‘Taste of Shakespeare’ classic theater with LV twist

By Mary Manning

Tuesday, March 3, 2009 | 6:32 p.m.

A three-day festival that brings six Shakespeare plays in abbreviated Versions to the Las Vegas Springs Preserve will debut on Memorial Day weekend.

The premiere performance of "A Taste of Shakespeare," what organizers hope will become a twice-a-year event, was announced this morning.

"This is not your great-grandfather's Shakespeare," said Dan Decker, artistic director of "A Taste of Shakespeare."

Six shortened Shakespeare plays run continuously on two stages from noon to 6 p.m. May 23 through 25 in the Springs Preserve open air amphitheater.

"This is Shakespeare in bite size chunks that everyone can understand and enjoy," Decker said. "Audiences get the thrill of hearing great language and stories packaged in an exciting festival format."

The play excerpts are not modernized, preserving Shakespeare's language, said John Hanks, marketing director for the Las Vegas Playhouse. "It's compressed Shakespeare," Hanks said. Versions of "Hamlet," "Macbeth," "King Lear," "As You Like It," "Romeo and Juliet" and "Much Ado About Nothing" will be presented.

Dan Decker Theatricals and the Las Vegas Playhouse plan to present such theatrical fare twice a year, spring and fall, and in the future build a theater for such productions, Hanks said.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, presented with the 2008 Public Leadership in the Arts Award for local arts leadership by Americans for the Arts, said he believes "A Taste of Shakespeare" will raise the cultural bar in Las Vegas.

"This is a really big deal," Goodman said. "I'm delighted it has come to fruition. I congratulate Dan Decker, the Springs Preserve and Metro Arts Council for their courage in creating this 'Taste of Shakespeare.' Can't wait to see it!"

Another Shakespeare fan, former Lieutenant Governor and supporter Lorraine Hunt said, "The Springs Preserve is an ideal setting for this exciting Shakespearean cultural event. I believe it will be the beginning of a long relationship between Shakespeare devotees and the community of Las Vegas."

Tickets for "A Taste of Shakespeare" at the Springs Preserve can be purchased by calling 822-7705 or by visiting the Springs Preserve Box Office at U.S. 95 and Valley View Boulevard. The $14.95 entrance fee to the preserve allows people to go to the plays, enjoy the food and wine, visit the trails, museum and gift shop in the preserve and listen to music provided by the members of the Henderson Symphony Orchestra and Green Valley High School Orchestra.

More information can be found at www.shakespeareinthesprings.com.