Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (2015)
Folger Theatre performed their production of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead from May 12 to June 28, 2015 in the Folger's Elizabethan Theatre.
In a world where heads always wins and pirates can happen to anyone, this fabulously inventive, existentialist tragicomedy thrusts two of Shakespeare’s most incidental characters into the limelight.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been summoned to Elsinore by the king. Their purpose: to glean what afflicts Hamlet. The intrepid, if somewhat bewildered, travelers make their journey, meeting a ragtag group of players along the way. Unsure of both the game and the rules, the until-now-unsung heroes are destined for a more chilling end.
Production
Entertainment unions represented in Folger Theatre productions include The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (**), United Scenic Artists (***), and the Actors' Equity Association (*), which includes members of the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.
Cast
- Adam Wesley Brown*: Guildenstern
- Maggie Donnelly*: Tragedian
- Biko Eisen-Martin*: Hamlet
- Luis Alberto Gonzalez*: Tragedian
- Stephen Russell Murray: Tragedian
- Ian Merrill Peakes*: The Player
- Andy Prosky*: Polonius
- Kimberly Schraf*: Gertrude
- Brynn Tucker: Ophelia
- Craig Wallace*: Claudius
- Romell Witherspoon*: Rosencrantz
- Jacob Yeh: Tragedian
- Rachel Zampelli*: Tragedian
Understudies
- Cate Brewer: Gertrude, Tragedian
- Jacqueline Chenault: Ophelia, Tragedian
- Andrew Ferlow: Hamlet, Tragedian
- Luis Alberto Gonzalez: Rosencrantz
- Will Hayes: Tragedian
- Stephen Russell Murray: Guildenstern
- Keith Richards: The Player
- Scot Alan Small: Claudius, Polonius
Creative team
- Aaron Posner, Director
- Paige Hathaway, Scenic Design
- Helen Q. Huang*, Costume Design
- Thom Weaver*, Light Design
- Eric Shimelonis, Music Composition and Sound Design
- Michele Osherow, Resident Dramaturg
- Daryl Eisenberg, CSA, New York Casting
- Marne Anderson**, Production Stage Manager
- Elisabeth Ribar**, Assistant Stage Manager
Production team
- Teresa Wood, Casting Assistant
- Kristin Clippard, Assistant Director
- Jenna Duncan, Assistant to the Director
- Casey Kaleba, Fight Director
- Rachel Spears, Production Assistant
- Lauren Chilton, Props Master
- Bella Faccia, Ink., Scenery Construction
- Kate Fulop, Assistant Costume Designer
- Kara Waala, Assistant to Costume Designer
- Robert Croghan, Assistant to Costume Designer
- Shakespeare Theater Company, Costume Constuction
- Anada Keator, Draper
- Edwin Schiff, Wardrobe Head
- Erin Teachman, Master Electrician
- Amanda Kircher, Light Board Operator
- Brandon Roe, Sound Associate
- Teresa Wood and Jeff Malet, Production Photography
- Heather Daniels, Mark Fastoso, and APTV, Promotional Video
- WAPAVA, Archival Video
- C2 Ink., Open Captioning
Folger Theatre
- Janet Alexander Griffin, Artistic Producer
- Beth Emelson, Associate Artistic Producer
- David Polk, General Manager
- Charles Flye, Theatre Production Manager
- Rebekah Sheffer, Assistant Technical Director
- Katherine Pitt, Humanities Programs Assistant
Other media
Watch the trailer for this production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
Watch the promotional invitation for this production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
Actors Adam Wesley Brown (Guildenstern) and Romell Witherspoon (Rosencrantz) discuss the parameters of masculinity and choice of caffeinated beverages.
Romell Witherspoon and Adam Wesley Brown decide who is to get the larger dressing room...in very typical Rosencrantz & Guildenstern fashion.
Romell Witherspoon asks Adam Wesley Brown to help him out with a pretty significant line.
Director Aaron Posner gives his thoughts on Tom Stoppard's classic comedy at the first rehearsal held at Folger Theatre in Washington, DC.
Reviews
Image gallery
Adam Wesley Brown (Guildenstern, left), Biko Eisen-Martin (Hamlet, center), and Romell Witherspoon (Rosencrantz, right), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, directed by Aaron Posner, Folger Theatre, 2015. Teresa Wood.
Craig Wallace (Claudius, left) and Kimberly Schraf (Gertrude, right), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, directed by Aaron Posner, Folger Theatre, 2015. Teresa Wood.
Brynn Tucker (Ophelia), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, directed by Aaron Posner, Folger Theatre, 2015. Teresa Wood.
Andy Prosky (Polonius), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, directed by Aaron Posner, Folger Theatre, 2015. Teresa Wood.
From the left: Romell Witherspoon (Rosencrantz, back), Luis Alberto Gonzalez (Tragedian), Ian Merrill Peakes (The Player), Maggie Donnelly (Tragedian, back), Rachel Zampelli (Tragedian), Jacob Yeh (Tragedian), and Stephen Russell Murray (Tragedian), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, directed by Aaron Posner, Folger Theatre, 2015. Teresa Wood.
