Cape Cod Shakespeare Festival Returns To Chatham For Third Season

A summertime tradition returns to Chatham’s Kate Gould Park July 22 through Aug. 1. The Cape Cod Shakespeare Festival in Chatham (CCSFC) presents a third year of the Bard’s best under the summer stars for a great ticket price — absolutely free.

Bring a blanket or a folding chair and enjoy alternating performances of two of Shakespeare’s finest. The season begins in Verona, Italy with “Romeo and Juliet,” directed by Alan Rust. The following evening will whisk audiences across stormy seas to a mysterious island with “The Tempest,” directed by Terry Layman. The shows will alternate 7 p.m. performances.

Rust said that after the festival’s first two seasons, which featured some of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies — 2022’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Twelfth Night,” and 2023’s “Much Ado about Nothing” and “As You Like It” — it was time to branch out.

“We decided to step away from comedies with ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ which almost everybody either got to read or were forced to read, depending on the person, in middle school,” Rust said. “We’re testing it out, and I suspect it will be quite successful. We chose ‘The Tempest’ because although it is a comedy, it’s one that isn’t done quite as often.”

Layman said attendees can expect the same mix of professional craft and local talent which delighted audiences in the festival’s first two seasons, with two welcome additions: five performances of each play instead of four, and a larger local presence within the cast.

“A number of our extraordinary actors are back for the third season,” Layman said. “Reid Williams is back for his third season — he’s Romeo and also Caliban. Matthew Werner is back for the third time as well, as Mercutio and Trinculo. Laura Axelrod is back as Juliet, after her CCFSC debut last summer as Beatrice and Celia.”

Also returning for the third season are Tessa Dufrene (stage manager and costume coordinator, ensemble), Christopher Andrew Rowe (Friar Lawrence, Sebastian), Sadie O’Conor (ensemble, Ariel), Henry David Silberstein (Tybalt, Antonio), James Seufzer (Benvolio, Ferdinand), Skyler Wright (Paris, Stephano), Shelby Barrett-Whitmore (ensemble). The cast includes local residents Bernard Cornwell (The Apothecary, Prospero), Janet Geist Moore (The Nurse), Scott Hamilton (Capulet, Gonzalo), Larry Lickteig (Prince of Verona, Alonzo, King of Naples), Todd Cashdollar (A Boatswain), Timothy Burroughs (Montague), Ann Frechette (Lady Montague) and Lir Wood (ensemble). Making their CCSFC debuts are Holly Hill (Lady Capulet, ensemble), Bernadette Harding (ensemble, Miranda), Bec Markowitz (production manager) and Connor Willis (costume coordinator).

Rust, who was the artistic director of Chatham’s Monomoy Theatre for 39 years, is delighted to bring the works of Shakespeare to Kate Gould Park for a third year.

“I think a lot of people enjoy fine arts and this kind of work here,” Rust said. “That was made very clear to me almost 49 years ago when I came as a graduate student to the Monomoy Theatre to perform ‘Come Blow Your Horn,’ and in the next week ‘Murder in the Cathedral.’ And they both sold out. This is a place that is unique. So unique that I have retired here. It attracts people who enjoy the theater at all levels.”

Layman agreed, adding that his biggest surprise in past summers has been the number of families of all ages in attendance.

“One family I spoke with said they were there for their third night in a row,” Layman said. “Cape Cod is, after all, the birthplace of summer theater.”

This year’s CCSFC summer season is dedicated to the memory of MichaelJohn McGann, a longtime actor and director at the Monomoy Theatre who passed away in 2022. Actor Tom Hanks, a longtime friend of McGann who is quoted on the festival’s website, said, “Every artist should have a MichaelJohn in their lives. A caring friend and the most wonderful and always welcome company.”

All performances are free and start at 7 p.m. “Romeo and Juliet” will be performed on Monday, July 22; Wednesday, July 24; Saturday, July 27; Tuesday, July 30; and Thursday, Aug. 1. “The Tempest” will swirl into Kate Gould Park on Tuesday, July 23; Thursday, July 25; Sunday, July 28; Monday, July 29; and Wednesday, July 31. For more information about the Cape Cod Shakespeare Company in Chatham, including the performance schedule and how to support the free festival with a donation, visit ccsfc.org.