Arden of Faversham Opens Off-Broadway March 16

Red Bull Theater Company's production of Arden of Faversham officially opens Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre March 16.

Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and Kathryn Walat, and directed by Jesse Berger, this is the first production of Arden of Faversham to play New York in many years. The production began preview performances March 6, and will continue through April 1.

Starring Cara Ricketts as Alice, Thomas Jay Ryan as her husband Arden, Tony Roach as her lover Mosby, and Veronica Falcón, Zachary Fine, Emma Geer, Joshua David Robinson, Thom Sesma, David Ryan Smith, and Haynes Thigpen, Arden of Faversham is often attributed to Shakespeare.

As scholar Tanya Pollard explains; "Printed in 1592 with no authorial attribution, Arden of Faversham has long been seen as the most famous anonymous play from the Elizabethan era. In recent years, however, its authorship has become a topic of heated critical debate. Scholars have generally agreed that the play was written collaboratively, as was typical of early modern drama in general and especially at the time of Arden’s composition. New work with computational stylistic analysis has supported a growing consensus that the play was written by two authors: one possibly Thomas Watson, and the other, responsible for many of the play’s middle scenes, William Shakespeare. If Shakespeare contributed to Arden, as seems increasingly likely, it would be one of the earliest plays in which he had a hand—possibly the earliest. As such, it introduces suggestive details about his early artistic development. In particular, its unusually substantial and complex female leading role offers a haunting pre-history for later Shakespearean creations such as Rosalind, Lady Macbeth, and Cleopatra. This production compounds the play’s collaborative voices with two newer additions: Jeffrey Hatcher and Kathryn Walat.”

Arden of Faversham features scenic design by Christopher Swader and Justin Swader, costume design by Mika Eubanks, lighting design by Reza Behjat, and original music and sound design by Greg Pliska.

For more information, visit RedBullTheater.com.