Colorado Shakespeare Festival 2009

Shakespeare challenges the audience with an arousing disparity of passion, deception, honor, and justice. William Shakespeare's Hamlet is one the most highly accredited screenplays of all time, tugging at the heartstrings as well as exploring the triumphs and struggles of the human psyche. One of Shakespeare's most powerful and controversial scripts, Hamlet is a story of a young man who battles with fighting for his murdered father's justice, while attempting to confront the emotional demands of maintaining his loyalty to both his relationships and to running a kingdom. This tragic and striking tale takes the the soul on the ultimate roller coaster of emotions, and will be sure to leave you with a troublesome respect for Shakespeare.

Shakespeare's twist on romantic comedy comes alive in this tale of irresistible love stories that are manipulated by enthusiastic deception and doubt. Though filled with lies and exploitation, this charming love story leaves you with the definitive message of trusting and following your heart.

A devastating and uplifting Pulitzer-Prize winner, To Kill a Mockingbird, is set during the Great Depression, depicting the ultimate struggle with recognizing the difference between good and evil. To Kill a Mockingbird colorfully embodies the story of a young girl who finds her character and strength through courage, perspective, and faith; all common attributes that are constantly being challenged as she understands the realities of adulthood. This story provides both a heartbreaking and heartwarming performance that brings hope for the end of social inequality and deliberate injustice, while challenging the human perspective.

A romantic, yet comedic tale of broken and mended hearts inspires a twist of emotions in finding the object of one’s affection. Through endless love letters and tormented fate, this roller coaster-like love story faces the difficulties of separation, betrayal, forgiveness, and being overwhelmed in recognizing what conveys true happiness.

The Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company (BETC) has organically created an inspiring and engaging production of all Shakespeare’s treasured screenplays. In less than two hours, this high-spirited and extremely gifted cast entertains and amuses the audience with an irreverent and witty spin on the tedious scripts of Shakespeare we were forced to read in high school. It will be sure to introduce a new admiration for Shakespeare’s twisted humor and outlook on human awareness.