Nov. 2–18
8 p.m.   Nov. 2–3, 8–10 and 15–17
2 p.m.   Nov. 4, 10–11 and 17–18

Tom Stoppard, who wrote the award-winning screenplay for Shakespeare in Love, found one of his very first successes in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Written in 1964 and first performed in 1966 at Oxford University, Stoppard’s play established his reputation in theater, and was later made into a movie with Gary Oldman and Tim Roth in the title roles, and Richard Dreyfuss as the Actor.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead focuses on two small and often forgotten characters from Shakespeare’s classic Hamlet, as they try to sort out the mysteries of where they are going, what they are doing in Elsinore, and even who they are. Hamlet’s college friends are hilariously lost in their own struggle for meaning, as glimpses of the other play in progress flash through their world. Polonius, Gertrude, Claudius, Ophelia and even Hamlet become sideline characters, and the misfit pair are forced to find their own plot. Further complicating their world is the company of players who arrive to stage the play within a play. Featuring a great deal of physical and linguistic humor, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is an intelligent, playful comedy that manages to both poke fun at Shakespeare’s tragedy and seriously question the nature of existence.

The cast includes Louis Pardo as Rosencrantz; Eric Czuleger as Guildenstern; Vitthal Mendieta as Hamlet; Ryan Niccols as Claudius; Lauren Harry as Gertrude; Amy Gibson as Ophelia; and Jesse Abeel as Polonius.

Jill Boyon is scenic designer, Deborah Dufour is costume designer, LaTasha Tobias is lighting designer, Monica French is makeup designer, and sound designer is Heather Alvear.