Colorado Shakespeare Festival announces 2027 season

Four Shakespeare plays, including Hamlet and both parts of Henry IV, mark the festival’s 70th year.

The Colorado Shakespeare Festival will return June 5 for its 70th season on the University of Colorado Boulder campus, with four Shakespeare plays split between its two venues.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Tim Orr, opens the season June 5 at the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre. The outdoor stage also hosts Hamlet, directed by Wendy Franz, which opens June 27. The indoor Roe Green Theatre will present Henry IV, Part 1 from June 13 and Henry IV, Part 2 from July 11, both directed by Kevin Rich.

The Roe Green Theatre will debut new seating and enhanced sound in 2027. Audiences returned to the Mary Rippon last season after a two-year renovation that improved seating, accessibility, lighting and sound. The project also added patio seating and an atrium lobby with a café.

The 2027 season

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, directed by Tim Orr. June 5-Aug. 1, Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre. Four young Athenians flee into an enchanted forest, where the fairy king orders the sprite Puck to administer a potion that confuses their affections. Meanwhile, Oberon and Titania spar over a child, and a troupe of amateur players rehearses for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta.

Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare, directed by Kevin Rich. June 13-July 31, Roe Green Theatre. Prince Hal spends his days in the tavern with Falstaff while civil war threatens his father’s reign. When rebellion ignites, Hal must prove himself a worthy heir.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare, directed by Wendy Franz. June 27-July 31, Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre. Prince Hamlet returns to Denmark, where his father’s ghost reveals that Claudius, now king and married to Queen Gertrude, murdered him. Vowing revenge, Hamlet feigns madness while he investigates the crime.

Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare, directed by Kevin Rich. July 11-Aug. 1, Roe Green Theatre. As the king grows ill, Hal struggles to balance his old life with his approaching ascension. Falstaff expects to gain favor when his friend takes the throne.

Tickets

Season tickets are available at coloradoshakes.org, by phone at 303-492-8008 or in person at the CU Presents Box Office, open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Single tickets go on sale Dec. 1.