Michael Cumpsty to Star in Hamlet at Classic Stage Company

Michael Cumpsty will star in a Classic Stage Company mounting of William Shakespeare's Hamlet to kick off the theater's 2005-2006 season. The production, directed by CSC Artistic Director Brian Kulick, is scheduled to run off-Broadway from November 2 through December 11.

Cumpsty and Kulick last worked together on the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of Timon of Athens in Central Park. Cumpsty's Broadway credits include Enchanted April, 42nd Street, Copenhagen, Electra, 1776, Racing Demon, The Heiress, Translations, La Bete, Timon of Athens, Artist Descending a Staircase, Democracy and The Constant Wife. For the New York Shakespeare Festival, where he also teaches, Cumpsty has been featured in seven productions.

After Hamlet, CSC will present Fragment 174, a new work inspired by Sophocles' lost play The Dolopians, with a text by Charles L. Mee. Pavol Liska will direct the production, which will run from March 22 through April 9. After that, CSC will present the Target Margin Theater production of Faust, Part 1 and Faust, Part 2 running from April 21 through May 21 by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, translated by Douglas Langworthy and directed by David Herskovits.

In addition to the pieces mentioned above, CSC's 2005-2006 season will also include its First Look Festival, The Young Company which is an educational program focused on the development of young actors and young audiences in New York City, present two works by Molière and a Monday Night Open Rehearsal series exploring King Lear.