{"id":236182,"date":"2026-03-25T18:25:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T18:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/236182\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T18:25:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T18:25:13","slug":"fresnos-next-shakespeare-production-to-be-even-grander-than-the-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/236182\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno’s Next Shakespeare Production to Be Even Grander Than the First"},"content":{"rendered":"

The next production from Fresno\u2019s professional Shakespeare company promises to be even more ambitious than the first as the troupe prepares to take on what was likely the Bard\u2019s last play.<\/p>\n

Chanticleer Shakespeare Co.<\/a>\u2018s production of \u201cThe Tempest\u201d opens April 24, with an eight-show run that includes one show dedicated to students. A dramatic turn from the darker 2025 production of \u201cRichard III<\/a>,\u201d the fantasy-comedy comes complete with music performed by members of the Fresno Philharmonic, said artistic director Blake Ellis.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo turn a phrase that might feel like a pun, it is spellbinding,\u201d Ellis told GV Wire. \u201cJust on the page, when you read it, it\u2019s absolutely magical, but when you think about these plays as things that are meant to be experienced, meant to be heard out loud and performed on stage, I cannot wait for this audience to see what we have for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With the collaboration and nationwide interest since the company\u2019s debut production in 2025, Ellis said his goal of creating a community around professional\u00a0 theater is happening faster than he expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Valley needs to have a professional theater that these young people can be exposed to and to see that not only is professional art a viable path in life, but it\u2019s also something that we can facilitate right here in their hometown,\u201d Ellis said.<\/p>\n

Tickets are on sale now.<\/p>\n

Production Brings Fresno Phil Together With Shakespeare<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tempest\u201d tells the story of a sorcerer exiled from his hometown of Milan, Italy, seeking revenge on his brother. Chanticleer\u2019s production will modify that lead role, casting return actor Jacqueline Antaramian<\/a>, a respected Broadway and television veteran, as Prospera \u2014 a gender-swapped role for the main character.<\/p>\n

Antaramian, who was born in Soviet Armenia, grew up in Fresno, Ellis said.<\/p>\n

Jacqueline Antaramian is no stranger to Shakespeare, performing in 2025 as Queen Elizabeth in Chanticleer\u2019s \u201cRichard III.\u201d She\u2019s also performed on Broadway alongside Denzel Washington in \u201cJulius Caesar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antaramian is no stranger to Shakespeare, performing in 2025 as Queen Elizabeth in Chanticleer\u2019s \u201cRichard III.\u201d She\u2019s also performed on Broadway alongside Denzel Washington in \u201cJulius Caesar.\u201d In 2006, she won a Barrymore Award for Best Actress for her performance in the one-woman show \u201cNine Parts of Desire\u201d about nine different Iraqi women.<\/p>\n

Following Prospera\u2019s change comes one for her sibling, the treacherous Antonia, played by Fresno State alum Tracy Hostmeyer.<\/p>\n

Ellis said viewers will identify with themes that permeate through the ages.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a play about someone being betrayed by their sibling and harboring resentment and then coming face-to-face with the fact that you will eventually become the thing you hate and learning to let go of that and to forgive and to find redemption,\u201d Ellis said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Members of Chanticleer Shakespeare Co. perform \u201cRichard III\u201d in 2025. (Special to GV Wire)
\nOriginal Music Score by London Duo<\/p>\n

Accompanying the actors is an original score. Chanticleer reached out to London-based TwoTwentyTwo (Daisy Coole and Tom Nettleship), who are writing the music \u201cfrom scratch,\u201d Ellis said.<\/p>\n

A percussionist, a flutist, and a cellist will join actors on stage to help create the magic of the island. This kind of collaboration hasn\u2019t happened since the Fresno Grand Opera, Ellis said, and almost certainly not with a Shakespeare production.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is already a thing that\u2019s being talked about by people in Los Angeles, by people in Sacramento. This is definitely something that Fresno can be proud about,\u201d Ellis said.<\/p>\n

Arts Thrives in Adversity: Ellis<\/p>\n

In building Fresno\u2019s professional theater scene, Ellis wanted to also reach out to students. That\u2019s why one matinee performance will be limited to only students from the region\u2019s school districts. Staff created a study guide teachers can use in the lead-up to the show, and after the performance, students will have a chance to meet with cast members and some of the technical crew, Ellis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot every district can afford to pack up all their students and send them to Ashland, Oregon, to go experience the Oregon Shakespeare Festival,\u201d Ellis said. \u201cNow, they don\u2019t necessarily have to do that because Fresno is right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chanticleer also involved college-age students, qualifying for a Mellon grant to facilitate a professional internship with Fresno State\u2019s award-winning theater program.<\/p>\n

The production comes amidst turmoil in the Fresno arts community following allegations of embezzlement of Measure P sales tax funds against a former employee at the Fresno Arts Council. Like Warnor\u2019s and the Fresno Philharmonic, Chanticleer is also a Measure P recipient.<\/p>\n

Ellis said it\u2019s now especially essential for artists to demonstrate to Fresno what they can do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s vital that we are banding together and showing that artists thrive in adversity, that\u2019s when the best art is created. When we have to problem-solve on the fly, that\u2019s when the best art is created,\u201d Ellis said. \u201cWhen organizations like this band together to help pull each other across the finish line, that\u2019s how a community comes together and makes sure that the audience is being served.\u201d<\/p>\n

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