The Hudson Shakespeare Company returns with its second installment of the 2015 Shakespeare touring North Jersey and Stratford, CT with a “Lost” Shakespeare play called “The Murder of Thomas Arden of Faversham” on selected dates from July 9 to July 25. Each season the Hudson Shakespeare Company of Jersey City brings some lesser done titles along with Shakespeare mainstays to their audiences and “The Murder of Thomas Arden of Faversham” is this summer’s entry in the lesser done category.
Based on the title “Arden of Faversham”, the play was published anonymously in 1592 and depicts the real life murder plot of wealthy landowner Thomas Arden by his wife Alice and her lover Mosby along with a pair of inept crooks and household servants who try various unsuccessful attempts to bump off the man and his “friend” Franklin.
The play’s author has never been fully determined but over the years some scholars have found the fingerprints of Shakespeare in some of its scenes. Recent computer tests known as Stylometrics have compared the Shakespeare attributed portions of the play and matched them to his known works and have found many matches between the two. Other authors that have been put forward as collaborators are Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd. If true, the play offers a unique window in an early Shakespeare collaboration that has been neglected by scholars and theaters alike.
“The play is billed by as a tragedy by its title page, but really it’s a screwball comedy”, said director Jon Ciccarelli. “Unlike many plays that are serious dramas that have comedic relief, ‘Arden’ is a comedic farce that has dramatic relief and its these dramatic and romantic interlude where Shakespeare comes in. While the play depicts actual events of the 1500s we decided update our production to the 1950’s as a tongue in cheek spin on sitcoms like “The Donna Reed Show” meets Shakespeare and punctuated with many pop songs of the era,” Ciccarelli said. “
Show SynopsisThomas Arden (Chris Morriss) is a wealthy man who has everything going for him but is bothered that his apparently loving wife Alice (Noelle Fair) may be having a torrid affair with a low-life named Mosby (Jeff Deglow). Arden confides to his best friend Franklin (Amanda Gallagher) about the affair but she is secretly in love with Arden herself and tries to steer him away from the adulterous Alice. Mosby and Alice fear that they will never be free of Arden and decide to murder him, however they can’t do it alone. They hire the beatnick artist Clarke who claims one look at one of his paintings will kill the viewer. They hire inept career criminals Black Will (Matt Muggia) and Shakebag (Olivia Dreyer) who spend more time injuring each other than actually being able to kill Arden. Not even household servants Michael (David Kirby) and Susan (Suzie Duecker) and or neighbor Green have much more luck as they all try to kill Arden with more crazier and over the top attempts. The would-be killers frustrations culminate in a twist ending.
“We invite audiences to come and check out this hysterically funny piece of Elizabethan theater that’s rarely performed and decide for themselves did Shakespeare have a hand in this play or not,” Ciccarelli added.
The Hudson Shakespeare Company of Jersey City was founded in 1992 and is now in the midst of its 24th season of touring Shakespeare Theater. The group will return next month with “Two Gentlemen of Verona”. For more information visit their site at http://ellem-fair.wix.com/hudsonshakespeare or call 973 449 7443.
Performance Dates:
Thursday, July 9, 7pm, Hamilton Park, Jersey City, NJ
Friday, July 10, 7pm, Van Vorst Park, Jersey City, NJ
Monday, July 13, 7pm, Sinatra Park, Hoboken, NJ
Tuesday, July 14, 7:30pm, Monument Park, Fort Lee, NJ
Wednesday, July 15, 7:30pm Staib Park, Hackensack, NJ
Thursday, July 16th, 7pm Westfield Memorial Library, NJ
Saturday, July 18, 7pm, Historic Harsimus Cemetery, Jersey City, NJ
Monday, July 20, 7pm, Kenilworth Library, Kenilworth, NJ
Tuesday, July 21, 7:30pm, Monument Park, Fort Lee, NJ
Wednesday, July 22, 7:30pm, Staib Park Hackensack, NJ
Saturday, July 25, 2pm, Stratford, CT
