NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thursday marked opening night for a new show, part of a Nashville tradition that spans five decades.
There's something to be said for longevity. There are few things that can prove longevity quite like an audience completely involved in a play written roughly 425 years ago.
"This is William Shakespeare's comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor," said Jason Spelbring, artistic director for The Nashville Shakespeare Festival. "It resonates today because people see themselves in these plays."
Shakespeare's stories are adaptable. Remember that movie John Tucker Must Die? Based on this play. Yes, really.
"Shakespeare's timeless!" Spelbring said.
Spelbring shared the story of how The Nashville Shakespeare Festival started in 1988 with a small production of As You Like It.
"It started with a troop of players that found a corner of Centennial Park with no permit," he began. "They had headlights from cars shining on their show. As the show was ending after a short run, they wondered, 'are we doing this again next summer?' The group was like, 'yes, we are!'"
The group eventually began to perform at Centennial Park's bandshell. They performed there for the next 30 years.
The original performers of The Nashville Shakespeare Festival couldn't have known they were starting something that would last so long. It's come a long way from the days of performing in front of car headlights.
This year's Summer Shakespeare has opened at oneC1TY Nashville, where they've performed the past several seasons. Performances go from now until September 21. It's pay-what-you-will.
"At the root of the stories, it's about humanity," Spelbring said. "It doesn't matter if they are kings and queens or groundlings, there is a story that will speak to you in every character that Shakespeare wrote. He was able to tap into the humanity of us."
Though it's not the roughly 425 years this show's been around, The Nashville Shakespeare Festival is just a few years from 40. Well, that's a start.
For information on performances and show times, visit The Nashville Shakespeare Festival here.
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Music lessons for just 50 cents! A Nashville music school has been providing that to area students for over 40 years including for the city's current mayor. As a child, I always wanted to take piano lessons. I was able to for about 6 months but had to stop due to family finances. I would have loved to have had access to a program like this at the W. O. Smith Music School.
- Lelan Statom
