Something might be rotten in the state of Denmark, but the future is looking brighter for Baltimore Shakespeare Festival.
The festival, which has a new artistic director, a revamped mission and - in its current production of Wittenberg, a modern day "prequel" to H amlet - one of the strongest shows the troupe has mounted in years.
For much of the year, the troupe has taken a performing hiatus, while it tended to administrative matters, such as hiring Michael Carleton as the artistic director to replace the departing James Kinstle. Wittenberg is the first major production of the festival's 2008-2009 season, and it's tempting to see it as a fresh, new beginning.
FOR THE RECORD - A photo caption in Tuesday's editions misspelled the name of Michael Feldsher, who plays the role of Hamlet in the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival production of Wittenberg.
The Baltimore Sun regrets the error.
Though the troupe is about to celebrate its 16th birthday, annual attendance is less than 10,000, indicating that the company has yet to establish a firm foothold in the Baltimore theater market.
"I think the festival is at a tipping point," Carleton says. "We have not yet grown into the kind of company that this city wants and needs."
The 45-year-old Carleton, who previously ran a theater in Cape May, N.J., moved to Baltimore and began his new job on Oct. 6. Two months later, the economy crashed.
"Fortunately," he says, "one of the things I'm good at is keeping costs down."
This year, of course, the festival saved money by staying dark much of the time. Last year, the troupe staged five productions in its regular season; this year, it will stage just two. Wittenberg closes June 14, and twelve days later, Hamlet will open in the meadow outside Evergreen House.
Carleton intentionally juxtaposed the Bard's great tragedy and the intellectual comedy written by David Davalos. Wittenberg takes place at the university where Hamlet is a student, and the play imagines that two of the Danish prince's professors - Martin Luther and Dr. Faust - are battling for their prized pupil's allegiance. Off stage, the romantic triangle in Denmark between Hamlet's father, mother and villainous uncle comes to a crisis. The play ends with the prince learning of his father's death.
Both works deal with questions of reason and faith, fate versus free will, so scheduling them back-to-back creates a dialogue from which theatergoers can benefit.
"In the future," Carleton says, "I'd like to start putting together thematically related seasons."
Starting with the 2009-2010 season, the festival will stage a fall production indoors at St. Mary's, plus two open-air production each summer. The troupe will also continue to stage its annual holiday and teen programs.
