List of Shakespeare Productions

I'm an opportunist. I don't care about the play's title or who is in it; if I have an affordable opportunity to see Shakespeare, I do so. If we're on vacation and discover some Shakespeare at the destination or en route, we order tickets.

With that in mind, this list is revealing in two ways. One, it represents through my experience what titles tend to be most often produced over the past 30 years.

Two, it proves to be a treasure of Hollywood who's who, most of whom were “who?” back when. Certainly, some actors were already headlining stars when I saw them in London (Vanessa Redgrave, Timothy Dalton) or in the United States (Lynn Redgrave, Al Pacino). Many more were my favorite stage actors in England but largely unrecognized outside the theaters. Long before they became internationally known as Lord Voldemort, Snape, Captain Picard, Ghandi, Dr. Octopus, Kenneth Branagh, and Judi Dench, they first impressed me as Romeo, Jaques, Enobarbus, Ford, Hastings, Petruchio, Navarre, and Judi Dench.

Keys to this list: Sarah and I have kept most of our tickets, so most productions going back to 1990 are listed with specific dates (some theaters don't date their tickets). The listed productions from the 1980s don't always have specific dates because I could rely only on playbills and programs (my parents kept some of the tickets of plays they attended with me). As for the 1970s, the only programs I have are those plays I attended with my parents in England; the rest are memories.

For the casts, I list only the principals, but include lesser roles when their portrayals were particularly memorable.

Eric Minton

Click on the play title to see the productions. Productions since 2009 are further described in the On Stage section of this website.

All's Well That End's Well

Antony and Cleopatra

Arden of Faversham

As You Like It

Cardenio (aka Double Falsehood)

The Comedy of Errors

Coriolanus

Cymbeline

Edward III

Hamlet

Henry IV, Part 1

Henry IV, Part 2

[The Most Lamentable Comedy of Sir John Falstaff]

[The Mistorical Hystery of Henry (I)V]

Henry V

Henry VI, Part 1

Henry VI, Part 2

Henry VI, Part 3

Henry VI [conflation]

Henry VIII

Julius Caesar

King John

King Lear

Love's Labour's Lost

Macbeth

Measure for Measure

The Merchant of Venice

The Merry Wives of Windsor

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Much Ado about Nothing

1. Royal Shakespeare Company, County Upper School, Bury Saint Edmunds, England
   January 1987. Directed by Ron Daniels: Nigel Terry (Benedick), Fiona Shaw (Beatrice), Paul Rhys (Claudio), Martin Turner (Don Pedro), Paul Webster (Leonato), Jacqueline Dankworth (Hero), Dick Brannick (Dogberry).
2. Renaissance Shakespeare Company, Phoenix Theatre, London, England
   1988. Directed by Judi Dench: Samantha Bond (Beatrice), Kenneth Branagh (Benedick), Richard Easton (Leonato), Richard Clifford (Don Pedro), James Larkin (Claudio), Tam Hoskyns (Hero), David Lloyd Meredith (Dogberry).
3. Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare Tavern, Atlanta, Ga.
   October 1997. Directed by Sally J. Robertson: Laura J. Cole (Beatrice), Tony Wright (Benedick), Dikran Tulaine (Don John), Robert Browning (Leonato), Kim Jackson (Hero), Peter Hauenstein (Don Pedro), Mark Douglas-Jones (Dogberry).
4. Shakespeare Theatre Company, Carter Barron, Washington, D.C.
   May 2004. Directed by P.J. Paparelli: Casey Biggs (Benedick), Sabrina LeBeauf (Beatrice), Dana Slamp (Hero), Bill Thompson (Claudio), Geoffrey Lower (Don Pedro), Michael Santo (Leonato), Floyd King (Dogberry), Erika Rose (Margaret).
5. Folger Theatre, Washington, D.C.
   November 17, 2005. Directed by Nick Hutchison: P.J. Sosko (Benedick), Kate Eastwood Norris (Beatrice), Tiffany Fillmore (Hero), Dean Alai (Claudio), James Denvil (Don Pedro), Timmy Ray James (Leonato), Jim Zidar (Dogberry).
6. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Va.
   August 22, 2009. Directed by Jim Warren: Rene Thornton Jr. (Benedick), Sarah Fallon (Beatrice), Victoria Reinsel (Hero), Tobias Shaw (Claudio), Christopher Seiler (Dogberry), Luke Eddy (Don John, Verges), Allison Glenzer (Borachio).
7. Folger Theatre, Washington, D.C.
   November 12, 2009. Directed by Timothy Douglas: Howard W. Overshown (Benedick), Rachel Leslie (Beatrice), Roxi Victorian (Hero), Alex Perez (Dogberry), Craig Wallace (Brother), Dionne Audain (Borachio).
8. Shakespeare Theatre Company, Sidney Harman Hall, Washington, D.C.
   December 7, 2011. Directed by Ethan McSweeny: Derek Smith (Benedick), Kathryn Meisle (Beatrice), Rachel Spencer Hewitt (Margaret), Mark Hairston (Borachio), Ted van Griethuysen (Dogberry), Matthew Saldivar (Don John).
9. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Va. Jan. 21, 2012.
   Actors' Renaissance Season: Benjamin Curns (Benedick), Miriam Donald (Beatrice), John Harrell (Dogberry), Chris Johnston (Claudio), Rene Thornton Jr. (Leonato), Aidan O'Reilly (Don John), Daniel Kennedy (Antonio).
10. Emily Tuckman's Drama Class, Brooklyn Technical High School, New York N.Y.
    January 9, 2013. [30-minute adaptation.] Alex Gibbons (Benedick), Dominica Wolinski (Beatrice), Sean Clune (Claudio), Jawad Hussain (Don Pedro), Sofia Degtyar (Leonato), Alejandro Rivero (Dogberry), Muhammad Sheheryar (Conrade).
11. Theatre for a New Audience, The Duke at 42nd Street, New York, N.Y.
    Feb. 16, 2013. Directed by Arin Arbus: Jonathan Cake (Benedikt), Maggie Siff (Beatrice), John Christopher Jones (Dogberry), Graham Winton (Don Pedro), Robert Langdon Lloyd (Leonato), Matthew Amendt (Claudio), Michelle Beck (Hero).
12. Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, Philadelphia, Pa.
    April 7, 2013. Directed by Domenick Scudera: Chance Dean (Benedick), Eleni Delopoulos (Beatrice), Isaiah Ellis (Claudio), Lauren Sowa (Hero), Ralph Edmonds (Leonato), Alex Stewart (Borachio), Eric Van Wie (Dogberry), Johnny Smith (Verges).
13. Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park, Delacorte Theater, New York, N.Y.
    June 6, 2014. Directed by Jack O'Brien: Hamish Linklater (Benedick), Lily Rabe (Beatrice), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Don Pedro), Jack Cutmore-Scott (Claudio), Ismenia Mends (Hero), John Glover (Leonato), Pedro Pascal (Don John), John Pankow (Dogberry).
14. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Va.
    September 7, 2014. Directed by Benjamin Curns: Patrick Earl (Benedict), Stephanie Holladay Earl (Beatrice), Andrew Goldwasser (Dogberry, Antonio), Tim Sailer (Claudio), Patrick Poole (Don John, Verges), Susie Parr (Hero), Josh Innerst (Don Pedro).
15. Synetic Theater, Arlington, Va.
    February 15, 2015. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili: Irina Tsikurishvili (Beatrice), Ben Cunis (Benedick), Emily Whitworth (Hero), Scott Brown (Claudio), Dallas Tolentino (Don John), Vato Tsikurishvili (Dogberry), Peter Pereyra (Leonato) Philip Fletcher (Don Pedro).
16. NextStop Theatre Company, Herndon, Va.
    January 22, 2017. Directed by Abigail Isaac Fine: Jonathan Lee Taylor (Benedick), Kari Ginsburg (Beatrice), Allen McRae (Leonato), Brittany Martz (Hero), Benjamin Stoll (Claudio), James Finley (Don Pedro), Robert Pike (Don John, Dogberry).
17. Hoosier Shakes, God's House, Marion, Ind.
    July 22, 2017. Directed by Marshall B. Garrett: Duana M. Burby (Beatrice), Ryan Akers (Benedick), Deaon Releford-Lee (Claudio), Katie Little (Hero), Melissa Harlow (Prince), Emily Robinson (Margaret), Austin Hendricks (Don John, Dogberry).
18. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Va.
    September 24, 2017. Directed by Jenny Bennett: Allison Glenzer (Beatrice), David Anthony Lewis (Benedick), Benjamin Reed (Claudio), Lauren Ballard (Hero), Josh Innerst (Don John, Verges), Christopher Seiler (Leonato), Chris Johnston (Dogberry).
19. Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company, The Rose, Blue Lake Arts Camp, Mich.
    June 2, 2018. Directed by Alisha Huber: Kathleen Bode (Beatrice), Brad Sytsma (Benedick), John Scritchfield (Claudio), Scott Wright (Dogberry), Ashley Normand (Hero), Scott Lange (Leonato), Eric Orive (Don Pedro), Kat Hermes (Don John).
20. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Virginia
    February 22, 2020. Actors Renaissance Season: Jessika D. Williams (Benedick), Meg Rodgers (Beatrice), Benjamin Reed (Dogberry), Ronald Román-Meléndez (Don Pedro), KP Powell (Claudio), Constance Swain (Hero), Zoe Speas (Don John), John Harrell (Verges).
21. Shakespeare Theatre Company, Harman Hall, Washington, D.C.
    November 22, 2022. Directed by Simon Godwin: Kate Jennings Grant (Beatrice), Rick Holmes (Benedick), Nicole King (Hero), Paul Deo Jr. (Claudius), Edward Gero (Leonato), Carlo Albán (Don Pedro), Dave Quay (Dogberry), Justiin Adams (Don John), Dina Thomas (Margaret).
22. Shakespeare Opera Theatre, Hudson Hall, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, McLean, Virginia
    July 14, 2023. Directed by Lori Lind, Musical Director Lisa Bloy: Marieke de Koker (Beatrice), Justin Meyer (Benedick), Kelly Monteith (Hero), Sonia Bronder (Don John), Kirsten Nordland (Ursula), James McKenzie (Leonato, trumpet), Joseph Wilson (Don Pedro).
    

Othello

Pericles

Richard II

Richard III

Romeo and Juliet

The Spanish Tragedy

The Taming of the Shrew

The Tempest

Timon of Athens

Titus Andronicus

Troilus and Cressida

Twelfth Night

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

The Two Noble Kinsmen

The Winter's Tale

The Sonnets

The Rape of Lucrece

Venus and Adonis

Miscellaneous

Non-Shakespeare Productions