The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival, the county’s longest-running professional theater company, recently announced its upcoming 2025-26 season, which features a collaboration with Palm Beach Atlantic University and a Shakespeare by the Sea original premiere.
The season line-up includes the PBAU collaboration production of Romeo & Juliet on Oct. 2-4 at the Fern Street Theater; the sixth annual Shakespeare by the Palms presentation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth on Feb. 13-16 at a new location in the Veterans Park Amphitheater in Royal Palm Beach; and the 36th anniversary Shakespeare by the Sea premiere of the original production, Falstaff: Shakespeare’s Greatest Invention at the Seabreeze Amphitheater in Carlin Park, Jupiter, from July 9-19.
In addition to its professional productions, the Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival officially launches its in-school Sharing Shakespeare educational programs. Underwritten by Gary and Katherine Parr, the program includes interactive performances of selected scenes from the spring production of Macbeth, with company actors and its director breaking down the history, language and methods of performing each scene.
Additionally, the festival will bring its fall production of Romeo & Juliet to the Kravis Center as a part of the educational S*T*A*R* Series on Oct. 27-29.
“Following our incredible anniversary season, we are so excited to bring more of the Bard to the community through an added fall production and the official launch of our Sharing Shakespeare educational programming,” Managing Producer Elizabeth Dashiell said. “Despite multiple years of funding cuts, we are able to expand our offerings thanks to our longtime cultural partnerships with PBAU and the Kravis Center, as well as the School District of Palm Beach County, and our season sponsors, Gary and Katherine Parr. The arts are for everyone, and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure access to the language, history, critical thinking and more that the works of William Shakespeare brings to us all. All of our productions are presented at low or no cost to our students and patrons to remove as many socioeconomic barriers as possible from seeing these great works as they were meant to be enjoyed — live on stage.”
The sixth annual Shakespeare by the Palms production of Macbeth will take place Feb. 13-16 at 7 p.m. at the Veterans Park Amphitheater, located at 1036 Royal Palm Beach Blvd.
Have a bloody good time over Valentine’s Day weekend with the couple that truly “slays.” Shakespeare’s macabre tale recounts the tragic story of General Macbeth, who is told by three witches that he will be king of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth kills the king and takes the throne, fulfilling the witches’ prophecy. But once on the throne, the couple find that “blood will have blood” and they, and the country, will never be the same.
Shakespeare by the Palms is presented by the Village of Royal Palm Beach. Shakespeare by the Sea is presented in cultural partnership with Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation. Shakespeare by the Sea is also sponsored by Frank Cona and Lisa Calberg. Additional funding is provided by a grant from the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County.
The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival is a nonprofit professional theater company dedicated to enhancing the accessibility and appreciation for Shakespearean, classic and contemporary theater. For more information, visit www.pbshakespeare.org.
