Not A Sequel, Maybe An Original

Odds are when you studied William Shakespeare in school, The Reign of King Edward III was not among the works on your Elizabethan reading list. Published anonymously in 1596, the play endured 400 years of scholarly research and debate before experts determined Edward III is most likely a collaboration between Shakespeare and someone else. Opinions are still divided concerning its provenance, and the debate may never be settled to anyone's satisfaction. But it is as close as one can get to a new Shakespeare play, unless Robbie Shakespeare has something in the works. And so St. Louis Shakespeare presents Edward III as its final show of the season. The play concerns a Double Indemnity-style plot hatched by the Countess of Salisbury in hopes of rebuffing unwanted advances made by the titular king, and then switches to the bellicose king's military actions in France. Edward III is performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (March 13 through 22), with a 7:30 p.m. show on Thursday, March 19, at the Orthwein Theatre (Mary Institute St. Louis Country Day School campus at 101 North Warson Road, Ladue). Tickets are $18 to $22. For more information, call 314-361-5664 or visit www.stlshakespeare.org.
Thursdays-Sundays. Starts: March 13. Continues through March 22, 2009