Below are a couple of quotes of the critic reviews that have come out so far for The Family Shakespeare now playing at The June Havoc Theater through Saturday, April 30th.:

"The Family Shakespeare raises key questions around the timely issue of censorship. These larger questions, along with a gifted cast, make for a compelling production... Cotton Wright is wonderful in her portayal of Henrietta, convincingly embodying a woman who is both intelligent and articulate yet also naive and childlike... The intricate, visually dazzling costumes by Rachel Dozier-Ezell add great beauty and authenticity, and often times resemble creations that would wow even on modern catwalks."
-Theatre Is Easy

"Part Shakespeare In Love, part Sam Shepard play in corsets, The Family Shakespeare is an interesting story.  The actors gave solid performances. Eric C. Bailey has some of the show’s best laugh lines, Alexandra Cohen-Spiegler is a delightful Dorcas, and Cotton Wright is an engaging Henrietta. The costumes by Rachel Dozier-Ezell are beautiful, and the set by Blair Mielnik is quite creative in the small theatre space. The show’s director Antonio Miniño has created some delightful staging sequences... It’s nice to see a new play in period costumes about censorship, family and poetry. It’s infinitely better than staying home and watching reruns of the network-approved version of Sex and the City." - nytheatre.com

"The time is right for David Stallings’s new play The Family Shakespeare... Cotton [Wright] is charming, with a naturally evident love of poetry and a contagious sense of play. Corey [Tazmania] is quite the opposite in an equally exciting way. Her harsh and pessimistic look on life is believable without falling into the stereotypes of villain or shrew. Instead, her complex, tortured past is on stage with her at all times. Frankie Seratch as the ten-year-old Fen is also loveable and honest, which is impressive especially at such a young age... The Family Shakespeareis interesting and provocative with an active thesis, which sets it apart from the crowd" - Show Business Weekly

"The performance has excellent production values (especially in Rachel Dozier-Ezell's costumes and Dan Gallagher's lights) and a versatile cast, especially Cotton Wright, whose performance as Henrietta Bowdler is worth the price of admission... The Family Shakespeare offers a pleasant theatrical experience." -OffOffOnline

"It is always risky to create a work of art with an unambiguous message, and an anti-censorship message is no exception. Ambiguity, irony, and multiple meanings are the stuff of good art; an unambiguous message, no matter how right or passionate, risks sliding into agit-prop. Playwright David Stallings’s The Family Shakespeare, which recently opened at the June Havoc Theater in Manhattan, avoids this trap. It comes down decisively on the side of freedom, but also gives Thomas Bowdler, famous for his early 19th century expurgated versions of Shakespeare’s plays, a chance to make his case." -The Free Expression Policy Project.


6 Performances Left:

Tue, April 26th at 7pm (followed by talk-back)
Wed, April 27th at 7pm
Thu, April 28th at 7pm
Fri, April 29th at 8pm
Sat, April 30th at 8pm

Buy Your Tickets TODAY!

Join us at our celebrated Talk-Back Tuesday performances!  

From firemen & reverends,  to foster children & psychologists,  everyone talks about how entertaining, educational and poignant MTWorks' moderated talk-backs have become.

Won't you join us today at our 7pm performance with special guest Joan Bertin of the National Coalition Against Censorship, moderated by the chair of the MTWorks' board of directorsDr. Ann Marie Yali(Associate Professor of Psychology at the City College of New York).

Learn more about The Family Shakespeare and buy tickets today.

Some photos taken by director Antonio Miniño during a rehearsal of The Family Shakespeare. We can't wait for you to see the finished set and costumes April 13th through the 30th at the June Havoc Theatre.

Buy your tickets today by clicking here.

Click above to listen to a sample of the music composed by Jessie Montgomery and performed by PUBLIQuartet for The Family Shakespeare premiering April 13th at the June Havoc Theater.

Jessie Montgomery is a New York native violinist, composer and music educator. She is a composer and performer of film, theater and concert music, performing regularly among New York’s classical and new music scenes. Jessie is a founding member of PUBLIQuartet, an ensemble made up of composers and arrangers, featuring their own music as well as that of other New York based composers. She was also a core member of the Providence String Quartet from 2004 - 2009, quartet in residence of Community MusicWorks. Ensemble experiences have lead to collaborations with The Orion String Quartet, The Miro String Quartet, and The Knights. Jessie has also collaborated with avante-garde clarinetist and composer Don Byron, performing the music of Mickey Katz (February 2011). As a composer, Jessie was in Residence at the Deer Valley Music Festival under the direction of American composer Joan Tower. She was the two-time recipient of the Composer’s Apprentice Award given by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and has served as resident composer for the Providence String Quartet, with performances throughout the Providence and Boston areas. Performances of her work have also been premiered by the Vinca Quartet and The Millennium Ensemble. Jessie holds a Bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School in violin performance and is currently a Master of Music Candidate for Composition in Film Scoring at New York University. Primary violin teachers have been Sally Thomas and Ann Setzer; composition teachers and mentors include Hollywood film composer Ira Newborn, Joan Tower and Derek Bermel.

BUY YOUR FAMILY SHAKESPEARE TICKETS TODAY

Company member Antonio Miniño who is directing The Family Shakespeare, contributes a profile of playwright David Stallings to nytheatre.com's Indie Theater Companion.



Take a read, and don't forget to buy your tickets to The Family Shakespeare premiering April 13th!

Don't get us wrong, we loved our preliminary artwork. We are big advocates of incorporating photography and actual cast members into our show images whenever possible, and this time thanks to the talents and disposition of graphic designer Lindsay Moore, costume designer Rachel Dozier-Ezell, cast member Cotton Wright and photography by Antonio Miniño, we are happy to reveal our new image for The Family Shakespeare - feel free to copy the image, share and spread the word!

Previews begin April 13th, for more information visit Current Season.