Photos by Jeff Rumans

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Richard Esvang
August 28th – September 28th, 2014

Cast:
Rosencrantz – Vanessa Severo
Guildenstern – Rusty Sneary
The Player – Brian Paulette
Alfred – Will Fritz
Hamlet – Jake Walker
Claudius – Scott Cordes
Gertrude – Cinnamon Schultz
Polonius – Walter Coppage
Laertes – Matt Lindblom
Ophelia – Dianne Yvette
Horatio – Kyle Dyck
Tragedian – Mark Robbins
Tragedian – Amy Kelly
Tragedian – Ryan Hruza
Tragedian – Nikky Badejo
Tragedian – Matthew Schmidli

Winner of the 1968 Tony Award for Best Play, this clever comedy turns Hamlet on its head by taking two minor characters, the Laurel and Hardy like pair of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and making them the stars of the show!  Written around and in-between the lines of Shakespeare’s play, Tom Stoppard brilliantly takes the main concerns of contemporary theater – absurdism, the inevitability of death, breakdown in communication and feeling – and inserts them into the text of the much earlier classic.  This is the made to order companion piece to Hamlet; perfect for a thought provoking repertory.

Director – Richard Esvang
Stage Manager – Jim Mitchell
Set Design – Gary Mosby
Lighting Design – Shane Rowse
Costume Design – Lauren Roark
Composer – Greg Mackender
Sound Design – Sarah Putts
Props Design – Regina Weller
Assistant Stage Manager – Lexie Klasing
Assistant Stage Manager – Lacey Willis
Dramaturg – Felicia Londre
House Manager – Alyson Germinder

“…their scenes together consistently fired on all cylinders. The effect was so mesmerizing, the performances so pitch perfect, that I found myself lamenting the absence of a rewind button in live theater.
  — Robert Trussell, The Kansas City Star  (full review)

“…some of the best theater recently staged”
— Deborah Hirsch, The Pitch  (full review)

“There is not a weak performance in the show.”
— Bob Evans, The Examiner  (full review)