The Colorado Shakespeare Festival
- The Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre
The Colorado Shakespeare Festival is celebrating
its 50th anniversary this year.
The festival, held at the 1,000-seat Mary
Rippon Outdoor Theatre in Boulder, is one of
the few professional theaters in the state dedicated
to classical theater. According to the festival’s
public relations and marketing director
Mell McDonnell the theatre focuses on
Shakespeare’s works and other American and
British theater classics. McDonnell said there
also are performances reflecting the Hispanic
and Italian theater traditions.
The festival’s summer season runs from
June 22 to Aug. 18. The Christmas season runs
Dec. 7 through Dec. 24. This year the festival
will feature three of Shakespeare’s classics,
including “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”and
“Julius Caeser”and Italian playwright Carol
Goldoni’s “The Servant of Two Masters”and
Jules Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days.”
An estimated 30,000-40,000 people attend
the festival every year.
McDonnell said the renowned festival has
given many actors and actresses their start,
including Academy Award nominee Annette
Bening, former "NYPD Blue" star Jimmy Smits
and Val Kilmer, best known for his roles as
"Iceman" in "Top Gun" and as Jim Morrison in
"The Doors."
The theater offers family and education outreach
programs, serving about 5,000 students a year, and includes travel to schools across
the state for performances and workshops.
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