Hudson Valley Shakespeare fest tickets on sale today

Friday February 15, 2013 3:00 PM By Chris Serico

Photo credit: Photo by William Marsh | Jason O'Connell and Richard Ercole starred in the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival's 2011 production of "Around the World in 80 Days" at Boscobel in Garrison.

For its 27th season at Boscobel in Garrison, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival will open its online box office Tuesday — the earliest its tickets have ever gone on sale.

In keeping with the tradition of presenting one drama and one comedy by William Shakespeare, as well as a third show by another scribe, the region's only professional resident Shakespeare company will stage "All's Well That Ends Well" (premiering June 22), "The Three Musketeers" (premiering June 29) and "King Lear" (premiering July 6, with a lawn party).

This year also marks the debut of new programs, including Revelers, which targets 21- to 35-year-old theater fans with discounts, social opportunities and priority access to HVSF events; and Friday Night Tastings, which, for an additional $12 per show, lets ticket-holders party before performances with tastings of regional food, wine and beer.

Terry O'Brien, the festival's founding artistic director, directed "Love's Labour's Lost" last summer and is returning to helm "King Lear" this time around. In June, he told Newsday Westchester how Boscobel's bucolic setting brings the best out of The Bard's material.

"[Shakespeare's] plays have something, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly written, to connect them to nature somehow," he said at the time. "And, [at Boscobel], the first row of audience seats are on the ground -- the same ground the actors perform on -- receding into the horizon. It gives us a beautiful backdrop. ... and the beauty of the environment puts the audience in a really good mood."

Russell Treyz, who directed "The 39 Steps" last year, will fill the same role for "All's Well That Ends Well" this season. And Christopher Edwards, the festival's associate artistic director who directed "Romeo and Juliet" last season, will direct "The Three Musketeers."

Boscobel is at 1601 New York 9D in Garrison. The online box office opens at 12:01 a.m. Feb. 19, and tickets range from $27 to $75. Starting May 20, telephone and walk-in ticket purchases will be available during business hours. Find more information by calling 845-265-9575 or visiting www.hvshakespeare.org or www.boscobel.org.

Which HVSF production are you most excited to see? Vote in Newsday Westchester's poll and explain your answer in the comments section below.

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