COURT HOUSE – Join Access to Art as it celebrates its 21st birthday as a not for profit presenting the visual and performing arts in the area with a visit to Princeton’s McCarter Theatre for a matinee on April 6 to see Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale.” It is a benefit for the Cape May Renaissance Festival which is scheduled, this year, on Sept. 21 and 22 at the 4-H grounds on Dennisville Rd., in Cape May Court House.
“In line with the Renaissance theme, we are going to see some Shakespeare, who was one of the major entertainments in Elizabethan England. McCarter always does a great job with the classics, and with all the arts, being near the University, and having an audience who appreciates them.” Barbara Beitel, Access to Art, Inc. Director said. “We invite you to join us as we begin our development of the Cape May Renaissance Festival.”
We are inviting our old acts back, those who are still available, and we have some new ones planned as well. We will have a Renaissance dinner on Aug. 7 at the Willow Creek Vineyard in West Cape May where we held our first Cape May Renaissance Festival. Barbara Bray Wilde is hosting us in her lovely new winery building, and we are putting together entertainment for that now.
The Shakespeare classic is directed by Rebecca Taichman, who receives rave reviews at McCarter for her creative direction. We will attend a matinee, have lunch, at either the best Chinese restaurant (authentic Szechuan dishes but American/Chinese also available) or at Mastoris Diner, for a thoroughly American lunch. They are close to each other. Trip with bus, play admission, and lunch is $115.
McCarter Theatre, near Princeton University, is a wonderful venue that presents the very best in the visual and performing arts. Princeton is lovely in Spring so we can spend a little time either on the university campus or shopping on Nassau St. At 2:30 the pre-talk begins, and at 3 p.m. the matinee. We will leave the Acme Parking lot in Cape May Court House at 10 a.m. and get to Mercerville for lunch about noon. Since we are still studying the Tudor period, although Henry VIII this year, and not Elizabeth, it will be fun to see a little Shakespeare and get in the mood. Our own play, being written by Sheila N. Rinear, “Bound by Truth,” which we commissioned with a grant from NJSCA, is still being developed. It will be presented this coming Fall at the Cape May Renaissance Festival event. It was very successful this winter when 70 people turned up for the reading at the Southern Mansion.
The Winter’s Tale is described as “tragic, romantic, hilarious and uplifting. The Winter’ Tale is a genre bending masterpiece and one of Shakespeare’s most elegant and haunting plays. This beautiful music-filled and magical classic celebrated remdemption, reconciliation, and the mending of broken hearts.”
Rebecca Taichman was reviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer who said of her work, “Delish and Dazzling…Shakespearian Comedy true to text but made gorgeously fresh by a brilliant young director, Rebecca Taichman.” (This described 12th Night at McCarter in 2009).
Tickets are $115. Please send checks to Access to Art, Inc., 417 E. Pacific Ave., Cape May Court House, N.J. 08210. Call (609) 465-3963 to register. Bus seats 5l.
Villas – Yep, here come those mask mandates again starting in, of course, a blue state. If there isn't a virus yet for the mask, they will find one before November 5th.
