COURTESY OF STEVE SUSSMAN
ARTS&LIFE THEATER
Parting Was Such Sweet Sorrow
For the second time, Birmingham Village Players presents Shakespeare in Love.
A sword fight choreographed by Steve Sussman
JULIE SMITH YOLLES CONTRIBUTING WRITER
I
t was March 6, 2020. Opening night of Shakespeare in Love at Birmingham Village Players. The audience raved about the romantic comedy that tells the fictional story of the creation of Romeo and Juliet and is based on the Academy Award-winning movie of the same name. In fact, the cast and crew celebrated a stellar opening weekend of three performances. And then Broadway and the theater world shut down six days later. The Shakespeare in Love set, props and costumes sat dormant for 18 months. On Sept. 10, Shakespeare in Love reopened for the second time at Birmingham Village Players, in front of a live, masked audience and will run through Sept. 26. “We essentially picked up where we left off,” says Steve Sussman, who is Village Players’ Artistic Board president, a featured cast member and the show’s fight scene
choreographer. “Everyone is thrilled and excited to be back on stage and reprising our roles.” Between some scheduling conflicts and people who had moved out of state during the pandemic, a few roles had to be recast, including the lead character, William Shakespeare. Patrick Lane plays Shakespeare, which is very fortuitous for the production reboot, as he’s married in real-life to Ashley Lane, who plays his love-interest, Viola. “Village Players has taken all the precautions necessary to keep the actors and audience safe,” says Ashley Lane, who received her MFA in acting, along with her husband, at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. “I am lucky all around that my husband stepped in as my leading man. I only have to kiss him, so no safety protocols are being broken, which makes it all the more fun to be onstage together.”
DETAILS Shakespeare in Love runs approximately 2.5 hours with one 15minute intermission. Show dates are Sept. 17, 18, 24, and 25 at 8 p.m. and Sept. 19 and 26 at 2 p.m. All audience members, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, must wear masks at all times while inside the Village Players’ building. Tickets are $20 (plus a $1 processing fee for each ticket order) and are available online at www.birminghamvillageplayers. com or by calling the theater box office at (248) 644-2075. The Village Players theatre is located at 34660 Woodward Ave. in Birmingham.
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