Montana Shakespeare in the Parks Launches Summer Tour

Montana Shakespeare in the Parks will perform 74 times in 57 communities during its 36th season which begins in June. New this year are performances in Deer Lodge, Gardiner, Kalispell and Laurel.

Based at Montana State University, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks brings professional productions at no cost to the public to communities throughout Montana, northern Wyoming and eastern Idaho. This year the troupe will perform two of Shakespeare’s best-known plays: “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “All’s Well That Ends Well.”

Joel Jahnke, artistic director of Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, said many have waxed eloquent about the themes in “Macbeth” that have made Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy relevant for so long — greed, lust for power and betrayal.

“The fact of the matter is that ‘Macbeth’ is the wellspring from which all great thrillers and horror stories originate,” Jahnke said. This year’s production will be directed by Susan Felder.

Jahnke said that “All’s Well That Ends Well,” is an exemplary counterpoint to “Macbeth” and defies classification.

“‘All’s Well’ has elements of romance and elements of comedy, but it’s (categorized as) neither,” said Jahnke, who will direct the play. “It has plenty of drama, but it’s not completely a serious play. It has elements of Shakespeare’s historic and tragic plays. There’s even a bit of sex farce. We don’t know what to call it.”

All performances, with the exception of the Toast of the Town fund-raiser and the Sweet Pea Festival, both in Bozeman, are free and tickets are not needed for admission.

“Volunteer tour coordinators in each of the communities served by MSIP work year-round to raise the sponsorship fees that help offset the actual cost of the production,” Jahnke said. “Interested parties are encouraged to show up prior to the appointed curtain time with chairs, blankets, a picnic supper and plenty of friends and family to enjoy the evening.”

The annual Toast of the Town fund-raiser for Montana Shakespeare in the Parks will be held July 19 at the MSU Grove, east of the Duck Pond on 11th St. on the MSU campus. Cocktails begin at 5 p.m., dinner at 6 with a performance of “All’s Well That Ends Well” beginning at 8:30 p.m. Admission to the fund-raiser is $100 per person.

For more information about Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, contact Kathy Jahnke at (406) 994-1220 or email her at: kjahnke@montana.edu.

A complete schedule of the Montana Shakespeare in the Parks 2008 summer tour follows. Asterisks indicate paid performances.

June 18, Wed., Bozeman, All’s Well That Ends Well, 8 p.m., MSU-Grove

June 19, Thurs., Bozeman, All’s Well That Ends Well, 8 p.m., MSU-Grove

June 20, Fri., Bozeman, All’s Well That Ends Well, 8 p.m., MSU-Grove

June 21, Sat., Bozeman, All’s Well That Ends Well, 8 p.m., MSU-Grove

June 25, Wed., Bozeman, Macbeth, 8 p.m., MSU-Grove

June 26, Thurs., Bozeman, Macbeth, 8 p.m., MSU-Grove

June 27, Fri., Bozeman, Macbeth, 8 p.m., MSU-Grove

June 28, Sat., Bozeman, Macbeth, 8 p.m., MSU-Grove

June 30, Mon., Absarokee, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6:30 p.m., Fishtail Family Park

July 1, Tues., Park County-Chico Hot Springs, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Front Lawn

July 2, Wed., Lewistown, Macbeth, 6:30 p.m., Fergus County Fairgrounds-Gazebo

July 3, Thurs., Hobson/Utica, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6:30 p.m., Utica Football Field

July 4, Fri., White Sulphur Springs, Macbeth, 6:30 p.m., White Sulphur Springs School Lawn

July 5, Sat., Birney, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., Poker Jim Butte

July 6, Sun., Baker, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6:30 p.m., Baker Lake Amphitheater

July 7, Mon., Ekalaka, Macbeth, 6:30 p.m., Dahl Memorial Lawn

July 8, Tues., Miles City, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6:30 p.m., Pumping Plant Park

July 9, Wed., Roundup, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6:30 p.m., City Park

July 10, Thurs., Forsyth, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Rosebud County Courthouse -East Lawn

July 11, Fri., Beach N.D., All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., Beach Swimming Pool Park

July 12, Sat., Sidney, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6:30 p.m., Veteran’s Memorial Park

July 13, Sun., Wolf Point, Macbeth, 6:30 p.m., Bridge Park

July 14, Mon., Glendive, Macbeth, 7 p.m., Hiatt Amphitheater

July 15, Tues., Hardin, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6:30 p.m., South Park

July 16, Wed., Colstrip, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6:30 p.m., Rye Park Pavilion

July 17, Thurs., Worland Wyo., Macbeth, 6 p.m., Sanders Park

July 18, Fri., Sheridan, Wyo., All’s Well That Ends Well, 6:30 p.m., Kendrick Park

July 19, Sat., The Toast of the Town-Bozeman, All’s Well That Ends Well, 5 p.m., MSU-Grove *

July 21, Mon., Powell, Wyo., All’s Well That Ends Well, 6:30 p.m., Washington Park

July 22, Tues., Cody, Wyo., Macbeth, 6:30 p.m., Canal Park

July 23, Wed., Billings, Macbeth, 6:30 p.m., New Ballpark

July 24, Thurs., Billings, All’s Well That Ends Well. 6:30 p.m., Pioneer Park

July 25, Fri., Greybull, Wyo., Macbeth, 6 p.m., Greybull City Park

July 26, Sat., Bozeman-Valley West, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Valley West

July 27, Sun., West Yellowstone, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., 220 Yellowstone Ave.- Library Lawn

July 28, Mon., Driggs, Idaho, Macbeth, 6:30 p.m., Creekside Meadows

July 29, Tues., Alpine, Wyo., Macbeth, 6:30 p.m., Nordic Inn

July 30, Wed., Pocatello, Idaho, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6:30 p.m., ISU Quad

July 31, Thurs., Dillon, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., JayCee Park

Aug. 1, Fri., Bozeman-Sweet Pea Festival, Macbeth, 4:30 p.m., Lindsey Park *

Aug. 3, Sun., , Bozeman-Sweet Pea Festival, All’s Well That Ends Well, 5:00 p.m., Lindley Park *

Aug. 4, Mon., Helena, Macbeth, 6:30 p.m., Anchor Park

Aug. 5, Tues., Helena, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6:30 p.m., Anchor Park

Aug. 6, Wed., Philipsburg, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., City Park

Aug. 7, Thurs., Ft. Benton, Macbeth, 6:30 p.m., City Park

Aug. 8, Fri., Cut Bank, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Cut Bank City Park

Aug. 9, Sat., Great Falls, Macbeth, 6 p.m., University of Great Falls

Aug. 10, Sun., Great Falls, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., University of Great Falls

Aug. 11, Mon., Boulder, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Jefferson County Fairgrounds

Aug. 12, Tues., Anaconda, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Washoe Park @ the Pavilion

Aug. 13, Wed., Deer Lodge, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., Old Montana Prison

Aug. 14, Thurs., Superior, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 P.M., Superior High School Lawn

Aug. 15, Fri., Plains, Macbeth, 7 p.m., Behind Plains School

Aug. 16, Sat., Heron, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Heron Ball Field

Aug. 18, Mon., Libby, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., Middle School Amphitheater

Aug. 19, Tues., Eureka, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., Historical Village

Aug. 20, Wed., Whitefish, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., Whitefish Mountain Resort

Aug. 21, Thurs., Kalispell-Starling, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Starling

Aug. 22, Fri., St. Ignatius, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., St. Ignatius Amphitheater

Aug. 23, Sat., Charlo, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Palmer Park

Aug. 24, Sun., Hamilton, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Daly Mansion Grounds

Aug. 25, Mon., Salmon, Idaho, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., Island Park

Aug. 26, Tues., Bozeman-Four Corners, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Zoot Enterprises

Aug. 27, Wed., Laurel, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Laurel Practice Football Field

Aug. 28, Thurs., Red Lodge, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Lions Park

Aug. 29, Fri., Gardiner, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., Arch Park

Aug. 30, Sat., Cooke City/ Silver Gate, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Silver Gate Park

Aug. 31, Sun., Big Timber, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., City Park

Sept. 2, Tues., Missoula, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., UM Oval

Sept. 3, Wed., Missoula, Macbeth, 6 p.m., UM Oval

Sept. 4, Thurs., Butte, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., Chester Steele Park

Sept. 5, Fri., Townsend, All’s Well That Ends Well, 6 p.m., Heritage Fun Park

Sept. 6, Sat., Bozeman-MSU, All’s Well That Ends Well, 1 p.m., Grant Chamberlain Park

Sept. 7, Sun., Manhattan, Macbeth, 2 p.m., Altenbrand Park