In celebration with the Illinois Bicentennial, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) has commissioned a new play to be performed by the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) troupe at multiple locations.
The play, titled Double, Double, tells the story of a young Abraham Lincoln, his discovery of the joy and genius of Shakespeare’s writings and the impact on the President’s life and work.
The tour schedule is as follows:
June 21 & 22 Peoria, Riverfront Museum
June 23 Decatur, Scovill Zoo by the Gazebo
July 4 Peoria Heights, Tower Park
July 5 Urbana, Carle Park
All performances begin at 10 a.m. The play is free and open to the public.
The TYA show has regularly scheduled performances on Thursday and Saturday mornings at 10 a.m., July 7 through August 11 at Ewing Manor with the July 21 performance in Bloomington’s Franklin Park as part of the Lincoln’s Festival of Route 66 weekend.
Sponsored by Peoria’s WTVP public television and Zeller Electric in Morton, Illinois, Double, Double is unique in having both Shakespeare and Lincoln as characters in the same play. Other characters, some with famous quotes, are taken from Shakespeare’s plays including three heinous witches, an ambitious king, and a funny talking wall. This fast-paced 40-minute play will appeal to audiences of all ages.
Double, Double was written by Bloomington playwright Nancy Steele Brokaw. Brokaw has written numerous children’s plays, including Shake Shake Shake Your Shakespeare and Double Trouble and the Ballad of Macbeth and Other Campfire Tales, both of which were featured in previous ISF seasons. A common theme in her work is historical heroes and their shared experiences of rising to success from humble beginnings.
For more information about Theatre for Young Audiences and other ISF’s shows and events, visit the website IllinoisShakes.com.
