Tulane Shakespeare Festival

Founded in 1993 by a handful of Tulane Faculty members, the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane has become one of the most significant theatre events in the Gulf South. This season the festival is opening with performances of Molière's witty farce, The Imaginary Invalid, as adapted and translated by Ryder Thornton, directed by Anne-Liese Juge Fox. The preview performance ($25) will be held June 5, and opening night on June 6—with performances Thursdays–Sundays through June 22 (7:30 pm Thursday–Saturday; 1:30 pm Saturday–Sunday). $40.

On June 25, the improv group, The Fools Ensemble, returns to the festival with a one-night-only performance, presenting A Very Important Play, Again—their take on a "Shakespeare" play that has never been put to the stage before (and never will again . . . again). 7:30 pm. $25. 

Then, on June 28, you can also catch a one-night-only performance of (un)prompted Shakespeare: King Lear—in which actors meet in the morning, rehearse once, and then perform the show that night with the script projected on the stage behind them. 7:30 pm. $40. 

And finally, throughout July, see a more traditional Shakespearian performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Graham Burk. The preview performance will be held July 10, and opening night on July 11—with performances Thursdays–Sundays through July 27 (7:30 pm Thursday–Saturday; 1:30 pm Saturday–Sunday). $40. 

All events will take place in Tulane's Lupin Theater. neworleansshakespeare.org.