More Collaborations in Works for St Louis Shakespeare Festival 2026

More Collaborations in Works for St Louis Shakespeare Festival 2026

Line-up includes The Tempest, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Romeo & Zooliet

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival announcedtodayits line-up for their 26th Season of free Shakespeare with THE TEMPESTas the mainstage production in Forest Park. Directed by the Festival’s former artistic director Rick Dildine and featuring Nancy Bell as Prospero, THE TEMPEST, will begin free public performances in Shakespeare Glen on Wednesday, May 27 and run Tuesday – Sunday nights through June 21.

The romance and comedy-forward 2026 season lineup includes the previously announced CONFLUENCE NEW PLAY FESTIVAL (March 19-21), TourCo, a free and outdoor public parks tour of TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA directed by Rebekah Scallet (August 4-September 6), ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD (March 26-April 11), in association with Albion Theatre, and the return of and updated and refreshed ROMEO & ZOOLIET (Fall 2026). The annual Shakespeare in the Streets community storytelling event will return in 2027 in DOGTOWN. During the 2026 season, the Festival will also host the return of Boozy Bard with THE RECLAIMING OF THE SHREW at Schlafly Tap Room. 

Tom Ridgely, Artistic Director: “From Hollywood to London, Shakespeare is once again having a moment. His stories and poetry continue to shape our culture in subtle and profound ways. They connect us by illuminating our most defining experiences: love and loss, rupture and reconciliation. This season is about sharing those riches with more of St. Louis than ever before – and celebrating St. Louis’s unique contributions to Shakespeare in America.”

Kate Tichelkamp, Executive Director: “After celebrating a record-breaking 25th anniversary, we’re stepping into 2026 with tremendous momentum. This season builds on the energy, ambition, and community support that have shaped the Festival over the past 25 years, while continuing to expand what’s possible for Shakespeare in St. Louis. We’re excited to carry that success forward and to keep creating experiences that bring people together through extraordinary storytelling.”

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s commitment to radically accessible free theater is made possible through the support of hundreds of Festival supporters throughout the year. Lead support of the 2026 Season comes from Edward Jones, Regional Arts Commission ARPA for the Arts, Whitaker Foundation, Switch, Missouri Arts Council, and Pershing Charitable Trust. 

SEASON DETAILS

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK is the Festival’s flagship production and the unofficial start of the summer season in St. Louis. As one of the world’s largest free and outdoor Shakespeare productions, the show is accessible for everyone, always. This summer, THE TEMPEST, directed by Rick Dildine, returns to Shakespeare Glen for the first time in 20 years.

“Returning to Forest Park feels like coming home. Shakespeare Glen is one of the most inspiring outdoor spaces in the country to share this work, and I’m deeply honored to be invited back to direct The Tempest for the people of St. Louis,” said Rick Dildine. “Having previously staged Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream here, I know how powerfully these plays live under the open sky – where the city, the landscape and the audience all become part of the story. I can’t wait to make theater in St. Louis again.”

Nancy Bell (Prospero): “Years ago, I directed a motley cast of elementary students in an abridged version of The Tempest. On opening night, the third-grade girl who played Prospero held up her  cardboard magic wand and said the line, “I’ll break my staff.” She snapped it in half. Her voice broke and she bowed her head. It was one of the most thrilling moments I’ve ever seen in the theatre. It was as if this young person was somehow channeling an elderly Renaissance sorcerer. It made me realize that the play, like many of Shakespeare’s is truly – maybe literally magic.”

BOOZY BARD’S “THE RECLAIMING OF THE SHREW”, marks the return of the wildly popular 2025 event, this time taking on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew at Schlafly Tap Room on February 5, 6, 12 & 13. During an evening with Boozy Bard, an inebriated performer voluntarily struggles to reconstruct a character in a Shakepeare plan after imbibing several shots of whiskey while the remaining sober performer try to keep the story on track. Tickets for this 21+ event are now on sale. 

THE CONFLUENCE NEW PLAY FESTIVAL was created in 2018 to further foster a culture of playwriting in the Midwest by supporting emerging writers in Missouri and Illinois with a fellowship and weekend-long celebration of new works at the Confluence New Play Festival each spring. Under the direction of St. Louis’s own Drama Desk-nominated playwright Deanna Jent since 2022, Confluence has commissioned 19 new plays, six of which have gone on to world premieres around the country. Current fellows include Zachariah Ezer, Pamela Morgan, and Catherine Yu. The Festival will present staged readings of their plays and take place March 19-21, 2026.

ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD, written by Tom Stoppard, directed by Tom Ridgely, and presented in association with Albion Theatre (Robert Ashton, Artistic Director), arrives in St. Louis in spring 2026. What happens when you’re not the hero of the story? Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead flips Hamlet on its head, following two side characters who suddenly find themselves trapped inside a story they don’t fully understand. As events spiral around them, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern wrestle with fate, free will, friendship, and the unsettling realization that they may have very little control over what happens next. Performances begin at the Kranzberg Arts Center’s Black Box Theater on March 26 and close April 11, 2026. 

ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Dramatists Play Service. www.concordtheatricals.com

TOURCO, the free touring program, TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA written by William Shakespeare and directed by the New Jewish Theater’s Rebekah Scallet, features six actors performing a 90-minute free and outdoor adaptation in parks around the region. One of the largest free Shakespeare tours in the country, TourCo will run for a record 5 consecutive weeks in 2026, opening August 4. TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA is complete with disguises, misunderstandings – and one very scene-stealing dog – and takes on friendship, forgiveness and the hilarious messiness of growing up.

“I am so thrilled to be able to work with the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival on this production of Two Gents. I have a deep passion for Shakespeare, and this will be my first opportunity to direct one of his works in St. Louis,” said Rebekah Scallet. “This play is also one of my favorites – though it is one of his earliest works, it is full of hints at what it is to come with amazing comic characters and touching love stories — it even has Shakespeare’s first balcony scene! There is truly something for everyone in this coming-of-age adventure, and it will be a perfect show to share with audiences across St. Louis this summer.”  

Nisi Sturgis as Juliet’s mother in “Romeo and Zooliet” last summer.

ROMEO & ZOOLIET, written by Jennifer Joan Thompson and directed by Tom Ridgely, is eyeing a return to St. Louis in fall 2026 at a soon-to-be-announced location. In this updated and refreshed production, the animals and back and sillier than ever. ROMEO & ZOOLIET is a vibrant family comedy filled with laughter, friendship and larger-than-life puppets from world-renowned Michael Curry Design. It’s a playful celebration of curiosity, courage and connection – perfect for audiences of all ages.

SHAKESPEARE IN THE STREETS, the internationally recognized community engagement program, that most recently visited East St. Louis will arrive in DOGTOWN in 2027. Shakespeare in the Streets is a grassroots theatrical experience that invites St. Louis neighborhoods to tell their stories. A Festival-selected creative team leads the neighborhood in developing an original play based on one of Shakespeare’s works – a play with themes that reflect the community’s character.

Tickets for ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD will go on sale to the general public on Monday, February 2, 2026. Reserved seats and boxes for THE TEMPEST in Shakespeare Glen will go on sale in April 2026. 

Visit STLShakes.org/Current-Season for more information.

“A Late Summer Night’s Stroll” in Forest Park during the pandemic in 2020.

Biographies

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival strives to foster community and joy across the St. Louis region through the Shakespearean tradition of art for all. Since 2001, the Festival has grown from producing a single production of Shakespeare in Forest Park to a year-round season of impactful programming in exciting and accessible venues throughout the bi-state area. Artistic and education programs reach over 50,000 patrons and students each season. Their award-winning work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg News.

Rick Dildine For over 20 years, Rick has led some of the most prestigious theater companies in America. Today he serves as Artistic Director of the Tony Award-winning Children’s Theatre Company, the largest theater in North America dedicated to creating work for multi-generational audiences. Previously, he served as Artistic Director of Alabama Shakespeare Festival and St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. He’s also led Shakespeare & Company, About Face Theatre, and the Stephen Foster Theater.  He is a member of the National Board of Directors of Theatre for Young Audiences/USA. MFA from Brown University/Trinity Rep. Member, SDC. His directing credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, and The Tempest. 

Rebekah Scallet is the Artistic Director of the New Jewish Theatre (NJT), a position she has held since 2022. Credits at NJT include: Cabaret, We All Fall Down and The Immigrant.  Other St. Louis credits include The Roommate at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Moliére’s The Learned Ladies for the Sargent Conservatory at Webster University. Rebekah was also  the Producing Artistic Director of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre for nine years, where she directed many of Shakespeare’s works with some of her favorites being Twelfth Night, King Lear and Macbeth. Other recent credits include The Tempest at the Texas Shakespeare Festival, and The Winter’s Tale for Illinois Shakespeare Festival.  Rebekah received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and English from Brandeis University and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing from Illinois State University.

Nancy Bell is a theatre artist and writer who is grateful to have had St. Louis Shakespeare Festival as an artistic home for more than a decade. She served as Playwright-In-Residence here for six years, serving under Rick Dildine’s leadership as the first playwright for the Festival’s groundbreaking Shakespeare in the Streets program. She was the founding director of the Festival’s Confluence New Play Festival, and the director of Into the Breeches and 2024’s award-winning As You Like It. She is a familiar performer and director at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, as well. Recent credits there include The Roommate, Athena, and Emma. Other credits nationally include New York Theatre Workshop, Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast Repertory, The Geffen Playhouse, The Old Globe, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, among many others. TV and film credits from once upon a time include Star Trek Voyager, Guiding Light, Mad About You, Newsradio, and various Law and Orders. She is Professor of Theatre at St. Louis University.

Tom Ridgely is a Drama Desk-nominated director who has developed or presented work at the Public Theater, The Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Red Bull and more, and his productions have won DFW Theater Critics Forum and ECNY Awards and been nominated for St. Louis Theater Circle, Connecticut Critics Circle and BroadwayWorld Connecticut Awards. He came to the Festival from Waterwell in New York City, the company he co-founded and led from 2002-2018. There he helped create and produce more than a dozen world premieres and adaptations of classics nominated for three IT awards, a Drama Desk, a New York Magazine Culture Award and a Village Voice “Best of NYC”. Since taking over the Festival, he has won a St. Louis Magazine A-List Award for “New Arts Leader” and oversaw the Festival’s shift to developing and producing new work, which also won an A-List Award for “New Programming.”

The Rep’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play’ Is Big-Hearted Celebration

The Rep’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play’ Is Big-Hearted Celebration

By Lynn Venhaus

Overflowing with cheer and kindness, “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” is as comforting as a mug of hot cocoa and as heartwarming as the cherished 1946 film.

Festively decorated inside and out for the holidays, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is the bearer of glad tidings with this crisp and polished production, an announced substitution for the previously scheduled “A Christmas Carol,” which had been presented in 2021 and 2022.

But this was more than a performance – it was a change in direction and a celebration of community. The Rep went public with their financial woes in mid-October, starting a “Rally for the Rep!” campaign to raise $2.5 million by year’s end to continue the 57-year-old regional professional theater in the new year.

A Dec. 17 benefit, an online auction, and other fundraising efforts are being promoted, and this production is the first opportunity for The Rep to welcome patrons back to the Loretto-Hilton Center since the news broke.

They have added some ‘zhuzh’ to the welcoming atmosphere. Company Manager Michael D. Ward donated for the decoration, design and setup of the interior and exterior, and collaborated with the front of house staff to set those charming scenes.

Besides the merry mood, opening night also was a statement. You could feel the goodwill from the audience, and in the lobby afterwards, where trays of chocolate chip cookies were placed, and people snapped photos near the John Goodman cardboard cut-out. Goodman, the world-renowned actor who is a hometown treasure, will headline the Dec. 17 benefit.

Photo by Jon Gitchoff

Everything about this show gleamed – the company of all local performers’ glee was palpable and the nostalgic setting of KSTL’s studio harkened back to the Golden Age of Radio.

This play-within-a-play is a savvy adaptation by Joe Landry, reworking his play that modified the movie that’s now a holiday staple. The twist to the timeless tale is that it’s being performed by characters who work at the radio station.

This version was first produced last year by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, whose artistic director Rick Dildine was previously affiliated with the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. And The Rep is producing this show in association with ASF and is made possible in part by the support of The Berges Family Foundation. 

Kate Bergstrom has directed both, displaying a deft touch for staging the action for optimum viewing and maximum ‘feels.’ Stage Managers Emilee Buchheit and Anna Baranski energetically stage-managed the show to keep the 2-hour show running smooth.

The ensemble shines – in individual roles and as a collective in the workplace. Anchoring the show is Michael James Reed, playing actor Jake Laurents, who is also a military officer serving in World War II. He’s a terrific George Bailey, conveying the distress of a man whose faith and hope has been eroded, but also a caring neighbor and friend in his daily interactions.

Melissa Harlow, Michael James Reed. Photo by Jon Gitchoff

Laurents/Reed plays a family man and banker whose life in Bedford Falls is not what he had imagined for himself, but circumstances led to him to bloom where he was planted.

As problems mount up, and he wishes he had never been born, it’s up to his guardian angel, Clarence, to show him what the town would have been like without him — and the many good deeds he has accomplished.

Upon closer observation, the source material is quite dark — a man is desperate, ready to throw in the towel, feeling as if he’s failed. But looking back at the impact his life has made is a beautiful observation about connection. And we can all relate.

For the screenplay, movie director Frank Capra, three-time Oscar winner (“It Happened One Night,” “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” and “You Can’t Take It with You”) collaborated with married screenwriting duo Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, Oscar-nominated for “The Thin Man” and “Father of the Bride,” among their filmographies.

Their source was a 1943 short story, “The Greatest Gift,” written by Philip Van Doren Stern, which was inspired by Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

Daisy Held as a Sound Engineer. Photo by Jon Gitchoff

The movie, while earning five Oscar nominations in 1947, including Best Picture (lost to “The Best Years of Our Lives”) and another for Capra and James Stewart, was a box office flop and critics were lukewarm. It wasn’t until 1977, when its copyright lapsed and broadcasters were able to show it royalty-free, that it gained a following. Now it’s a perennial.

Today, no matter how many Christmas movies Hallmark churns out, “It’s a Wonderful Life” continues to top lists of favorite holiday movies. The Rep’s production reinforces why everyone loves it. Besides, who doesn’t want to believe in guardian angels?

The talent-rich 10-person ensemble is dialed in, seamlessly working together as radio employees and actors conveying the Bedford Falls denizens. Three are St. Louis Theater Circle winners (Michael James Reed, Eric Dean White and double-winner J Samuel Davis).

It’s fun to experience that part of America’s past, when a physical radio was an essential part of everyday life and the dominant home entertainment during the 1930s and 1940s. You’ve seen these settings in old-time movies and TV, and scenic designer An-Lin Dauber has recreated a vibrant studio where you can see — and hear — the sound engineers make the magic.

Eric Dean White, J Samuel Davis. Photo by Jon Gitchoff

With his mellifluous voice, Eric Dean White strikes a pleasant tone as a seasoned radio announcer. He’s amusing when he delivers commercials for Schnucks, Crown Candy Kitchen, Ted Drewes, and others – delighting the audience.

DeAnte Bryant is a charmer as Harry Heywood, who is humorous, caring and concerned as the lovable Clarence, who has waited 200 years to get his wings. The brilliant local actor J. Samuel Davis is Dr. Richard Ross, doubling roles — compassionate as St. Joseph and conniving as greedy Mr. Potter, the corrupt power-hungry kingpin often stopped in his chicanery by George.

Melissa Harlow is actress Sally Applewhite who plays good-natured Mary, who eventually marries George and raises a family. Carmen Garcia is the sweet Rosa Ramos, who is playing both George’s kind mother and Mary’s busybody mom. Their fashionable frocks are part of Dauber’s vintage costume design, with Jordan Fell associate costume designer.

Smartly dressed in tailored attire as ‘career girls’ are Aria Maholchic who plays spirited actress Lana Sherwood, Jailyn Genese as the efficient Stage Manager and Daisy Held as the Sound Engineer.

The biggest crowd-pleaser was winsome TJ Staten Jr., stealing scenes as Lead Songbird and Sound Engineer. Making his debut at The Rep, the McCluer High School graduate, as Troy Staten, won the 2021 St. Louis Teen Talent Competition sponsored by the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation.  

TJ Staten Jr. Photo by Jon Gitchoff

Lighting designer Christina Watanabe bathed the production in a poignant glow that enhanced the emotional depth, particularly when snowflakes fell. Moving from the cozy studio to the wintry town setting was an impressive transition.

The sound work was particularly noteworthy, because creating the sound effects to go across the airwaves isn’t as easy as it sounds. Special mention to Michael Costagliola as sound/foley designer and Andrew Ronver, the associate sound designer.

Another artisan helping establish the period was wig designer Dennis Milam Bensie.

It wouldn’t be a holiday radio show without singing, and music director Ron McGowan helped make the season bright, leading the ensemble in snappy seasonal favorites. When it was time for “Auld Lang Syne,” the audience joyfully chimed in with the ensemble. (Was anyone else misty-eyed?)

A sincere effort to inspire, touch, and engage, “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” was a dandy celebration of what should be important this time of year.

Storytelling is vital to bringing us together, and this opportunity to remind us to believe in our purpose, be mindful of what’s around us, and never lose faith in humanity is evergreen.

It is a wonderful life – and I hope you leave this show with the promise of better days ahead, even if a happy holiday is elusive.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” Dec. 1-23 at the Loretto-Hilton Center, Webster University, 130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves. For tickets or more information, visit www.repstl.org or call the box office at 314-968-4925.
For more information about Phase One of the fundraising campaign, visit www.rallyfortherep.org

Rush Tickets: Available for students, seniors, educators, and theatre professionals by calling  the Box Office at 314-968-4925, 1 – 2 hours prior to curtain time.
Audio-Described Performance: Thursday, December 21 at 7pm – the show will be described for patrons who are blind or have low vision.
ASL Performance: Saturday, December 23 at 2pm –  the show will be signed for the deaf or hard of hearing.
Open-Captioned Performance: Sunday, December 17  at 2pm – an electronic text ticker displays words being spoke or sung onstage

(And if you are hankering to watch the movie, NBC will show it Christmas Eve, the E! Entertainment Channel will show it at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Dec. 20. Bravo will show it at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 15. It is also streaming on Amazon Prime with a subscription.)

Photo by Jon Gitchoff