Houston Shakespeare Festival

Houston Shakespeare Festival
Genre	Repertory theatre
Begins	April
Ends	August
Frequency	Annual
Location(s)	Houston, Texas, USA
Years active	50
Inaugurated	1975
Attendance	over 1 million
Website	www.uh.edu/shakespeare

The Houston Shakespeare Festival (HSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Houston, Texas, United States. Each summer, the Houston Shakespeare Festival produces a season of two Shakespeare plays in repertory. Since its inception in 1975, HSF has entertained over a million theatergoers with free performances in Hermann Park's Miller Outdoor Theatre. The Houston Shakespeare Festival has since become one of the major events on Houston's summer entertainment calendar. HSF is a recognized Actors' Equity Association theatre. ^[1]

History

In the summer of 1975, Dr. Sidney Berger, the then Director of the University of Houston's School of Theatre and Dance, met with the college's administrators and the Miller Outdoor Theatre Advisory Council to enlist support for a two-production season of Shakespeare's works to be played in repertory on Miller Theatre's bill.

The first year was met with acclaim, with audience size exceeding projections and local citizens writing letter of support to the University of Houston. As years have passed, HSF's budget has increased. The University of Houston provides access to its scenery workshops, office rooms, a rehearsal area and more. In 1989, The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts gifted an endowment for HSF to enter a seasonal agreement with Actors' Equity Association.

Berger, who had started work in Houston in 1969, retired in 2007. The last play he directed at the Festival was Much Ado About Nothing , in 2010. ^[2]

Leadership

• 
  Dr. Sidney Berger (1975-2006)
  Founding Artistic Director
• 
  Steven W. Wallace (2007-2013)
  Executive Director
• 
  Jim Johnson (2014–2016, 2023)
  Executive Director
• 
  Dr. Robert Shimko (2016-2023)
  Executive Director & Literary Manager
• 
  Jack Young (2014-current)
  Artistic Director
• 
  Sharon Ott (2024-current)
  Executive Director

Production history

^{[3] [4]}

Year	Show	Director	Notable Actors
1975	The Taming of the Shrew	Sidney Berger	Richard McWilliams
	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Cecil Pickett	Richard McWilliams, Cindy Pickett
1976	The Tempest	Cecil Pickett	Brett Cullen, Christopher Rich
	Romeo and Juliet	Sidney Berger	Brett Cullen
1977	The Comedy of Errors	Cecil Pickett	Brett Cullen
	Hamlet	Sidney Berger	Brett Cullen
1978	The Merry Wives of Windsor	Cecil Pickett	James Harper, Brett Cullen
	Macbeth	Sidney Berger	James Harper, Brett Cullen
1979	Much Ado About Nothing	Sidney Berger	Brett Cullen
	Twelfth Night	Cecil Pickett	Brett Cullen
1980	King Lear	Sidney Berger	Dan O'Herlihy, Blue Deckert
	As You Like It	Cecil Pickett	Blue Deckert
1981	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Sidney Berger	Mark Voland, Jeff Bennett
	The Merchant of Venice	Cecil Pickett	Mark Voland
1982	The Tempest	Cecil Pickett	James Robert Daniels
	Love's Labor's Lost	Sidney Berger	James Robert Daniels
1983	The Winter's Tale	Charles Krohn	Jeff Bennett
	The Comedy of Errors	Sydney Berger	Jeff Bennett
1984	Hamlet	Sidney Berger	Kenneth Marshall, Dante Di Loreto, Jeff Bennett
	The Two Gentlemen of Verona	Charles Krohn	Dante Di Loreto, Jeff Bennett
1985	Richard III	Sidney Berger	Frank Barrie, Rutherford Cravens
	Measure For Measure	Charles Krohn	Rutherford Cravens
1986	Othello	Sidney Berger	Richard Lawson, Rutherford Cravens, Jeff Bennett
	All's Well That Ends Well	Charles Krohn	Jeff Bennett
1987	Julius Caesar	Kate Pogue	Rutherford Cravens
	The Taming of the Shrew	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
1988	Richard II	Kate Pogue	Rutherford Cravens, James Gale
	Twelfth Night	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens, James Gale, Suzanne Savoy
1989	Coriolanus	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
	As You Like It	Greg Leaming	Rutherford Cravens
1990	Troilus and Cressida	Rutherford Cravens	Rutherford Cravens
	The Tempest	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
1991	The Merchant of Venice	Sidney Berger	Tom Klunis, Rutherford Cravens
	The Merry Wives of Windsor	Rutherford Cravens	Rutherford Cravens
1992	Romeo and Juliet	Carolyn Houston Boone	Rutherford Cravens
	Much Ado About Nothing	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
1993	Henry V	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Carolyn Houston Boone	Rutherford Cravens
1994	Hamlet	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
	Love's Labor Lost	Carolyn Houston Boone	Rutherford Cravens
1995	Pericles	Carolyn Houston Boone	Rutherford Cravens
	As You Like It	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
1996	The Winter's Tale	Beth Sandford	Rutherford Cravens
	Macbeth	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
1997	The Tempest	Carolyn Houston Boone	Jim Parsons, William Hardy, Howard French, Rutherford Cravens
	The Comedy of Errors	Sidney Berger	William Hardy, Rutherford Cravens, James Belcher
1998	The Two Gentlemen of Verona	Rutherford Cravens	Rutherford Cravens
	King Lear	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
1999	Twelfth Night	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
	The Taming of the Shrew	Beth Sandford	Rutherford Cravens
2000	The Merry Wives of Windsor	Rutherford Cravens	Rutherford Cravens
	Othello	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
2001	Romeo and Juliet	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
	King John	Rutherford Cravens	Rutherford Cravens
2002	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
	Measure For Measure	Rutherford Cravens	Rutherford Cravens
2003	The Winter's Tale	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
	Much Ado About Nothing	Rod Bundy	Rutherford Cravens, Jason Douglas
2004	Macbeth	Rob Bundy	Rutherford Cravens, Jason Douglas
	The Taming of the Shrew	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
2005	Hamlet	Carolyn Houston Boone	Rutherford Cravens
	As You Like It	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
2006	Titus Andronicus	Carolyn Houston Boone	Rutherford Cravens
	The Tempest	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
2007	Romeo and Juliet	Carolyn Houston Boone	Jessica Boone, Rutherford Cravens
	Love's Labor's Lost	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
2008	Julius Caesar	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
	Cymbeline	Carolyn Houston Boone	Jessica Boone, Rutherford Cravens
2009	Twelfth Night	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens
	Pericles	Carolyn Houston Boone	Rutherford Cravens
2010	Much Ado About Nothing	Sidney Berger	Rutherford Cravens, Bob Boudreaux
	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Carolyn Houston Boone	Rutherford Cravens
2011	Othello	Leah C. Gardiner	Seth Gilliam, Rutherford Cravens
	The Taming of the Shrew	Jack Young	Seth Gilliam, Rutherford Cravens
2012	Hamlet	Steve Pickering	Cindy Pickett, Mark Metcalf, Rutherford Cravens
	The Comedy of Errors	Paul Steger	Cindy Pickett, Mark Metcalf, Rutherford Cravens
2013	Antony and Cleopatra	Leah C. Gardiner	Seth Gilliam, Rutherford Cravens
	As You Like It	Marc Masterson	Seth Gilliam, Rutherford Cravens
2014	Henry IV, Part I	Jack Young	David Rainey, David Huynh
	Two Gentlemen of Verona	Brendon Fox	Kiara Feliciano, Amelia Fischer
2015	Merchant of Venice	Tiger Reel	Jack Young, Mirron Willis
	Macbeth	Jack Young	Adam Noble, Tracie Thomason
2016	Henry V	Lenny Banovez	Brendon Marshall-Rashid, Susie Parr
	Much Ado About Nothing	Jack Young	Demetria Thomas, Patrick Poole
2017	Twelfth Night	Jack Young	Dylan Paul, Tracie Thomason, Meg Rodgers, Mike Lee, Patrick Poole
	Richard III	Lenny Banovez	Jack Young, Madison Hart, Patrick Poole, Carlton Warnberg, Dylan Paul
2018	Hamlet	Jack Young	Shannon Hill, Demetria Thomas, Crash Buist, Shannon Uphold
	Comedy of Errors	Jack Young	Andrew Garrett, Crash Buist
2019	Julius Caesar	Jack Young	Dean Coutris, Crash Buist, Andrew Garret, David Huynh
	As You Like It	Stephanie Shine	Laura Frye Banovez, David Huynh
2020	Canceled
	Canceled
2021	Canceled
	Canceled
2022	Cymbeline	Jack Young
	King Lear	Stephanie Shine	Jack Young
2023	Much Ado About Nothing	Amelia Fischer	Allison Pistorius,
	Macbeth	Demetria Thomas	Alan Brincks, Laura Frye
2024	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Amelia Fischer	Alan Brincks, Laura Frye, Michael Sifuentes, Wesley Whitson
	Romeo & Juliet	Jack Young	Sophia Marcelle, Kyle Clark

References

1. "KUHF Night at the Houston Shakespeare Festival". Classical917.org. 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
2. "Remembering Longtime Theatre Director Sidney Berger". Targeted News Service. 16 Feb. 2013 – via Gale OneFile.
3. "Houston Shakespeare Festival - Season History". Houstonfestivalscompany.com. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
4. "Houston Shakespeare Festival". About The Artists. Retrieved 2025-05-05.

External links

• Official website

29°43′31″N95°20′38″W / 29.725156°N 95.344017°W / 29.725156; -95.344017