Publick Theatre shelves outdoor summer performances for ’09; Orfeo Group steps in

May 16, 11:32 AMBoston Theater ExaminerDonn Saylor

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Boston’s Publick Theatre has announced plans to suspend its outdoor performances for the upcoming summer. The amphitheater, located in Brighton’s Christian Herter Park, must undergo a thorough assessment that will likely include repairs to the site’s sound and lighting systems.

The Publick has been bringing classical theater to the great outdoors since 1971. The Herter Park venue has housed the company’s summer productions almost continuously for the past 38 years. The Publick also has a year-round, indoor home as a resident company at the Boston Center for the Arts.

But fans of outdoor theater need not distress. Orfeo Group will be taking over the amphitheater to perform The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s uproarious farce The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). Since Orfeo will stage the performances before sunset, the site’s lighting and sound systems will not be used.

“With Orfeo‘s plans, this creative solution keeps activity at the venue that is unique to our audiences, doesn’t interfere with any anticipated repairs, and supports an aspiring new company, all at the same time,” said Diego Arciniegas, Artistic Director of the Publick Theatre.

The Eliot Norton Award-winning Orfeo Group will open The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) on July 9. The production packs all of the Bard’s 37 plays into a whopping 97 minutes. Funny, irreverent, and breakneck-paced, the play has been a worldwide hit since its debut in 1987.

In the meantime, the Publick is planning a diverse and exciting 2009-2010 line-up. The Edward Albee classic Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? will open the season in October.