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Madelyn Casey (COURTESY OF MADELYN CASEY)<\/p>\nThe Scranton Shakespeare Festival is having faith in its 15th season. Faith, in several forms, is the theme of the season that starts June 19. Beyond Shakespeare, the professional troupe offers classic musicals and other plays.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve sort of found different ways to explore this theme that we thought was really important and wide-ranging,\u201d said Michael Bradshaw Flynn, the artistic director and co-founder.<\/p>\n
The mainstage season, with a professional troupe of visiting and local performers, will feature \u201cCarousel,\u201d followed by an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw\u2019s \u201cSaint Joan,\u201d William Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cHenry V\u201d and the musical \u201cJesus Christ Superstar.\u201d<\/p>\n
The high school ensemble will do Shakespeare\u2019s comedy \u201cMuch Ado About Nothing\u201d and the musical \u201cAlice By Heart.\u201d It is inspired by \u201cAlice in Wonderland\u201d but set in the London Blitz of World War II.<\/p>\n
The plays are free. Tickets to the musicals are $25.<\/p>\n
Scrantonian Madelyn Casey is returning to the festival after a national tour in a children\u2019s show. She will play Julie, the female lead in \u201cCarousel.\u201d It will run June 26-28 and July 25. Casey will also be in the ensembles of \u201cJesus Christ Superstar\u201d and \u201cSaint Joan.\u201d She is the daughter of Patrick and Tracy-Lyn Casey.<\/p>\n
Madelyn Casey (COURTESY OF MADELYN CASEY)<\/p>\n
\u201cCarousel\u201d is \u201can important story about not giving up, and leaning on your community and the people you\u2019re involved with and having faith that everything will be OK,\u201d Casey said.<\/p>\n
It was written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and set in New England in the late 1800s. A doomed lover\u2019s redemption arc features the song \u201cYou Will Never Walk Alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 1940s musical is funny but also includes themes of domestic violence and suicide, which \u201cwill require delicate examination and a closer look\u201d from today\u2019s viewpoint, Flynn said.<\/p>\n
The adult ensemble of about 44 performers and 14 technical staff draws from a wide area, including Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Texas and elsewhere. Managing director Jonathan Stephens lives in the United Kingdom. Some are local residents or area natives who moved away for their careers and are returning to perform.<\/p>\n
In addition to Casey, mainstage performers and technical staff with local ties include Ashley Bohn, Jennifer Cowgill, Heidi Lewis, Nicola Pugliese, Rocco Pugliese, Hannah Sottile, Colin Holmes, Jimmy Williams, Dominique Ferraro, Kelly Jean Graham, Dawn McGurl, Kiana Grella, Marissa Duricko, Maura Malloy and Caroline Lapinski.<\/p>\n
Regional high school students make up most of the youth ensemble, which has more than 30 performers. It is producing the first show of the season, \u201cMuch Ado About Nothing,\u201d on June 19-21 and again in July.<\/p>\n
The shows are a great way to bring the community together, Casey said. \u201cAnd especially with this season of faith and community, it is an important one for people to see, to celebrate the 15 years of SSF,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The musicals will be produced at a new venue, Church of the Good Shepherd in the Green Ridge section of Scranton. \u201cIt\u2019s really a breathtaking space,\u201d Flynn said. Musicals usually draw the biggest audiences and the church is much bigger than the festival\u2019s permanent home in the Marketplace at Steamtown.<\/p>\n