Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks stages 'Cleopatra' with all

Opening performanceWhen: 2 p.m. Sept. 2Where: Frick Park, Beechwood Boulevard and Nicholson Street, Squirrel HillAdmission: Free, donations acceptedDetails: pittsburghshakespeare.com

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William Shakespeare was not averse to including a ballad or two in his plays.

Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks is going the Bard one better this year, adding modern dance numbers to its production of “Cleopatra & Antony.”

Audience members will hear snippets of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September,” as an all-woman cast presents the tragic love story of the Queen of Egypt and the Roman ruler set against early 11th-century political intrigues.

The opening performance is set for 2 p.m. Saturday in Frick Park, near the Blue Slide Playground on Beechwood Boulevard in Squirrel Hill.

Modern music and women acting out male roles are just two of the innovations the company will employ to translate the work first performed around 1607 for a contemporary audience.

English literature students and theater fans also will remember that the play’s rightful name is “Antony and Cleopatra.”

“Something we like to highlight is that Shakespeare’s stories are for anyone, should be accessible to everyone, can be enjoyed by everyone and can be told by anyone,” said PSIP founding artistic director Jennifer Tober. “We like to mirror that in our nontraditional casting, in terms of gender, race, age, ability.

“And I just think it’s interesting to tell these stories in a new way, making them fresh, relevant and fun.”

Casting all women is one way to address inequalities in the theater world, Tober said, noting that in Shakespeare’s day, female parts were played by male actors.

“We want to kind of turn that on its ear, and using an all female-identifying cast does a lot of that,” Tober said. “In Shakespeare’s plays, traditionally, there might be three roles for women and the rest are all men.

“Maybe one of those roles is the protagonist, so there just haven’t been as many opportunities for women in classical theater,” she said. “I’ve experienced that — you either play the leading lady, the servant or the funny wench.”

No gimmicks

PSIP previously staged “Julius Caesar” and “Hamlet” with all women actors.

“We did have one audience member write and say, ‘We don’t want to see that,’” Tober said. “We don’t do it to be gimmicky, certainly. We just do it to sort of level the playing field and to tell the story in a different way.”

“Cleopatra & Antony” is challenging enough to stage in its original form, let along with modifications, she said.

“This play is kind of all over the place. It’s overwritten, it’s redundant, people repeat themselves a lot,” Tober said. “The language sometimes gets caught up in itself. It’s a tough piece to work on, and it’s very long.”

The PSIP creative team has cut the running time from about three hours to two.

“It’s the original text, just an abbreviated version,” Tober said. “None of the language is changed. The ending is the same — there’s lots of death.”

With all the challenges, why do it?

“It hasn’t been performed in Pittsburgh since Quantum (Theatre) did it, I’m not even sure when – maybe in the ‘90s,” Tober said. “Three Rivers Shakespeare (Festival) also did it, but that I guess was also in the early ‘90s.

“This is our 20th season, so we’ve done about 18 of the plays in the canon,” she said. “We’re not really running out, but it was one we hadn’t done and we thought this would be a good time to do it.”

The nine-member cast includes Callee Miles in her PSIP debut, playing Cleopatra and Octavia.

PSIP veteran Harper York appears as Antony, a role she also portrayed in 2019’s all-female “Julius Caesar.” York also is cast as the Clown.

Other cast members play a variety of roles.

“Cleopatra & Antony” is Tober’s fourth stint directing with PSIP, which has been producing free public performances of Shakespeare’s works in Pittsburgh city parks since 2005. Music director is Matt Calvetti.

Performances will be Sept. 2, 3 and 30 and Oct. 1 in Frick Park; Sept. 9-10 in Highland Park; Sept. 16-17 in Westinghouse Park; Sept. 22 in Schenley Plaza; and Sept. 23-24 at The Frick Pittsburgh.

All performances start at 2 p.m., except for a 6 p.m. start in Schenley Plaza.

Admission is free; donations are accepted. For full schedule and more information, visit pittsburghshakespeare.com.

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .

Opening performanceWhen: 2 p.m. Sept. 2Where: Frick Park, Beechwood Boulevard and Nicholson Street, Squirrel HillAdmission: Free, donations acceptedDetails: pittsburghshakespeare.com

TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.