Join Commonwealth Theatre Center for the 2018 edition of the Young American Shakespeare Festival, the oldest and largest such festival in the nation by and for young people. This year's Festival features three plays by William Shakespeare. On the final day of the Festival, May 20, audiences can see all three plays in a marathon. Plays begin at 12:30, 4:00, and 8:00pm, and we’ll have fun between the shows.

Richard III directed by Heather Burns is May 12 @ 2:00, May 13, 16, 18 @ 7:30 and May 20 @ 12:30
The dastardly Richard will claim the throne for his own, and neither allies nor family are safe in this finale to Shakespeare's Wars of the Roses. No rest for the wicked. No mercy for the weak. No villain ever confided so much in the audience.

Measure for Measure directed by Charlie Sexton is May 11, 17, 19 @ 7:30, May 13 @ 2:00, May 20 @ 4:00
Although technically a comedy, this enduring "problem play" deals with corruption and political hypocrisy among the powerful even as it delivers an entertaining blend of plots, tricks, and disguises in the build to a climax skewering the prevailing misogyny of the day.

The Merry Wives of Windsor directed by Jennifer Pennington is May 10, 12, 15 @ 7:30, May 19 @ 2:00, May 20 @ 8:00
Short on funds and searching for fun, the legendary Falstaff - newly arrived in the quiet burg of Windsor - attempts a seduction of two women he believes are in love with him. But when the women discover he's used the same letter for them both, they turn the tables on the rogue in this rousing Elizabethan farce.