A shipwreck on a foreign land. A girl disguised as a boy who falls for a duke. A duke who pines for a countess who swoons for the girl (disguised as a boy). The gluttonous drunkard Sir Toby Belch. And Feste, the fool with the wisdom to somehow tie it all together.
Twelfth Night — with its entanglements, its absurdities, its romance — headlines the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival’s 2025 season, returning to Sand Harbor’s outdoor, lakeside stage 7 nights a week from July 5 to Aug. 25.
“It’s one of Shakespeare’s great comedies,” said Sara Bruner, the organization’s producing artistic director designate. “Our production in particular explores its deeper notes of tragedy and loss while celebrating the joy of the play.”
Its title given for the end-of-Christmas season upon which it was first shown (in either 1601 or 1602), Twelfth Night showcases the Bard’s timeless combination of humor and humanness. While things may have changed a bit in the last 424 years, human nature has remained the same; and whether a groundling back at the Globe Theatre along the River Thames or a Tahoe-ite upon the moonlit stage at the lake, Will the Quill’s gift to get to the core of things — with wit, whimsy, and wordplay — strikes fast and leaves a lasting dose.
His plays were never meant to be statically read in some high school English class but rather vividly seen in real life, and there may be no better stage on this third orb from the sun than what Tahoe Shakespeare offers.
“With the setting and the quality of art, there’s no other theater like Tahoe in the country,” Bruner said. “The level of professionalism we bring and to have the lake, it’s unmatched.”
Then and Now
Tahoe and Shakespeare have a history over a half-century old. Today’s world-class productions started out with humble origins in 1972 with a few shows at Sugar Pine Point State Park and then Skylandia Park in Tahoe City before finding a permanent home and heightened professionalism at Sand Harbor in 1978. As the appetite for outdoor theater has grown, so have the offerings of Tahoe Shakespeare, which now augments its 2-month run with a non-Shakespeare play and select concerts.
“We will always be anchored in Shakespeare,” Bruner noted, “but we want to meet different folks where they are. In the end, it’s about providing access to art.”
2025’s alternate play is Peter and the Starcatcher, a prequel to Peter Pan based on the book by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. It offers answers to questions perhaps long pondered: Where did those lost boys come from and what are their relationships? What’s James Hook’s problem and how exactly did he lose that hand? And what about this young Smee fella?
In true repertory theater style, the same cast plays both plays. With Starcatcher’s imaginative storytelling, the 12 actors are able to portray over 100 characters on stage as the audience is transported from Victorian England to the high seas to a deserted island, a mermaid’s grotto, and much more.
“Starcatcher is like a really good Pixar movie,” Bruner continued. “If you’re 9 years old you love it for one reason and if you 60 years you love it for another. You see different things in it, glean different lessons and story points. And it’s beautifully done.”
To round out 42 nights of theater during the summer run, 10 evenings of music are also presented as part of The Concert Showcase Series. Catch a Rolling Stones, ABBA, or David Bowie tribute band. Experience the Reno Jazz Orchestra or the Reno Philharmonic do their thing, or absorb the Sierra Nevada Ballet performing Twelfth Night: Ballet Noir, among other acts.
Cuisine, Notables, and Quotables
Shakespeare’s Kitchen is open every evening for alfresco dining from 5:30 to 7:20 p.m. and during intermission, and all shows start promptly at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $22 for both plays and $32 for concerts. For a full menu of Shakespeare’s Kitchen, a comprehensive calendar of events and ticket pricing, and more information, visit laketahoeshakespearefestival.com.
In addition to extra layers or blankets for nighttime temperatures, theatergoers may also bring their own food and drink — just beware of Sir Toby Belch pointing a portly finger your way and demanding “more cakes and ale.”
Earlier in the play when Viola washes ashore after her fateful shipwreck, she looks around and asks, “What country, friends, is this?”
Get out and go see what she discovers, and see what you might discover with a night out at the theater.
“Most of our society’s storytelling takes place on a screen,” Bruner concluded. “There’s nothing like getting out and spending time with community, in nature, watching a story unfold with live actors. Whether surrounded by family or strangers, it’s a great opportunity to take a break from the phone for a couple hours and watch this ancient art form unfold.”
