Folger Theatre Group

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The Folger Shakespeare Library was granted a public theater permit in April 1970[1], following which the Elizabethan Theatre was transformed into a functioning playhouse, a change that included fireproofing its waxed-oak walls. Folger Director O. B. Hardison founded the Folger Theatre Group (FTG) with Richmond Crinkley, the group's first Artistic Director. Their goal was to produce classical, modern, and new plays while exploring "innovative stagings adapted to the particular limitations of the Elizabethan Theatre."[2] The company was initially composed "mainly of drama students from universities in the Washington, D.C., area" and complemented by some experienced actors who had worked with the Arena Stage and the Washington Theatre Club.[3]

The FTG mounted its first production at nearby Saint Mark's Church—the rock musical Dionysus Wants You!, adapted from Euripides' The Bacchae—in late August 1970.[4] Conceived by Crinkley, the production drew the attention of the well-known director Joseph Papp, who picked up the show and took it to New York. Later that season, a production of Twelfth Night (the group’s first Shakespeare production) was reviewed approvingly by the New York Times.

The FTG was dissolved in early 1985. That November, the group reincorporated as The Shakespeare Theatre at the Folger, an independent entity. With support from the library, the company remained at the Folger six more years before moving to larger quarters in downtown Washington, D.C. and changing its name to the Shakespeare Theatre. Under the Folger's education and public programs director Janet Griffin, the Elizabethan Theatre continued to offer a mix of concerts, plays, and lectures. In the mid-1990s, this led to a new theater initiative, the Folger Theatre.

Artistic Directors

The Folger Theatre Group had 3 Artistic Directors:

  • Richmond Crinkley (September 1969-1973)
  • Louis W. Scheeder (September 1973-October 1981)
  • John Neville-Andrews (November 1981-1985-86 Season)

1980s Productions

  • Much Ado About Nothing 1984-85 Season
  • Crossed Words 1984-85 Season
  • Hamlet 1984-85 Season
  • King Lear 1984-85 Season
  • Henry V 1983-84 Season
  • The Mayor of Zalamea 1983-84 Season
  • The School for Scandal 1983-84 Season
  • Cinderella, A British Panto 1983-84 Season
  • Troilus & Cressida 1983-84 Season
  • Wind in the Willows 1983-84 Season
  • All's Well That Ends Well (with special guests Celeste Holm and Charlton Heston) May 1, 1983
  • Marriage a la Mode 1982-83 Season
  • A Medieval Christmas Pageant 1982-83 Season
  • She Stoops to Conquer 1982-83 Season
  • The Merchant of Venice 1982-83 Season
  • The Rover 1981-82 Season
  • The Comedy of Errors 1981-82 Season
  • The Tempest 1981-82 Season
  • Playaround Shakespeare (Macey Center, New Mexico) 1981-82 Season
  • Julius Caesar 1981-82 Season
  • Love's Labour's Lost 1980-81 Season
  • Museum 1980-81 Season
  • Romeo and Juliet 1980-81 Season
  • Crossing Niagara 1980-81 Season
  • The Rivals 1980-81 Season
  • Measure for Measure 1980-81 Season
  • How I got that Story 1980-81 Season

1970s Productions

  • Macbeth 1979-80 Season
  • Charlie and Algernon 1979-80 Season
  • Custer 1979-80 Season
  • Twelfth Night or What You Will 1979-80 Season
  • The Taming of the Shrew 1979-80
  • Love Letters on Blue Paper 1979-80 Season
  • Wild Oats 1979-80 Season
  • As You Like It 1978-79 Season
  • Benefit of a Doubt 1978-79 Season
  • The Tragedy of King Richard II 1978-79 Season
  • The Merry Wives of Windsor 1978-79 Season
  • Whose Life is it Anyway 1978-79 Season
  • Richard III 1977-78 Season
  • Mackerel 1977-78 Season
  • Hamlet 1977-78 Season
  • The Two Gentlemen of Verona 1977-78 Season
  • Teeth 'n' Smiles 1977-78 Season
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream 1976-77 Season
  • Black Elk Speaks 1976-77 Season
  • Mummer's End 1976-77 Season
  • Much Ado About Nothing 1976-77 Season
  • The Fool: Scenes of Bread and Love 1976-77 Season
  • All's Well That Ends Well 1975-76 Season
  • Henry V 1975-76 Season
  • Medal of Honor Rag 1975-76 Season
  • The Comedy of Errors 1975-76 Season
  • The Collected works of Billy the Kid 1975-76 Season
  • The Tempest 1974-75
  • He's Got a Jones 1974-75 Season
  • Henry IV, part 1 1974-75 Season
  • The Farm 1974-75 Season
  • Love's Labour's Lost 1973-74 Season
  • The Inspector General 1973-74 Season
  • Edward G., Like the Film Star 1973-74 Season
  • Creeps 1973-74 Season
  • Bartholomew Fair 1972-73 Season
  • The Winter's Tale 1972-73 Season
  • The Complete Works of Studs Edsel 1972-73 Season
  • Total Eclipse 1972-73 Season
  • Romeo and Juliet 1971-72 Season
  • Subject to Fits 1971-72 Season
  • The Revenger's Tragedy 1971-72 Season
  • Landscape and Silence 1971-72 Season
  • The Promise 1970-71 Season
  • Twelfth Night 1970-71 Season
  • Happy Days 1970-71 Season
  • Natural and Unnatural Acts 1970-71 Season
  • Dionysus Wants You! (performed at St. Mark's Church) 1970-71 Season

Notes

  1. ↑ Stephen H. Grant, Collecting Shakespeare: The Story of Henry and Emily Folger (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014), 194-195.
  2. ↑ Shakespeare Companies and Festivals: An International Guide, edited by Ron Engle, Felecia Hardison Londré, and Daniel J. Watermeier (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995), 109.
  3. ↑ Shakespeare Companies and Festivals: An International Guide, edited by Ron Engle, Felecia Hardison Londré, and Daniel J. Watermeier (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995), 109.
  4. ↑ Shakespeare Companies and Festivals: An International Guide, edited by Ron Engle, Felecia Hardison Londré, and Daniel J. Watermeier (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995), 109.