Message from The Shakespeare Theatre Company

Received by e-mail this morning:

Dear Friend,

I am writing to you today to let you know about a legal issue we are currently addressing in regard to the Lansburgh Theatre, our home for the past 20 years.

For some time now we have been in negotiations with the management company that oversees the Lansburgh Theatre regarding our rent. Thus far we have been unable to resolve the issue and therefore, as a last resort, have filed a lawsuit this week including a request that the court issue an injunction so that we may continue to perform at the Lansburgh Theatre.

The particulars of the issues are complicated, so I’d like to offer a bit of detail about the creation of the Lansburgh Theatre. In 1992, the developer of the Lansburgh apartment building gained the development rights from the city of D.C. in exchange for building and donating the Lansburgh Theatre for use solely by the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Also established was Lansburgh Theatre, Inc (LTI) a specialized non-profit charity that only exists to support STC and serve as our landlord. By law, as long as the Shakespeare Theatre Company performs its charitable purpose, LTI lacks the power to terminate either STC’s status as the supported organization or STC's/our right to occupy the Lansburgh Theatre.

In the current dispute, LTI has demanded a rent increase of 700%, a demand that we feel is unfounded given the unique relationship of an organization that exists only to support STC. Additionally, through these discussions, it has become very clear that LTI is not operating and abiding by the charter by which it was created and the best course of action was to allow a court to resolve these matters.

We are very confident that a judge will honor STC’s long standing and clear rights to perform at the Lansburgh Theatre. Please be assured, this will not affect any of our current performances and the best thing for you to do is support STC in the same ways you have for the past 25 years. If you are a theatre-goer, keep subscribing and attending performances and if you are a donor (or want to become one), we are grateful for your continued contributions.

We will update our website with any new information and will be sure to send out updates to you as we progress in resolving this matter.

Thank you for your continued support.

Chris Jennings
Managing Director
Shakespeare Theatre Company

Merry Falstaff of Windsor

Next up on my cultural calendar is Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare Theatre Company's beautiful Sidney Harman Hall. I also scheduled a Meet-Up for an upcoming performance and hope to meet some of my fellow D.C.-area Shakespeare Explorers.

Because the Shakespeare Readers' season has ended, I haven't had the opportunity to read this play in advance. So I did a quick search for plot summaries and came away frustrated and confused by pedestrian descriptions of Shakespeare's plot-twisted humor.

What you need to know: Falstaff is in it. Everyone wants to marry Anne, Falstaff needs money, tricks are attempted, tables are turned, and Anne marries the one she wants. STC calls MWOW "A bawdy and riotous romp," a genre at which this venue excels.

And scrolling through the cast list, I see a couple of names I recognize as actors who will ensure this riotously rompy outcome: Tom Story (of whom I have written previously in Hosaa's Blog) portraying Doctor Caius, and Hugh Nees, a DC-theater veteran from way back, portraying Nym. (I once dated a friend of Hugh's, and he almost performed in a reading of one of my plays. Almost. His friend and I stopped dating before the reading was to occur. I don't hold that against Hugh.)

L-R: Kurt Rhoads (as "Page") and Hugh Nees ("Nym") in rehearsal for the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s 'The Merry Wives of Windsor,' directed by Stephen Rayne. Photo by Nicole Geldart.

Well, now, this preview is becoming a bit Shakespearean in its plot twists. Till next week ...

In Bard We Trust -
Cindy