Center opens season with nontraditional ‘Prince Hamlet’ Sept. 16–17 at Playhouse Theatre

Why Not Theatre production features integrated Deaf actress as Horatio

A fresh perspective on the Shakespearean downfall of a man will commence the Center for the Performing Arts 2022–23 season. “Prince Hamlet,” which features a gender-bent cast plus American Sign Language and translation by Dawn Jani Birley, challenges the idea of who can tell the 400-year-old story. The center will host three performances of the Shakespearean tragedy—at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Sept. 16, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, in Playhouse Theatre. Visit “Prince Hamlet” online for more information. Members of the cast will participate in a Q&A with interested audience members after the Sept. 16 performance. ASL interpreters will be available in the lobby one hour before curtain on performance days and will assist with the post-performance discussion. Tickets—$35 for an adult, $5 for a University Park student, and $18 for a person 18 and younger—will be available at “Prince Hamlet” online when they go on sale to the public Thursday, Sept. 1. Tickets will also be available by phone at 814-863-0255 or in person weekdays from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at Eisenhower Auditorium. The Why Not Theatre production is adapted and directed by Ravi Jain, a former professional clown with Cirque de Soleil. His reimagined tale features nontraditionally cast characters and a fully integrated Deaf actor in a production understandable to both Deaf and hearing audiences. Birley, a Toronto Theatre Critics Award-winning best actress, portrays Horatio and poetically delivers ASL in this highly visual narration. In a recent video conversation with the center staff, Jain said Birley accepted the challenge of translating the effusive nature of Shakespeare—first by translating the English to the more efficient ASL, “then into ASL with a flourish,” he said. Why Not Theatre was founded in 2007 by Jain in response to his experiences with cultural adversity. The Toronto company tackles modern issues with the belief that “there are more ways to see and hear people, that will help us see more in people who we may have written off," he said. Watch a preview of “Prince Hamlet.” Acknowledgements The Gerald B. M. and Sylvia Stein Endowment and the George Trudeau Endowment for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion support the performances. A grant from the University Park Student Fee Board makes Penn State student prices possible. The center thanks Penn State School of Theatre for hosting these presentations. This tour of “Prince Hamlet” is made possible with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Arts Abroad, and Sam Chaiton and Lindy Green. Find the Center for the Performing Arts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.