First Folio Shakespeare Festival

First Folio Shakespeare Festival has announced its first subscription series: The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story, adapted for the stage by David Rice and Alison C. Vesely, and Angel Street (Gaslight), by Patrick Hamilton.  In addition, First Folio will present Chicago’s own Babes With Blades in their newest production, When Fairy Tales…Attack!

The Tempest will open the season and continue First Folio’s tradition of Shakespeare-under-the-Stars.  The Tempest weaves a magical tale of shipwrecked nobles, island sprites, a magician’s need for revenge, and the redemptive power that true love can bring.  The sylvan grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate provide the perfect setting for Shakespeare’s tale of romance and redemption.

The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story leads off the indoor portion of First Folio’s season.  Adapted for the stage by David Rice and Alison C. Vesely, and directed by artistic associate Michael Goldberg, Madness… brings Poe’s macabre and melancholic tales & poems to life as audience members move from room to room.  Poe’s beloved wife Elizabeth guides you through historic Mayslake Hall, taking you from the garrets to the dungeons and deep into the madness of Edgar Allan Poe.

Angel Street, by Patrick Hamilton, will close the season.  Brought to the screen in 1944 as Gaslight, with Ingrid Berman and Charles Boyer, Angel Street is the quintessential Victorian thriller.   The sweet but wan Mrs. Manningham finds herself sliding inexorably into insanity, just as her mother did before her.  But as she views the world by the glow of gaslight, she begins to wonder if she is making the journey alone, or if her husband is helping her along.

First Folio is also pleased to present When Fairy Tales. . .Attack!,  the latest show by Chicago’s premiere female stage combat corps: Babes with Blades.  Take a fantastical safari to “Once Upon a Time” as Babes with Blades puts a new spin on traditional fairy tales, allowing you to observe your favorite heroines and villains in their natural habitats. See how dangerous – and hilarious – happily ever after can be!  The Chicago Reader says, “Move over Braveheart!  These Chicago Babes kick a**!” Fairy Tales… will be presented for four nights only, as a special “dark night” presentation during First Folio’s summer season, with performances on June 27, July 11, 18, & 25. 

All performances take place on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate.   Mayslake Hall is a 30-room Tudor Revival style mansion originally built by coal baron Francis S. Peabody.  Completed in 1922, the mansion is on the National Registry of Historic Places and is currently in the process of being fully restored.  Tours of the mansion and the restoration in progress are offered every Wednesday and Saturday mornings by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.

Season subscriptions and tickets for individual shows are available by calling First Folio’s box office at 630-986-8067, or by visiting their website at www.firstfolio.org. Individual tickets for each show will be $25, but season subscribers can obtain the three-show package for only $65.