The Hudson Shakespeare Company is a regional Shakespeare touring festival based in Jersey City in Hudson County, New Jersey, that produces an annual summer Shakespeare in the Park festival and often features lesser done Shakespeare works such as The Two Noble Kinsmen and Timon of Athens . [1] [2] [3] The company also produces several modern-day productions in non theatrical venues such as their courtroom shows of Inherit the Wind and A Few Good Men in the Hoboken Municipal Courtroom. [4] It produce a yearly educational program that ranges from student workshops to full length Shakespeare productions. [5]
In 1992, Jersey City native L. Robert "Luther" Johnson decided to mount a staged reading of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in Hamilton Park in Jersey City. [2] Having worked as a technical consultant for such companies as Riverside Shakespeare and New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players in New York, Johnson remarked "I noticed that when you were on one side of the Hudson you couldn't walk five feet without finding a company of actors doing Shakespeare, but on this side of the river there was nothing." [6] He partnered with several theatrical friends who he had worked with previously in such community theaters as the Park Players of Union City and Civic Theater of Hudson County in Jersey City for this first production under the banner of "Hudson Shakespeare Company", named after Hudson County. While this first production featured "13 people on stage and 5 in the audience, [6] he was undeterred and continued to produce Shakespeare under "Hudson Shakespeare Company" and modern works such as Driving Miss Daisy and Waiting for Godot under "Patchwork Theater Company".
In 1996, Johnson met fellow actor and director Jon Ciccarelli and the two reorganized all of the classical and modern productions under "Hudson Shakespeare Company". For the next few years, the company produced Shakespeare and modern programs in Jersey City and Hoboken and became the first theatrical company to produce a live theater showing at Hoboken's Frank Sinatra Park with another production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1998. In 2002, the company began touring to Hackensack, South Orange, and as far away as Stratford, Connecticut. Main stay venues such as Kenilworth and Fort Lee followed in 2004 and 2007 respectively.
Hudson Shakespeare Company has become known for tackling lesser known works and questionable works of the Bard. According to the artistic director, Jon Ciccarelli, "“Each season we try to produce at least one play that you’ve either never heard of or we put a different spin on known works of Shakespeare.” [7] Lesser known plays tackled by the company: Edward III (2016), Arden of Faversham , (2015) Henry VIII (2013), Cardenio (based on Double Falsehood ) (2012), Timon of Athens (2011), Troilus and Cressida (2009), King John (2008), The Two Noble Kinsmen (2007), Coriolanus (2004), Cymbeline (2004 & 2014), Pericles (2006 & 2014), Titus Andronicus (2003 & 2013). [8] [9]
The following is a list of active venues where the company performs during an average run for a summer production.
Monument Park at Palisade Avenue adjacent to the Fort Lee Museum. HSC produces programs in association with the Fort Lee Film Commission.
Hudson Shakespeare Company conducts a yearly educational program that ranges from presentation of full Shakespeare shows to selected scene showcases to Shakespeare workshops and stage combat workshops. Shakespeare workshops have included: [44] [45]
Among the educational institutions that the group has worked with are St. Mary's High School and Kenmare High School in Jersey City, Fort Lee High School, David Brearly Middle School (Kenilworth), David Schectner Middle School (West Orange), the Hackensack Cultural Arts Center/Hackensack High School and Misericordia University (Dallas, Pennsylvania).
In 1998, the company produced A Midsummer Night's Dream as the first live theatrical performance held at the newly dedicated Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, New Jersey.
In 2005, company founder L. Robert Johnson was honored with the "Everyday Hero Award" by the newspaper The Jersey Journal . These awards and related feature article chronicle everyday citizens of Hudson County with outstanding contributions to their communities. In Mr. Johnson's case it was for his founding of Hudson Shakespeare Company and promotion of Shakespeare in Hudson County along with spearheading several educational programs mentoring novice acting students. [47]
In 2009, the company was nominated for several awards including for stage fight choreography and costuming in the New York Midtown International Theatre Festival for its production of The Sword Politik by Jon Crefeld. [48]
The company was noted in the New Cambridge edition (2012) of The Two Noble Kinsmen as one of several companies throughout the world that had produced the little done play. [49]
New Jersey City University professor, James Broderick, profiled several Hudson Shakespeare Company actors in his book Greatness Thrust Upon Them: Non-Professional Actors and Directors Discuss Their Encounters with Shakespeare. (2014). The book chronicled the actors' first experiences with the Bard, the intimidation and overcoming these hurdles to fully embrace the work and how it shaped their semi-professional and professional careers [50] [51]
In 2015, the company produced Arden of Faversham as the first live show for the newly opened Atlantic Street Park in Hackensack, New Jersey. [52]
Hudson County is the smallest and most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in the New York metropolitan area, the county seat is Jersey City, which is the county's largest city in terms of both population and area. The county is part of the North Jersey region of the state.
Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located in the northeastern corner of New Jersey, Bergen County and its many inner suburbs constitute a highly developed part of the New York City metropolitan area, bordering the Hudson River; the George Washington Bridge, which crosses the Hudson, connects Bergen County with Manhattan. The county is part of the North Jersey region of the state.
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 60,419, an increase of 10,414 (+20.8%) from the 2010 census count of 50,005, which in turn reflected an increase of 11,428 (+29.6%) from the 38,577 counted in the 2000 census. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 57,010 for 2023, making it the 708th-most populous municipality in the nation. With more than 42,400 inhabitants per square mile (16,400/km2) in data from the 2010 census, Hoboken was ranked as the third-most densely populated municipality in the United States among cities with a population above 50,000. In the 2020 census, the city's population density climbed to more than 48,300 inhabitants per square mile (18,600/km2) of land, ranked fourth in the county behind Guttenberg, Union City and West New York.
Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 17,197, an increase of 4,643 (+37.0%) from the 2010 census count of 12,554, which in turn reflected a decline of 947 (−7.0%) from the 13,501 counted in the 2000 census.
Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades.
Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio. It was published in 1609 as a quarto, was not included in Shakespeare's collections of works until the third folio, and the main inspiration for the play was Gower's Confessio Amantis. Various arguments support the theory that Shakespeare was the sole author of the play, notably in DelVecchio and Hammond's Cambridge edition of the play, but modern editors generally agree that Shakespeare was responsible for almost exactly half the play — 827 lines — the main portion after scene 9 that follows the story of Pericles and Marina. Modern textual studies suggest that the first two acts, 835 lines detailing the many voyages of Pericles, were written by a collaborator, who may well have been the victualler, panderer, dramatist and pamphleteer George Wilkins. Wilkins published The Painful Adventures of Pericles Prince of Tyre which is the prose version of the story, and drew from Lawrence Twines' The Pattern of Painful Adventures. Pericles was one of the seventeen plays that were in print during Shakespeare's life, and was reprinted 5 times between 1609 and 1635.
For the purposes of this article, the Jersey City area extends North to Edgewater, South to Bayonne and includes Kearny Junction and Harrison but not Newark. Many routes east of Newark are listed here.
Hoboken, New Jersey, is home to many parks, historical landmarks, and other places of interest.
Elizabeth Rex is a play by Timothy Findley. It premiered in a 2000 production by the Stratford Festival. The play won the 2000 Governor General's Award for English language drama.
Paterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey. The route, originally laid in the colonial era, connects the city of Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront. It has largely been superseded by Route 3, but in the many towns it passes it has remained an important local thoroughfare, and in some cases been renamed.
The Heights or Jersey City Heights is a neighborhood in Jersey City, New Jersey, located atop the New Jersey Palisades, along the west side of the Hudson River. It is bound by Paterson Plank Road on the north, Highway 139 on the south, Hoboken on the east, and the Hackensack River on the west. and Penhorn Creek on the west. Its postal area ZIP Codes are 07307, and portions of 07306.
The Gateway Region is the primary urbanized area of the northeastern section of New Jersey. It is anchored by Newark, the state's most populous city. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.
The Hackensack Plank Road, also known as Bergen Turnpike, was a major artery which connected the cities of Hoboken and Hackensack, New Jersey. Like its cousin routes, the Newark Plank Road and Paterson Plank Road, it travelled over Bergen Hill and across the Hackensack Meadows from the Hudson River waterfront to the city for which it was named. It was originally built as a colonial turnpike road as Hackensack and Hoboken Turnpike. The route mostly still exists today, though some segments are now called the Bergen Turnpike. It was during the 19th century that plank roads were developed, often by private companies which charged a toll. As the name suggests, wooden boards were laid on a roadbed in order to prevent horse-drawn carriages and wagons from sinking into softer ground on the portions of the road that passed through wetlands. The company that built the road received its charter on November 30, 1802. The road followed the route road from Hackensack to Communipaw that was described in 1679 as a "fine broad wagon-road."
The Hudson Waterfront is an urban area of northeastern New Jersey along the lower reaches of the Hudson River, the Upper New York Bay and the Kill van Kull. Though the term can specifically mean the shoreline, it is often used to mean the contiguous urban area between the Bayonne Bridge and the George Washington Bridge that is approximately 19 miles (31 km) long. Historically, the region has been known as Bergen Neck, the lower peninsula, and Bergen Hill, lower Hudson Palisades. It has sometimes been called the Gold Coast.
Bulls Ferry is an area along the Hudson River, just north of Weehawken Port Imperial in the towns of West New York, Guttenberg and North Bergen in New Jersey. It takes its name from a pre-Revolutionary settlement belonging to the Bull family, who operated a row-and-sail ferry to the burgeoning city of New York across the river.
Palisade Avenue is the name given to a historic road which parallels the eastern crest of Hudson Palisades in northeastern New Jersey. It travels between Jersey City and Fort Lee, passing through Jersey City Heights, North Hudson, and Cliffside Park, with various parts carrying Hudson and Bergen county route designations. The avenue re-aligns itself at several places along its route as it crosses traditional municipal boundaries created in the 19th century. As a primary route running along the top of the Hudson Palisades, many segments offer scenic views of the Hudson River and the New York skyline. Since 2020 there is proposed state legislation to restrict building heights that would rise above the cliffs on the eastern side of Palisade Avenue along the entire corridor from Jersey City to Fort Lee.
Shakespeare in the Park is a term for outdoor festivals featuring productions of William Shakespeare's plays. The term originated with the New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City's Central Park, originally created by Joseph Papp. This concept has been adapted by many theatre companies, and over time, this name has expanded to encompass outdoor theatre productions of the playwright's works performed all over the world.
The Hudson Classical Theater Company, formerly known as Hudson Warehouse is known for presenting outdoor theatre, including Shakespeare. They perform three outdoor plays in the summer months in Riverside Park and fall/winter productions at Goddard Riverside's Bernie Wohl Center. Known as "The Other Shakespeare in the Park," the company was founded in 2004 by Nicholas Martin-Smith, who serves as its artistic director. In 2021 it was renamed as Hudson Classical Theater Company.
A Shakespeare festival is a theatre organization that stages the works of William Shakespeare continually.
Established in 1992, the Hudson Shakespeare Company has produced over 100 productions and is still going. The touring company performs in parks, at schools, and even courtrooms, visiting Hoboken and Jersey City in Hudson County. Shakespeare in the Park typically ends after the warm months, but Hudson Shakespeare Company has a fall season....