Cast Spotlight
SHERMAN HAWKINS - KING LEAR
Let me tell you a little bit about Sherman Hawkins. Sherman is one of America's true Shakespearean scholars. When he was in school he acted in Shakespearean plays, fell in love with the recognized master of English's words, and devoted his life to study from that point forward. He studied at Harvard, then at Oxford (where he studied on a Fulbright Fellowship), and got his Ph.D. at Princeton. He taught at Princeton, Bryn Mawr, The University of Rochester and Wesleyan. His work has been published in over ten different academic publications over a period of nearly forty years. He is among the world's foremost authorities on Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, which, ironically enough, HSF performed this past year. Some of America's true standout scholars count Sherman as their first, finest, most inspiring teacher.
When Sherman retired, he settled near Harrisburg, PA. He reconnected with a long forgotten love -- performing Shakespeare -- here at Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival. For us, Sherman has played the Chief Justice in Henry IV, Gonzalo in The Tempest, and Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing. Sherman, if you can believe it, is 77 years old. And he played each role with zest, complete textual mastery, and a perfect understanding of each play as a whole, a fringe benefit of his life's work in study of this great man and his great plays.
I was so excited to have Sherman play Lear -- when Clark cast him, I smiled broadly. I am even more honored to play Kent, and to get the opportunity to devote myself to his Lear for five weeks of an invigorating, inspiring experience. Working with Sherman is always this way, but Lear is in another stratosphere, and his work has been nothing short of awe-inspiring.
We are thrilled to get to work with people like Sherman Hawkins. Clark has considered Sherman an indispensible resource, and Sherman's presence here at HSF has challenged us to mature as a company. To top all that off, he is an exceptionally kind and generous human being, and a true friend to us all. I think playing Lear became, later in Sherman's life, a dream he yearned for. And his performance is a dream come true.
We are fortunate to get to work with fine artists and scholars like Sherman Hawkins. If you like what you see tonight, I urge you to consider joining Gamut Theatre Group with a Membership-level donation. Our mission is to preserve and present the classics, those immutable, indisputably excellent works which have -- whether lightly, like classic fables and children's folktales, or in the case of Shakespeare's King Lear, heavily and powerfully -- shaped our world. Our mission is responsible to our community's tastes and needs, and our financial record (a history of operating in the black for each of our 13 years of existence) is, in spite of a budget smaller than many of our local peers, impeccable. You can trust us to be good stewards of your donation. Join us as we strive, in our own small way, to make the Susquehanna Valley a better place to be.
Be well,
Robert Campbell
Director, Development & Outreach
Go to our Free Shakespeare page for more information about King Lear.
Show Times:
Wednesdays through Saturdays at 6:30 pmTickets:
Free of charge.
Free parking is also available.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Coming This Fall to Gamut Classic Theatre...
George Herman 's A Company of Wayward Saints
