Petaluma company presents free riverfront Shakespeare

The Petaluma Shakespeare Company’s stint of “As You Like It” at the Foundry Wharf runs from Sept. 16 to Oct. 1.|

“All the world’s a stage,” sighs the melancholy Jacques in William Shakespeare’s indelible comedy-romance, “As You Like It.”

Those words have special meaning these days, when you never know quite where a new Shakespeare show is likely to pop up.

A production of “Romeo & Juliet” recently launched at the Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park, while a run of “Macbeth” also wrapped inside the old cannery ruin in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square, and now Petaluma Shakespeare Company is preparing to present “As You Like It” at the Foundry Wharf complex, right on the Petaluma River.

“The play is set in the forest of Arden,” said Stephen Hamilton, and actor, board member and development director of the Petaluma Shakespeare Company, which was launched last year. “We’re using the trees at the Foundry Wharf, but in this case, it’s really more of a river production that a forest one. There is a sculpture of a cow there, of course, so we get to use that as well, for a bit of pastoral effect. It’s going to be marvelous.”

The production, directed by Chloe Bronzan, features some exceptional acting talent from around the Bay Area, including - thanks to a special arrangement with the Actors’ Equity Union - a number of renowned professionals, including Tyler McKenna as Orlando, a disenfranchised nobleman with a hit-man on his trail, and Heather Gordon, who was seen three years ago at Cinnabar in an acclaimed production of “Born Yesterday”, as Celia, a Duke’s daughter pretending to be a peasant in order to help her friend Rosalind (Liz Anderson) escape to the woods after being banished. The cast also includes Riz Gross as the aforementioned Jacques, and Hamilton himself as the power-hungry Duke Frederick.

“It’s a great coup, having such wonderful actors,” Hamilton said. “We’re delighted to have such talent in the show, but more importantly, we’re delighted to be bringing free Shakespeare here. Last year, we charged admission, but after a great deal of discussion, we’re now very committed to making our shows free to the public.”

The decision, Hamilton admitted, was not an easy one.

“Some people assume that if you’re not charging an arm and a leg for a show, then it’s possibly not going to have very good actors or very high production values,” Hamilton laughed. “But across the globe, some of the best Shakespeare in the world is being done this way - offered for free, with support of the community and an opportunity at the end of the show for the audience to make a contribution.”

One need look no further than Marin’s successful Curtain Theater Company, which just wrapped a production of Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” in Mill Valley’s Old Mill Park. Directed by Petaluma’s Carl Jordan, the production continued the Curtain’s decades-long tradition of staging professional theater for free, counting on the donations of a contented audience, eager to drop a few bills into the basket after watching a well-performed show in a beautiful setting.

“Free Shakespeare, as a path to building an audience and serving your community, is absolutely a proven and very exciting thing,” said Hamilton, who served as Chairman of the Board of the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival for fifteen years. “In San Francisco, the free Shakespeare program visits parks all over the area, entertaining 25,000 people a year. In years to come, my hope is that Petaluma Shakespeare will become even more than just free Shakespeare by the river, but will follow in San Francisco’s footsteps and add other important programs as well.”

Asked why the company chose “As You Like It” for this year, Hamilton laughed.

“It’s charming,” he said. “‘As You Like It’ is simply one of the most charming of Shakespeare’s comedies. It’s got love, and adventure, and comedy, and sadness. It’s got everything.”

Hamilton hopes that many of the folks who attend the open-air show will be seeing Shakespeare for the very first time.

“In San Francisco, we did some research,” he said, “and we determined that something like 75 percent of the people reached, people who loved Shakespeare, said that their first experience of his plays was at a free Shakespeare show in the park. Once you’ve seen the magic that can happen when Shakespeare is presented with invention and passion by a first-rate group of artists, it’s simply impossible not to want more of it.”

“As You Like It” runs Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m., and Sundays at 4 p.m. from Sept. 16 though Oct. 1 at the Foundry Wharf, at 2nd and H streets. Drinks and snacks are available for purchase. Bring blankets and low-backed chairs. All performances are free, but do be prepared for a pass-the-hat moment at the conclusion of the show.

(Contact David Templeton at argus@arguscourier.com)

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