NOVEMBER 13-16 AT THE Citizens Bank Theater, PELL CHAFEE PERFORMANCE CENTER

The Brown/Trinity Rep Consortium presents Hamlet by William Shakespeare, directed by Michael Perlman (Brown/Trinity Rep Consortium '10). Shakespeare’s timeless tale of murder, passion, treachery and revenge runs November 13-16, 2008 in the Citizens Bank Theater, Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire Street, Providence. Performances are Thursday, November 13 at 7:30pm (preview), Friday, November 14 at 7:30pm, Saturday, November 15 at 2pm and 7:30pm and Sunday, November 16 at 2pm. Tickets are $5, general admission and on sale now at the Trinity Rep box office, by phone (401) 351-4242 and online at www.trinityrep.com.

The cast features Brown/Trinity Rep Consortium MFA student David Rudi Utter (’10) in the title role of Hamlet, and features fellow students Per Janson (’10) as Claudius, Angela K. Thomas (’09) as Polonius, Molly O’Neill (’10) as Player Queen, Cherie Rice (’10) as Ophelia, Jude Sandy (’09) as Laertes, Will Shaw (’10) as the Player King and Gillian Williams (’10) as Gertrude. The set will be designed by Tristan Jeffers, costumes by Jenilee Houghton, lighting by John Eckert and sound design by Matt O'Hare.

When asked about his concept for the production, director Michael Perlman explains that he has taken his cue from the current political climate. “Come November our country will have chosen its next President and with that, determined its new direction. This production questions what it means for one man to shoulder the burden for changing the direction of a country." He goes on to say “As Shakespeare wrote, ‘What's past is prologue,’ and as we explore this timeless play in this pivotal time, we're going to attempt to question our country's past, our present and our future.”

Michael Perlman’s directing credits include A Doll’s House for the Brown/Trinity Rep Consortium, Love, I Hear for Stephen Foster Productions, Iphigenia and Other Daughters at Temporary Theatre Company, The Last Five Years at Stamford Center for the Arts, Winnie-the-Pooh for Hangar Theatre Kidstuff, and the original production of Emperor of Ice Cream or Thirteen Ways of Looking at Donald Rumsfeld and Romeo and Juliet at Hangar Theatre Lab Company. Assistant directing credits include King Lear at the Public Theatre, The Laramie Project for the Matthew Shephard Foundation Benefit and Bone Portraits with Stillpoint Productions. In addition, his one person show Flying on the Wing was presented at the New York Fringe Festival, where it was the winner of Outstanding Solo Show of 2006. As a performer, Michael has been seen in Brown/Trinity Rep Consortium productions of Camino Real and Blood Wedding, as well as the Brown New Plays Festival production of Plutonics. Michael is also a Drama League Directing Fellow.

The Brown University/Trinity Rep Consortium provides a three-year professional training program for eighteen students under the auspices of an Ivy League University and Rhode Island’s Tony Award-winning theatre company. Brown University’s Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance is internationally recognized for the quality of its faculty and instruction. Trinity Rep, with its deep tradition of resident artists, provides powerful artistic assets and creates a firm foundation for a new generation of theatre artists.