Shakespeare plays return to Cannon Beach park
Players celebrate theater’s
50th anniversary with
community shows
BY KATHERINE LACAZE
Both longtime fans of The Bard and
those newly acquainted with William
Shakespeare’s work will be entertained and
enlightened as actors from the Coaster The-
atre Playhouse return for a third Shake-
speare in the park program, performed out-
doors in Cannon Beach.
“His characters and his stories are uni-
versal,” play director Patrick Lathrop said,
“they never grow old.”
Performances are ongoing throughout
the month.. In case of inclement weather,
shows will move from the park to the the-
ater. One special performance on June 29,
which will take place in the courtyard by
the theater, will run in conjunction with the
Coaster’s 50th anniversary celebration.
The theme for this year’s rendition of
Shakespeare in the Park is “Ghosts, Fair-
ies and Spirits.” The event encapsulates
several elements from the original ver-
sion, “Don’t Fear Shakespeare (in the
Park),” presented in 2020, as well as last
year’s variation, “60 Second Shakespeare.”
Eventually, if Lathrop continues the sum-
mer program in future years, he plans to
meld the best aspects of all three into one
“Shakesperience” piece to present annually.
Katherine Lacaze
Capturing the human condition
The program’s aim is to make Shake-
speare productions accessible and
approachable for modern audiences by pre-
senting a few narrated choice works. Audi-
ences will also enjoy period songs, rec-
itations of Shakespearean sonnets and a
splattering of insults and vocabulary words
popular in the Elizabethan era.
However, for this year’s theme, Lath-
rop has added scenes that deal with the
supernatural – ghosts, fairies, spirits and
the like. For example, audiences will meet
the witches from “Macbeth,” the ghost of
Hamlet’s father, and the fairies featured in
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
ABOVE: The cast of ‘Shakesperience: Ghosts,
Fairies and Spirits,’ includes, from left, Leonard
Hoge, Leo McDonald-Goldstein, Margaret
Hammitt-McDonald and Seth Goldstein.
RIGHT: Actors present a performance at last
year’s Shakespeare event in Cannon Beach.
“It’s been enjoyable to settle on a com-
bination of scenes and poetry, and it’s a lot
of fun to interact with the audience out-
side,” volunteer actor Margaret Ham-
mitt-McDonald said. This year’s program
See Page 5
THE PROGRAM’S AIM IS TO MAKE SHAKESPEARE
PRODUCTIONS ACCESSIBLE AND APPROACHABLE FOR
MODERN AUDIENCES BY PRESENTING A FEW NARRATED
CHOICE WORKS. AUDIENCES WILL ALSO ENJOY PERIOD
SONGS, RECITATIONS OF SHAKESPEAREAN SONNETS AND
A SPLATTERING OF INSULTS AND VOCABULARY WORDS
POPULAR IN THE ELIZABETHAN ERA.
4 // COASTWEEKEND.COM