“All the world is a stage” for the actors of Shakespeare in the Park this weekend, who will open their first-ever performance held outside of Greenport this Sunday in downtown Riverhead.
Northeast Stage will put on of five performances of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, the first of which will be held in Riverhead and the final in Patchogue.
Three other performances will be held in Greenport, where the troupe began holding free shows 20 years ago.
It is the first time in the troupe’s history that they have held performances outside of Greenport Village.
“For a number of years, we’ve been saying, ‘God, we do all this work – we should get a bigger audience and do more performances,’” said Amie Sponza, co-founder of Northeast Stage in an interview in February. “We’re really excited to finally make that happen.”
As You Like It is a tale of two families, love and a little bit of crossdressing. It includes one of Shakespeare’s most famous speeches, “All the world’s a stage.” It also coined the phrase “too much of a good thing.”
One of Shakespeare’s most popular works, the pastoral comedy tells the story of a woman on a quest to find her banished father – and gets herself into some hilarious mix-ups along the way.
Performances:
Riverhead – East End Arts Council lawn – July 31, 7 p.m.
Greenport – Mitchell Park – August 3, 5 and 6, 7 p.m.
Patchogue – Shorefront Park bandshell – August 7, 7 p.m.
The show is, as always, free, and attendees are encouraged to bring picnic, chairs and blankets to enjoy the show.
The play was adapted and directed by Hannah Gray, who was assisted by Megan Eilers. Amie Sponza produced the show.
