Shakespeare's 'Cymbeline' Comes to Hoboken's Sinatra Park

Ready for a funny camp fire tale of buffoonish clowns, an epic legend of long ago battles, a scary story with a headless man and young love torn asunder?

Hudson Shakespeare Co. serves up all of these and a lot more with
Shakespeare's "Cymbeline, performing in Jersey City and Hoboken.

A performance was held Thursday night at Hamilton Park in Jersey City and will be at the following locations:

Friday, 7 p.m.
Van Vorst Park, Montgomery Street and Jersey Avenue, Jersey City
(Rain location - under the park gazebo)

Monday, July 14 and 21, 7 p.m.
Frank Sinatra Park , 410 Frank Sinatra Drive, Hoboken

Saturday, July 19, 7 p.m.
The Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery, 435 Newark Ave., Jersey City (note this is a special benefit performance with a $10 suggested donation and sold concessions. All other shows are free).

Returning for their second helping of summer Shakespeare in its 23rd touring season, the comany takes the late fairy tale like romance of "Cymbeline" and transplants it to the Old West.

Like many of Shakespeare's plays, the performance settings often lend themselves to many different time periods. "Cymbeline" with its fairy tale like setting of stern
stepmothers, lost princes, wilderness settings and the doings of kings and princesses slips well into a fantastical world of 1880s Americana.

Story of the play:

Good King Cymbelilne (Tony White) is a wealthy widower has just married Queenie (Laura Hill) and looks to have his vivacious daughter Imogen (Noelle Fair) married to Queenie's dopey son Cloten (Phillip Corso). However, Imogen has other plans and elops with her true Prince Charming, the noble, but poor Posthumous (Jeff DeGlow). Furious, Cymbeline banishes Posthumous from his site and seeks to have the marriage dissolved.

Posthumous sets off on a trail to house of his father's old friend Philario (Tox Cox) and meets the card sharp Iachimo (James Masciovecchio), who never met a wager he didn't like. Seeing an easy con with Posthumous, Iachimo bets him that he can bed his faithful Imogen. Posthumous knowing he can't lose takes the bet and Iachimo finds his work cut out for him and steps to dishonest means to dishonor Imogen. As work comes back of the supposed affair, Posthumous orders Pisanio (Lisa LaGrande), a trusty servent to kill Imoen but relents and helps her escape disguised as a boy.

As Imogen enters the wilderness to escape her father, Posthumous' revenge and a stinging reputation she runs into some long lost relatives she never knew she had. With their help and in the midst of a border war she seeks to clear her name, reunite with Posthumous and unknowingly bring all her family back together.