Shakespeare's 445th Birthday Revel: Three Parties!

April might be the cruelest month in some circles, but not for fans of The Bard, whose 445th birth anniversary is this Thursday. To celebrate, Austin Shakespeare is offering up two different events and you should Romeo on over to at last one of them (seriously, don’t ju-liet yourself miss the festivities). No word on how things currently are in Denmark, but certainly, nothing is rotten at this event. For the first party, in the early evening, former Austin Shakespeare thespian Robert Faires (dare we say a ham-let loose in our midst) will host a party including The World’s Fastest Shakespeare with Justin Scalise, face painting, live music, an audience sonnet-off, and of course, a larger than life birthday cake! Official Master of Mischief for the event, Les McGehee, says, “The only thing more fun than bringing Shakespeare to people, the excellent language and stories, is to do it playing and eating cake in Richard Garriott's historic mini-village. I love it every year.”

Then, later that evening, at 7pm, at the Curtain Theatre also on the estate of Richard Garriott—yes, the guy who just took a little trip to outer space— Austin Shakespeare presents their Shakespeare Gala! With tickets running $75 (this is a fundraiser, people) it’s doubtful they’ll be serving any Falstaff beer. But they will be serving up scenes from the upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet—set in 1940’s Texas and infused with a Latino beat. So wherefore shall thou be on Thursday night? Get thee to a Shakespearerry! Or, as they say in The Taming of the Shrew: "Go to the feast, revel and domineer, …Be mad and merry, or go hang yourselves."

The Gala will also include a live auction.
For tickets to the later event, call or email Alex Alford at (512) 470-4505, alex@austinshakespeare.org

Also, for those of you who want to warm up and start the festivities on the eve of the happy Bard's-day, Check this out: In a special Poetry on the Plaza at the Harry Ransom Center on the campus of UT, in honor of both National Poetry Month and the 400th anniversary of the publication of "Shakes-peares Sonnets," Shakespearean scholars, poets, actors and students will read the entirety of the 1609 volume, including all of the sonnets and A Lover's Complaint, beginning at noon. Cake will be served at this free event to honor the anniversary and William Shakespeare's upcoming birthday.

This program will be webcast here live.

The Ransom Center is on the corner of 21st and Guadalupe.