Shakespeare in the Park
About the Festival
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Festival Quick Facts:
- Everything is FREE and family-friendly!
- Cascades Park, Tallahassee, FL
- May 8 – 11, 2025
- Festival Opens Thursday, May 8 and Friday, May 9 at 5:00 PM and Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11 at 4:00 PM: Enjoy food trucks, arts and crafts, and live demonstrations throughout the park.
- Touch Tours for the Visually Impaired – May 8 and 9 at 5:00 PM. Advance sign up required.
- Meet the Cast / Autograph Signing – May 8 after the show: Join us for a special meet-and-greet with cast members after the evening’s performance in the plaza behind the amphitheater. Posters are $15; Playbills are free.
- Henry IV, Part I – May 8 – 11, Nightly at 7:30 PM: Don’t miss Wil Johnson as King Henry IV in this thrilling Shakespearean drama.
- Reserved seating available: Purchase a reserved seat for $15 each.
- Please be advised: this production contains scenes of flashing lights/sparks, violence and simulated blood.
- Sonnet Contest Winner Showcase – May 9 at 6:00 PM: Celebrate creativity with a special presentation of winning entries from our Sonnet Contest.
- ASL Enhanced Performance of Henry IV, Part 1 – May 10 at 7:30 PM: This inclusive performance features American Sign Language interpretation for all to enjoy.
- Twelfth Night by The Bardlings – May 10 and 11 at 5:00 PM: Enjoy a delightful youth performance by our junior acting troupe, The Bardlings.
- In the event of inclement weather, performances will be moved indoors. Twelfth Night will move to the Maguire Center Westminster Oaks and Henry IV, Part I will move to The Moon to ensure the show goes on. Please note the Maguire Center holds 250 people and seating will be accommodated on a first come, first served basis. The Moon capacity is 600 people.
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Now celebrating its tenth year, Southern Shakespeare Company’s FREE Shakespeare in the Park Festival invites an annual audience of up to 10,000 over a four-day weekend to enjoy the fun and fanfare as we bring stunning Shakespeare productions to Cascades Park in Tallahassee, Florida.
This event invites well-known celebrities like Emmy award winner Kelsey Scott (12 Years a Slave, The Walking Dead), comedian Kevin McDonald (The Kids in the Hall, Lilo & Stitch), and this year’s guest star, Wil Johnson (The House of the Dragon, Outlander), to perform William Shakespeare’s classics in Florida’s capital city!
This year, we are also thrilled to have Broadway’s Conner Wilson (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) directing our production of Henry IV, Part 1.
Modeled after Joe Papp’s Free Shakespeare in the Park in New York City, this is a family-friendly event, inviting audiences from all around the Southeast and beyond to enjoy food and libations under the stars with Free Shakespeare at Cascades Park.
Join us May 8-11, 2025 for Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1 (Thursday – Sunday evenings) and the Bardlings’ presentation of Twelfth Night (Saturday – Sunday afternoons)!
Hotel
Plan your visit today! Use our special rate of $109 per night to stay at the
Holiday Inn: Tallahassee East Capitol – University location. Just minutes from Cascades Park and other fun stops in town!
- THEATRE: The Merry Wives of Windsor (RSC), The School for Scandal (RSC), SHED:Exploded View (Royal Exchange Theatre) JITNEY (Old Vic Theatre) Running with Lions (Lyric Hammersmith) Women Beware Women (Sam Wannamaker) Glengarry Glen Ross (UK Tour) Sweat (Donmar Warehouse/Giegud Theatre) Leave Taking (Bush Theatre) Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead (Old Vic Theatre) King Lear (Royal Exchange Theatre) A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes (Tricycle Theatre) The Great Goat Bubble (Druid Theatre Ireland) The Queen & I (Vaudeville Theatre) Shallowing Dark (Theatre 503) Serious Money (Birmingham Rep) Torn (Arcola Theatre) Wild Turkey (Troxy Bar) Redundant (Royal Court) Othello (Royal Lyceum Edinburgh) Twelfth Night (International Tour) Running Dream (Theatre Royal Stratford East) Fuente Ovejuna (Royal National Theatre) The Bacchae (Shared Experience).
- TELEVISION: Cobra:Rebellion (SKY) House of the Dragon (HBO Max) The Larkins (Of Productions/ITV) Death in Paradise (Red Planet/BBC) Vera (ITV) Hetty Feather (BBC) Carnival Row (Legendary Television) Lewis (ITV) Outlander (Lionsgate/Amazon) The Five (SKY) Moving On (BBC) Emmerdale (ITV) Holby City (BBC) Waterloo Road (BBC) Buried Treasure (ITV) Waking the Dead (BBC) Clocking Off (BBC) Babyfather (BBC) Cracker (ITV) Anna Lee (ITV) The Bill (ITV) Starting Out (BBC) London’s Burning (ITV).
- FILM: Tell No Lies (Tubi Originals) Macbeth (Green Screen Productions) In a Better World (Zentropa) Dead End (Ocean Storm Films) Anuvahood (Revolver) Pimp (Triple S Films) Adulhood (Adulthood Limited) Yes (Adventure Pictures) South West 9 (Fruit Salad Films) Babymother (Film Four) Emotional Backgammon (Epicum Films)
Conner Wilson (Director, Henry IV, Part 1) is a freelance director based out of Brooklyn, New York. He has worked as an Associate Director on Broadway for the past 7 years; primarily working with John Tiffany and Jack Thorne on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Moises Kaufman and Harvey Fierstein on Torch Song Trilogy. This coming fall he has been hired as the Associate Director of Waiting for Godot, Broadway starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Following this 16-week run he is directing MacBeth at the Post Theatre in Long Island; and Once at Le Petite in New Orleans. Previously, he has had the good fortune to work at many theatres across the country including: The Great River Shakespeare Festival, The Austin Shakespeare Festival, Commission Theatre, Muse of Fire, The American Theatre Company, Clarence Brown Theatre and The University of Tennessee, Utah State University East, The Marriott Theatre, Chicago Youth Shakespeare, and many others. He was the Artistic Director of Commission Theatre in Chicago, IL and Assistant to the Artistic Director of the American Theatre Company under P.J. Paparelli. Conner is represented by the Gersh Agency. Proud member SDC. You can find pictures of his work at: connerwilsondirector.com
Meet the cast
Will Johnson
Gerain Arias
Joshua Lyons
Adam Segaller *
Krystof Kage
Jordan Kosanke
Matthew Thompson
Matthew Lata
Duncan Hoehne
Nathan Williamson
Veronica Else
Carter Nelson
Jake Armstrong
Ray O’Neal
Robin Jackson
Arden Loeftus
*Actors Equity Association Member
King Henry
Prince Hal
Hotspur
Falstaff
Worcester
Poins / Soldier
Prince John / Gadshill
Westmoreland / Mugs
Northumberland
Bardolph
Lady Percy / Peto
Mortimer / Tom / Extra Soldier / Tavern Goer / Sheriff
Douglas / Traveler
1 Vernon / Traveler 2 / Chamberlain
Mistress Quickly
Blunt