List of Shakespeare Productions

I'm an opportunist. I don't care about the play's title or who is in it; if I have an affordable opportunity to see Shakespeare, I do so. If we're on vacation and discover some Shakespeare at the destination or en route, we order tickets.

With that in mind, this list is revealing in two ways. One, it represents through my experience what titles tend to be most often produced over the past 30 years.

Two, it proves to be a treasure of Hollywood who's who, most of whom were “who?” back when. Certainly, some actors were already headlining stars when I saw them in London (Vanessa Redgrave, Timothy Dalton) or in the United States (Lynn Redgrave, Al Pacino). Many more were my favorite stage actors in England but largely unrecognized outside the theaters. Long before they became internationally known as Lord Voldemort, Snape, Captain Picard, Ghandi, Dr. Octopus, Kenneth Branagh, and Judi Dench, they first impressed me as Romeo, Jaques, Enobarbus, Ford, Hastings, Petruchio, Navarre, and Judi Dench.

Keys to this list: Sarah and I have kept most of our tickets, so most productions going back to 1990 are listed with specific dates (some theaters don't date their tickets). The listed productions from the 1980s don't always have specific dates because I could rely only on playbills and programs (my parents kept some of the tickets of plays they attended with me). As for the 1970s, the only programs I have are those plays I attended with my parents in England; the rest are memories.

For the casts, I list only the principals, but include lesser roles when their portrayals were particularly memorable.

Eric Minton

Click on the play title to see the productions. Productions since 2009 are further described in the On Stage section of this website.

All's Well That End's Well

Antony and Cleopatra

Arden of Faversham

As You Like It

Cardenio (aka Double Falsehood)

The Comedy of Errors

Coriolanus

Cymbeline

Edward III

Hamlet

Henry IV, Part 1

Henry IV, Part 2

[The Most Lamentable Comedy of Sir John Falstaff]

[The Mistorical Hystery of Henry (I)V]

Henry V

Henry VI, Part 1

Henry VI, Part 2

Henry VI, Part 3

Henry VI [conflation]

Henry VIII

Julius Caesar

King John

King Lear

Love's Labour's Lost

Macbeth

Measure for Measure

The Merchant of Venice

1. Royal Shakespeare Company, County Upper School, Bury Saint Edmunds, England
   January 1987. Directed by Roger Michell: Nigel Terry (Shylock), Fiona Shaw (Portia), Paul Webster (Antonio), Simon Dutton (Bassanio), David Summer (Salerio), William Chubb (Solanio), Jacqueline Dankworth (Nerissa).
2. Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre, London, England
   1988. Directed by Bill Alexander: Antony Sher (Shylock), Deborah Findlay (Portia), John Carlisle (Antonio), Nicholas Farrell (Bassanio), Deborah Goodman (Jessica), Akim Mogaji (Launcelot Gobbo), Geoffrey Freshwater (Gratiano).
3. Stratford Festival of Canada, Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario
   September 7, 1996. Directed by Marti Maraden: Douglas Rain (Shylock), Susan Coyne (Portia), David Warburton (Arragon), Roland Hewgill (Antonio), Paul Haddad (Bassanio), Wayne Best (Gratiano), Michelle Fisk (Nerissa).
4. Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare Tavern, Atlanta, Ga.
   April 1997. Directed by Tony Wright: Dikran Tulaine (Shylock), Betty Hart (Portia), Robert Browning (Antonio), John Eric Ladd (Bassanio), Hugh Adams (Gratiano), Elaine Wadsworth (Nerissa), Doug Kaye (Morocco, Aragon, Duke).
5. Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Festival Stage, Montgomery, Ala.
   July 6, 1997. Directed by Kent Thompson: Monica Bell (Portia), Philip Pleasants (Shylock), John Woodson (Antonio), Brian G. Kurlander (Bassanio), Laura McCord (Nerissa), Tara Falk (Jessica), David Douglas (Launcelot Gobbo).
6. Stratford Festival of Canada, Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ontario
   August 25, 2001. Directed by Richard Monette: Paul Soles (Shylock), Lucy Peacock (Portia), Donald Carrier (Bassanio), Peter Hutt (Antonio), Sarah Dodd (Nerissa), Paul Dunn (Launcelot Gobbo), Adrienne Gould (Jessica).
7. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Va.
   November 13, 2004. Directed by Murray Ross: David Loar (Shylock), Sarah Fallon (Portia), Eric Schoen (Bassanio), James Beard (Antonio), Jessica Dunton (Nerissa), Dennis Henry (Launcelot Gobbo), Doreen Bechtol (Jessica).
8. Public Theater, Broadhurst Theatre, New York, N.Y.
   February 18, 2011. Directed by Daniel Sullivan: Al Pacino (Shylock), Lily Rabe (Portia), Byron Jennings (Antonio), David Harbour (Bassanio), Marsha Stephanie Blake (Nerissa), David Aaron Baker (Gratiano), Lind Heather (Jessica).
9. Theatre for a New Audience, Pace University Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, New York, N.Y.
   March 5, 2011. Directed by Darko Tresnjak: F. Murray Abraham (Shylock), Kate MacCluggage (Portia), Tom Nelis (Antonio), Lucas Hall (Bassanio), Jacob Ming-Trent (Launcelot Gobbo), Andrew Dahl (Balthasar).
10. Shakespeare Theatre Company, Sydney Harman Hall, Washington, D.C.
    June 29, 2011. Directed by Ethan McSweeny: Julia Coffey (Portia), Mark Nelson (Shylock), Derek Smith (Antonio), Drew Cortese (Bassanio), Amelia Pedlow (Jessica), Benjamin Pelteson (Tubal), Liz Wisan (Nerissa).
11. Maryland Shakespeare Festival, All Saints Episcopal Church, Frederick, Md.
    March 25, 2012. Bare Bard Repertory: Elizabeth Jernigan (Portia), JJ Area (Bassanio), Stephen Lorne Williams (Shylock), Jared Mercier (Antonio), Teresa Spencer (Jessica), Matthew Pauli (Launcelot), Colby Codding (Gratiano).
12. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Va.
    July 14, 2012. Directed by Jim Warren: Tracie Thomason (Portia), James Keegan (Shylock), Gregory Jon Phelps (Bassanio), Benjamin Curns (Gratiano), Renee Thornton Jr. (Antonio), Abbi Hawk (Jessica), Chris Johnston (Lorenzo, Arragon).
13. Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, St. Mary's Community Center, Baltimore, Md.
    April 3, 2015. Directed by Tom Delise: Valerie Dowdle (Portia), Ian Blackwell Rogers (Shylock), Chris Cotterman (Bassanio), Kerry Brady (Jessica), Barbara Madison Hauck (Gratiano), Kaathryn Zoerb (Nerissa).
14. Atlanta Shakespeare Company, New American Shakespeare Tavern, Atlanta, Ga.
    May 24, 2015. Directed by Laura Cole: Doug Kaye (Shylock), Amee Vyas (Portia), Sam R. Ross (Antonio), Amanda Lindsey (Jessica), Doug Graham (Gratiano), Matt Nitchie (Duke, Morocco, Tubal, Old Gobbo), Matt Felten (Launcelot, Arragon).
15. District Merchants, Folger Theatre, Washington, D.C.
    June 9, 2016. By Aaron Posner, directed by Michael John Garcés: Matthew Boston (Shylock), Craig Wallace (Antoine), Maren Bush (Portia), Dani Stoller (Jessica), Seth Rue (Bassanio), William Vaughan (Lorenzo), Celeste Jones (Nessa), Akeem Davis (Lancelot).
16. Shakespeare's Globe, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
    July 27, 2016. Directed by Jonathan Munby: Jonathan Pryce (Shylock), Phoebe Price (Jessica), Rachel Pickup (Portia), Stefan Adegbola (Launcelot), Dan Fredenburgh (Bassanio), Jolyon Coy (Gratiano), Dominic Mafham (Antonio), Andy Apollo (Lorenzo).
17. Faction of Fools, Gallaudet Eastman Studio, Washington, D.C.
    November 19, 2016. Directed by Paul Reisman: Matthew Pauli (Shylock), Natalie Cutcher (Portia, Salario), Vince Eisenson (Bassanio, Tubal), Ryan Tumulty (Antonio, Gobbo), Teresa Spencer (Nerissa, Salanio, Old Gobbo), Danial Flint (Gratiano, Morocco).
18. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhosue, Staunton, Va.
    January 21, 2017. Actors' Renaissance Season: John Harrell (Shylock), David Anthony Lews (Antonio), Ginna Hoben (Portia), Josh Innerst (Bassanio), Benjamin Reed (Lorenzo, Arragon), Jessika Williams (Morocco, Duke), Lauren Ballard (Jessica).
19. Children's Shakespeare Theatre, Palisades Presbyterian Church, Palisades, N.Y.
    March 3, 2018. Directed by Diana Green: Cooper Rosen (Shylock), Cole Massaro (Antonio), Journee Benjamin (Portia), Ethan Lee (Bassanio), Adam Greenberg (Gratiano), Liam Rigney (Launcelot), Hela Giaever (Jessica), Claire Carroll (Nerissa).
20. Utah Shakespeare Festival, Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre, Cedar City, Utah
    July 11, 2018. Directed by Melinda Pfundstein: Lisa Wolpe (Shylock), Leslie Brott (Antonio), Tarah Flanagan (Portia), Wayne T. Carr (Bassanio), Josh Innerst (Gratiano), Betsy Mugavero (Nerissa), Aidaa Peerzada (Jessica), Josh Jeffers (Lorenzo), Tracie Lane (Tubal, Duke).

The Merry Wives of Windsor

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Much Ado about Nothing

Othello

Pericles

Richard II

Richard III

Romeo and Juliet

The Spanish Tragedy

The Taming of the Shrew

The Tempest

Timon of Athens

Titus Andronicus

Troilus and Cressida

Twelfth Night

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

The Two Noble Kinsmen

The Winter's Tale

The Sonnets

The Rape of Lucrece

Venus and Adonis

Miscellaneous

Non-Shakespeare Productions