All’s Well that Ends Well runs June 8-29; Opening Night June 13

Pictured: Anthony Michael Martinez, Kim Wong and

John Herrera. Photo by VanderVeen Photographers.

By Megan Mabry

Triad Stage

Triad Stage’s Lucky 13^th Season closes with Shakespeare re-invented.  Directed by Triad Stage artistic director, Preston Lane, All’s Well that Ends Well brings the magic, romance, betrayal and war of Europe in the 1920s to Triad Stage. She loves him. He doesn’t even notice she’s alive. And so begins one of theater’s greatest romances. It’s a wild journey of risks, magic, war, traps, betrayal and true love. A sick king is cured of his deadly disease. A brave young woman is given the husband of her choice. An unhappy groom flees for the foreign wars. A woman refuses to take no for an answer. Filled with comedy, love, bold plans, dirty tricks and brilliantly drawn characters, All’s Well that Ends Well is Shakespeare done Triad Stage style—a classic re-invented. All’s Well that Ends Well runs June 8 through June 29, 2014. Opening Night is Friday, June 13. The production is sponsored by The Fresh Market. with additional support from CityView at Southside, Compass Financial Partners, LLC, Volvo Financial Services and WellSpring.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

All’s Well that Ends Well marks Triad Stage’s first production of the works of William Shakespeare. “Redemption, loss, death, love, sin and deception weave together to create a comedy of forgiveness,” states Triad Stage artistic director and director of All’s Well, Preston Lane. Seen as one of Shakespeare’s “Problem Plays,” the play has been embraces by modern scholars as one of Shakespeare’s most modern and complex tales. “Shakespeare’s play is set in a time of incredible change. An old order is passing away as a new order struggles to take its place. We have found a parallel to this world in an imagined Europe of the 1920s. A world of great change, civil wars and enormous future,” explains Lane.

Lane has assembled a cast of returning Triad Stage favorites and entirely new faces. John Herrera, Anthon Michael Martinez, David Ryan Smith and Kim Wong all make their Triad Stage debut. Beth Ritson (A Christmas Carol, Steel Magnolias, The Night of the Iguana), Cinny Strickland (Snow Queen, Steel Magnolias, Beautiful Star) and Jeffery West (dir. RED, The Woman in Black) all return to Triad Stage. University of North Carolina Greensboro, BFA acting candidates Tyler Barnhardt, Alex Cioffi, DeAndre’ Hicks, Chloe Clark Oliver, Madelynn Poulson, Sibél Turkdamar, Brady Wease and Lee Wilson all make their Triad Stage debut as part of the annual THTR 232 Festival co-produced by Triad Stage and UNCG Theatre.

The creative team includes: scenic designer Robin Vest (Black Pearl Sings, The Diary of Anne Frank, Brother Wolf (2006)), costume designer Bill Brewer (Snow Queen, Wait Until Dark, Kingdom of Earth), lighting designer Robert Perry (Julie’s Dance, Steel Magnolias) and sound designer David E. Smith (Brother Wolf (2014), Snow Queen, Tennessee Playboy). The voice and text coach is Christine Morris, the dramaturg is Bryan Conger and Jim Wren is the resident fight director. Cindi Rush is the casting director and the stage manager is Emily J. Mails.

Biographies of the cast and creative team, and more information on the production can be found online at www.triadstage.org.