King John
July 2017
It's the story of a self-centered man-child, a demagogue in control of the world as we know it. The action begins in a time of great imbalance in the western world. The French have raised an army to refute the English King John’s claim to the throne, and the Pope has sent a representative to stir up some lucrative conflict. John’s supporters grow anxious about his ability to lead, and all his enemies have to do is wait for his next mistake. John seems to live in his own reality; the fate of the modern world depends on his words and actions, but the most worrying thing of all is how little he seems to care.
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The Life and Death of King John is one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, but in a modern context feels shockingly familiar. While parallels can certainly be drawn from the play to the White House, the creative team has made it a goal to avoid satire or judgement, in favor of finding their characters’ honesty and reminding us that even our enemies are human beings. In addition to the production, a pop-up gallery on opening night will feature original work from local artists, commenting on themes of the play as well as artistic identity in 2017 America.
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Certainly we find ourselves in an ugly point of history, but if Shakespeare has anything to say about ugliness, it’s that it will, eventually, pass.
CALENDAR INFORMATION
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WHERE
The Arcade Theatre (at the Underground Collaborative) 161 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee WI, 53203 WHEN
July 12 - 22, 2017
RUNNING TIME
120 minutes (with a 15 minute intermission) |
Parking: Free street parking after 6:00pm
Surface lots between Michigan & Clyborne/2nd & Plankinton The Grand Avenue Mall garage on Plankinton Ave (between Michigan St and Wisconsin Ave) |
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Production Team
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Executive Producer
ERIC SCHMALZ Festival Director/Producer
HALEY HAUPT Director/Graphic Design
JAKE RUSSELL THOMPSON Stage Manager
KRISTA KANDERSKI Assistant Stage Manager
MIRANDA FLORES FARLEY |
Lighting Designer
AARON SUGGS Music Director/Set Designer
HANNAH TAHTINEN Costume Design
TIFFANY NICOLE TRESEMER Fight DIrector
TAWNIE THOMPSON Fight Director
ALEC LACHMAN |
Rhetoric Dramaturg
SARAH CAVENEY Psych Dramaturg/Social Media
ALEXIS FURSETH Construction
ETHAN EICHSTEDT-ANDERSON |
Musicians
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Composer/Tuba
KARL SREFANS Trumpet
GRAHAM WESTLEY |
Oboe
MIRANDA ALDRICH |
Trombone
MICHAELA PRALL |
Cast
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Arthur/A Monk
GRAHAM BILLINGS John
BRANDON JUDAH Constance/John's Mistress
BRITTANY ANN HAUT Philip
KIRA RENKAS Cardinal Phandulph/Citizen
SARAH ZAPIAIN |
Louis
BRANDON HAUT Melun
ANDREW KELLY Limoges/Robert
ANDY MONTANO Bigot
SAMANTHA TAYLOR Blanche
RACHEL ZEMBROWSKI |
Hubert
NICK HURTGEN Richard aka Phillip Faulconbridge
JEREMY LABELLE Pembroke
KIAN NELSON Eleanor
CLAIRE KINDER |