot-stomping, harmonica-blowing, acoustic-throwdown tunes your boxcar-riding bones can handle. The Ballad of King Henry adapts Shakespeare’s story of Henry IV, Prince Hal, Hotspur and Falstaff–arguably the greatest character the Bard ever wrote–to the sound of folk music. When we meet Hal and Falstaff, they are men of the people–slovenly, irresponsible, immature–which makes folk music the perfect vernacular to understand these classic characters. But that folk tradition is also the language of war that will come to a head between the play’s rival factions. Only by going toe to toe with the valiant Hotspur–and forcing Henry to reckon with what kind of son he has, and who that son could become–does Hal mature into the kind of leader he’ll need to be. (Fortunately, Falstaff doesn’t ever really mature.)

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