Shakespeare Festival Returns To Toms River For 3rd Year

TOMS RIVER, NJ — For the third straight year, Huddy Park will come alive with the sounds of Elizabethan English, as the Toms River Shakespeare Festival returns to the park

This summer's presentation will be the play Measure for Measure, directed by Lori Garrabrant, the producing artistic director and founder of the Toms River Shakespeare Festival.

The play centers on a young novice nun who must persuade the Duke of Vienna's corrupt deputy, Angelo, to spare her brother's life. When Angelo proposes a salacious bargain to redeem him, where will she turn and who will believe her?

"Our doubts are traitors and make(s) us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt," is one of the lines from the play.

A preview performance will be held outdoors on Aug. 7 at St. Elisabeth’s Chapel on 3rd Avenue at Ortley Beach, then the play will be performed at Huddy Park from Aug. 8 to 11. Show times are at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

The festival has added rain contingencies for this year. If inclement weather threatens, the productions will move indoors. In Ortley Beach, the play will move inside St. Elisabeth's Chapel. For the Huddy Park performances, in case of rain the play will move to Christ Episcopal Church on Washington Street.

Should inclement weather threaten on the day of a performance and necessitate a move indoors, a decision will be announced on the website (www.trshakespeare.org) and to Toms River Shakespeare Festival subscribers via email by 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and by noon on Sunday.

Last year's production was "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and 2017's inaugural production was "The Tempest." Both productions featured a mix of local and New York talent for cast and crew, including Ocean County Vocational Technical School Performing Arts Academy graduates and interns. The cast of "Measure for Measure" will include many familiar faces from previous productions, as well as some new talent.

"We're thrilled to return to Toms River for our third season," Garrabrant said. "Our great hope is to be able to continue to bring these timeless texts and stories to life and to create theatre that is inclusive, accessible and free for all!"

She expressed gratitude for the financial support that has helped the festival continue and "serve(s) to counter any doubts that Shakespeare is alive and well and thriving in 2019."

A suggested donation of $5 is requested and it is advised to bring a beach/lawn chair and/or picnic blanket to enjoy seating at the park or at St. Elisabeth's Chapel outdoors at Ortley Beach. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase from local food vendor, Thyme for All Seasons.

Garrabrant, a Toms River native, earned her undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and did her postgraduate training in Classical Acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art [LAMDA]. She now resides in Manhattan with her partner, Kevin, and their two children.

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