Measure for Measure
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Blackstone Audio is proud to present the Oregon Shakespeare Festivalβs production of Measure for Measure, Shakespeareβs compelling tragicomedy that explores restraintβand lack thereof.
Who legislates morality?
The dukeβs authoritarian deputy, Angelo, is hell-bent on stamping out moral decay. He reactivates outdated draconian laws and aims his arrogant crosshairs at a young man whose fiancΓ©e is pregnant, sentencing him to death. Angelo is sternly incorruptibleβuntil he meets Isabela, a beautiful religious novice whose desirability arouses him. Flavored with live music by the mariachi band Las Colibri, this vigorous, modern production of Shakespeareβs tragicomedy reveals what can happen when sex, religion, and politics collide.
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William Shakespeare was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), many of which are regarded as the most exceptional works of drama ever produced, including Romeo and Juliet (1595), Henry V (1599), Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1606) and Macbeth (1606), as well as a collection of 154 sonnets, which number among the most profound and influential love poetry in English. Shakespeare died in Stratford in 1616.
Bill Rauch became OSFβs fifth artistic director in 2007, after several seasons at the Festival as a guest director. In a total of fourteen seasons there, he has directed five world premieres and sixteen other plays.
Established in 1935, the Tony Awardβwinning Oregon Shakespeare Festival offers an eight-month season with a wide-ranging playbill of eleven productions, including Shakespeare, American classics, musicals, contemporary works, and world premieres. Plays originating at OSF have gone on to be produced by many regional theaters, and its productions have been recognized and honored nationally. In 2011, the Blackstone Audio and Oregon Shakespeare Festival collaboration of Hamlet was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
