I discovered the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in 2007, thanks to a review by WSJ drama critic Terry Teachout, and have been back several times. The venue is beautiful–the theater is located at the Boscobel Restoration, a 19th-century mansion with extensive grounds, perched on a bluff directly across the Hudson River from West Point. Performances are in a large and airy tent open on one side to the river view. People tend to come early and bring food for picnics.
The first play I saw there was As You Like It, which I reviewed here. Last year, they presented Hamlet, which I thought was outstanding–Terry Teachout’s review here. And Thusday I saw Romeo and Juliet, which I didn’t think was quite as stellar as the Hamlet, but still very much worth seeing. The part of Juliet was especially well-acted. A review here.
Here’s the HVSF website. This year, in addition to Romeo and Juliet, the theater is also presenting Love’s Labor Lost and The 39 Steps. HVSF is only open through the end of August, so if you want to attend you might want to make your reservation soon.
The festival looks like fun – and all the more for being at Boscobel! I love that house – I still have a thick guidebook to it, that I sent away for when I was stationed overseas. Someone had told me about it, or it was in a magazine that I read, and for a long time when I was still into building 12th-scale miniatures, I wanted to do Boscobel. I thought it was the most perfect mansion house ever built, better than any number of grand Southern plantation houses.