The Fraying Connection Between American Theater and Shakespeare
Earlier this month, theater enthusiasts in the Bay Area received disheartening news: California Shakespeare Theater, a cherished nonprofit institution that has graced the region for half a century, announced its impending closure due to an “insurmountable financial impasse.” As the artistic producer at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, this loss resonates deeply with me and raises significant concerns about the state of the American theater scene. It appears that the bond between American theater and the works of the Bard may be weakening.
This summer, during my travels across the country, I observed a notable trend: many Shakespeare theaters are producing less of his work. For instance, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, one of the largest and oldest classical theater companies in the nation, has scheduled only two Shakespeare plays out of ten productions for 2024. Similarly, San Diego’s Old Globe presented “Henry VI,” yet included no other works by Shakespeare in its lineup. In Chicago, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater is self-producing merely one Shakespeare play among nine. At my own Shakespeare Theatre Company, the upcoming season features only “Comedy of Errors,” marking a historic first for our 38-year-old organization, as we are programming only one Shakespeare play this year. Furthermore, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in upstate New York, which has been running for 37 years, notably omitted any Shakespearean productions last summer—a concerning milestone.
How significant is this decline in Shakespeare productions? According to American Theatre magazine, which compiles data from over 500 theaters nationwide, there are 40 productions of Shakespeare’s plays scheduled for the 2023-24 season. This is a stark decrease from 52 productions in 2022-23 and a staggering 96 in 2018-19. Over the past five years, the presence of Shakespeare on American stages has plummeted by an astonishing 58 percent. Many theaters that once focused solely on Shakespeare now find his works constituting less than 20 percent of their repertory.
What could be driving American theaters away from Shakespeare? One prevailing reason is the financial burden associated with producing his plays. Shakespeare’s works often require large casts and elaborate staging, making them expensive to mount. The theater industry has been grappling with escalating labor and material costs, compounded by audience hesitance to return post-Covid-19. In response to these challenges, many producers are pivoting towards one-person shows, which are less costly, or opting for musicals and formulaic dramas that are perceived to have broader market appeal. As one artistic leader candidly remarked, “Agatha Christie is single-handedly saving the American regional theater.”
However, the underlying issues may run deeper. Over the past decade, as American society has become increasingly polarized, Shakespeare’s works have entered the political arena. A notable instance occurred in 2017 when the Public Theater’s production of “Julius Caesar” drew controversy for depicting a Caesar reminiscent of Donald Trump, inciting protests from his supporters and prompting corporate sponsors to withdraw their backing. The progressive left has also targeted Shakespeare, with the activist collective “We See You, White American Theater” demanding a minimum of 50 percent BIPOC representation in programming and staffing—though Shakespeare himself was not mentioned, his legacy as a white, male, European playwright loomed large.
The debates surrounding Shakespeare are fierce and, at times, alarming. In 2023, Nataki Garrett, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s first Black artistic director, resigned after facing racist death threats and harassment. Her commitment to diversifying the company’s repertoire and practices, as well as her advocacy for “We See You,” made her a target. Historically, theaters have often distanced themselves from Shakespeare during periods of political turmoil. For example, from 1810 to 1820, “King Lear” was banned from the English stage due to the madness of King George III. In the United States, the Astor Place Riot of 1849, an anti-immigrant uprising framed around Shakespearean rivalry, resulted in the tragic loss of approximately two dozen lives, sparked by competing productions of “Macbeth”—one featuring Edwin Forrest, a staunch Jacksonian Democrat, and the other starring the elite British actor William Macready.
