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

1. Missouri Shakespeare [Touring Company], Columbia, Mo.
   1980.
2. Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre, London, England
   1985. Directed by Don Daniels: Roger Rees (Hamlet), John Stride (Claudius), Virginia McKenna (Gertrude), Christopher Benjamin (Polonius), Frances Barber (Ophelia), Kenneth Branagh (Laertes), Sebastian Shaw (Gravedigger).
3. Wright State University Theatre, Dayton, Ohio
   February 1994. Directed by Robert A. Hetherington: Matthew Gregor (Hamlet), Bruce Cromer (Claudius), Amanda Eaglen (Gertrude), Jason Sheldon (Polonius), C. Robert Carpenter (Horatio), Melanie Jerilyn Wilson (Ophelia).
4. American Players Theatre, Spring Green, Wis.
   June 1994. Directed by David Frank: Lee E. Ernst (Hamlet), Jonathan Smoots (Claudius), Jonathan Adams (Horatio), Sarah Day (Gertrude), Drew Brhel (Polonius), Camiila Enders (Ophelia), Mark Corkins (Ghost).
5. Stratford Festival of Canada, Tom Patterson Theatre, Stratford, Ontario
   September 3, 1994. Directed by Richard Monette: David Jansen (Hamlet), Peter Donaldson (Claudius), Janet Wright (Gertrude), Douglas Rain (Polonius), Sabrina Grdevich (Ophelia), Tom McCamus (Horatio), William Hutt (Ghost).
6. Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare Tavern, Atlanta, Ga.
   March 1997. Directed by Jeffrey Watkins: Dikran Tulaine (Hamlet), Whitt Brantley (Claudius), Patricia French (Gertrude), Doug Kaye (Polonius), Agnes Lucinda Harty (Ophelia), Hugh Adams (Horatio), Robert Browning (Ghost).
7. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Va.
   November 13, 2005. Directed by Murray Ross: Khris Lewin (Hamlet), Tracy Hostmyer (Gertrude), Rene Thornton Jr. (Claudius), Sarah Fallon (Ophelia), John Harrell (Polonius, Osric), James Keegan (Ghost, Player King).
8. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Va.
   April 24, 2009. Directed by Jim Warren: Luke Eddy (Hamlet), Kelley McKinnon (Gertrude), Jonathan Reis (Claudius), Brandi Rhome (Ophelia), Dennis Henry (Polonius, Osric), Rick Blunt (Rosencrantz), Ginna Hoben (Guildenstern).
9. Folger Theatre, Washington, D.C.
   May 13, 2010. Directed by Joseph Haj: Graham Michael Hamilton (Hamlet), Deborah Haslett (Gertrude, Player Queen), David Whalen (Claudius, Lucianus), Lindsey Wochley (Ophelia), Stephen Patrick Martin (Polonius, Gravedigger).
10. Folger Theatre, Washington, D.C.
    May 24, 2010. Kate Eastwood Norris (Hamlet, Gertrude, Claudius, Ophelia, Polonius, Laertes, Horatio, Gravedigger, et al.).
11. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Va.
    August 13, 2011. Directed by Jim Warren: John Harrell (Hamlet), Renee Thornton Jr. (Ghost, Player King), James Keegan (Claudius), Miriam Donald (Ophelia), Benjamin Curns (Polonius, Gravedigger), Blythe Coons (Gertrude).
12. Hamlecchino, Clown Prince of Denmark, Faction of Fools, Gallaudet University Elstad Auditorium, Washington, D.C.
    April 26, 2012. Directed and choreographed by Matthew R Wilson: Matthew R. Wilson (Hamlet), David Gaines (Ghost, Player, Gravedigger 1), Billy Finn (Claudius), Emma Crane Jaster (Ophelia), Eva Wilhelm (Gertrude).
13. The Shakespeare Forum, Theater for the New City, New York, N.Y.
    June 30, 2012. Directed by Sybille Bruun Moss: Tyler Moss (Hamlet), Andrus Nichols (Gertrude), Tom O'Keefe (Claudius), Erin Keskeny (Ophelia), Christopher Seiler (Polonius), Dylan Kammerer (Guildenstern, Reynaldo).
14. Shakespeare's Globe Theatre On Tour, The Folger, Washington, D.C.
    September 11, 2012. Directed by Dominic Dromgoole & Bill Buckhurst: Michael Benz (Hamlet), Christopher Saul (Polonius, First Gravedigger, et al), Dickon Tyrrell (Claudius, Ghost, Player King), Miranda Foster (Gertrude, Player Queen, Second Gravedigger).
15. Emily Tuckman's Drama Class, Brooklyn Technical High School, New York N.Y.
    January 9, 2013. [30-minute adaptation.] Ramy Ibrahim (Hamlet), Sidney Ogunsekan (Claudius), Antoinette Claps (Ophelia), Wei-Yang Chen (Horatio), Odaine Bloomfield (Boratio), Mustapfa Hydara (Laertes), Kevin Miller (Ghost).
16. Bedlam, Lynn Redgrave Theater, New York N.Y.
    February 15, 2014. Directed by Eric Tucker: Eric Tucker (Hamlet), Andrus Nichols (Gertrude, Ophelia, others), Tom O'Keefe (Claudius, Osric, others), Edmund Lewis (Polonius, Laertes, Horatio, others).
17. Synetic Theater, Arlington, Va.
    March 16, 2014. Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili: Alex Mills (Hamlet), Irina Tsikurishvili (Gertrude), Irakli Kavsadze (Claudius), Philip Fletcher (Ghost, Player King), Irina Kavsadze (Ophelia), Hector Reynoso (Polonius), Scott Brown (Laertes).
18. The Acting Company, Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, Minn.
    May 2, 2014. Directed by Ian Belknap: John Skelley (Hamlet), Patrick Lane (Claudius), Angela Janas (Ophelia), Jacqueline Correa (Gertrude), Andy Nogasky (Polonius), Ian Gould (Guildenstern, Bernardo, First Gravedigger), Grant Fletcher Prewitt (Rosencrantz, Marcellus, Second Gravedigger).
19. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Va.
    September 6, 2014. Directed by Jim Warren: Patrick Earl (Hamlet), Stephanie Holladay Earl (Gertrude), Ben Gorman (Claudius), Susie Parr (Ophelia), Stephen Brunson (Polonius), Josh Innerst (Ghost, Player King), Patrick Poole (Laertes, Player Queen).
20. The Play's the Thing: An Evening with Ted Van Griethuysen, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Lansburgh Theatre, Washington, D.C.
    November 10, 2014. Directed by Ethan McSweeny: Ted van Griethuysen (all roles).
21. Hamlet: The First Quarto, Taffety Punk Theatre Company, Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, Washington, D.C.
    May 6, 2015. Directed by Joel David Santner: Marcus Kyd (Hamlet), Daniel Flint (King, Ghost), Jessica Lefkow (Gertred), Jim Jorgensen (Corambis, Gravedigger, Braggart Gentleman), Esther Williamson (Ofelia, Horatio, Voltemar), Dan Crane (Laertes, First Player).
22. Shakespeare Miami, Pinecrest Gardens, Pinecrest, Florida
    January 13, 2018. Directed by Colleen Stovall: Seth Trucks (Hamlet), Shalia Sakona (Ophelia), Lito Becerra (Laertes), Daniel Rodriguez (Horatio), Adolfo Herrera (Claudius), Constance Moreau (Gertrude), Doug Wetzel (Polonius), Jeremy Wershoven (Rosencrantz, Grave Digger), Shafer Ross (Guildenstern, Sextant).
23. Shakespeare Theatre Company, Sidney Harman Hall, Washington, D.C.
    January 22, 2018. Directed by Michael Kahn: Michael Urie (Hamlet), Alan Cox (Claudius), Madeleine Potter (Gertrude), Keith Baxter (Ghost, Player King, Gravedigger), Robert Joy (Polonius), Oyin Oladejo (Ophelia), Avery Glymph (Marcellus, Fortinbras).
24. American Shakespeare Center, Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, Virginia
    January 27, 2018. Actors' Renaissance Season. Josh Innerst (Hamlet), Jessika Williams (Gertrude), David Anthony Lewis (Ghost, Player King), Allie Babich (Horatio), John Harrell (Guildenstertn, Gravedigger), Chris Johnston (Rosencrantz, Gravedigger), Shunéé Lofton (Ophelia), Tim Sailer (Polonius).
25. Royal Shakespeare Company, Eisenhower Theater, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C.
    May 2, 2018. Directed by Simon Godwin. Paapa Essiedu (Hamlet), Clarence Smith (Claudius), James Cooney (Horatio), Lorna Brown (Gertrude), Mimi Ndiweni (Ophelia), Joseph Mydell (Polonius), Romayne Andrews (Rosencrantz), Eleanor Wyld (Guildenstern).
26. A Two Woman Hamlet, WSC Avant Bard, Gunston Arts Center, Arlington, Va.
    February 23, 2019. Directed by Mara Sherman. Nicola Collett (Hamlet, Laertes, Fortinbras, Beernardo, Voltemand, Gertrude, Ophelia), Hannah Sweet (Claudius, Horatio, Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenerstern, Player, Gravedigger, Osric, Francisco, Cornelius, Norwegian Captain, Gertrude, Ophelia).
27. Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, St. Mary's Community Center, Baltimore, Md.
    April 14, 2019. Directed by Mara Sherman. Terrance Fleming (Hamlet), Terry O'Hara (Claudius), Rachel Manu (Ophelia, Fortinbras), Melanie Bishop (Gertrude), Ethan Larson (Horatio), Joshua Street (Laertes), Shaquille Stewart (Polonius).
28. Utah Shakespeare Festival, Randall L. Jones Theatre, Cedar City, Utah
    August 9, 2019. Directed by Brian Vaughn. Quinn Mattfeld (Hamlet), Emma Geer (Ophelia), Armin Shimerman (Polonius), Andrew May (Claudius), Jaqueline Antaramian (Gertrude), Jeremy Thompson (Horatio), Christopher Peltier (Laertes).
29. Shakespeare Opera Theatre, Grace Episcopal Church, The Plains, Virginia
    February 9, 2020. Directed by Lori Lind. Michael Reid (Hamlet), Christina Phillips and Jessica Adkins (Ophelia and Osriv), G. Michael Harris (Polonius), Amos Warren (Laertes), Gene Allen (Claudius), Maggie Ramsey (Gertrude), Amy Baska (Horatio).

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

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