St. Albans , Kanawha County , West Virginia

While perhaps not as famous as "Romeo and Juliet," "Hamlet" and "Macbeth", "Richard III" is one of William Shakespeare's most performed works.

Chronicling the short reign of an English king, it takes place after the War of the Roses and tells how a duke rises to the throne through plotting, betrayal and lies.

"We chose this play because a history play has not been performed in this area in at least 50 years and we really wanted to do one," Marlette Carter, the director, said. "It was a toss-up between "Richard III" and "Henry V," but "Richard III" has some really dynamic women's roles in it and I knew a lot of the actresses would come out to play those."

Several recent Shakespearean productions by other companies have chosen to take the Bard's work and place it in contemporary settings. That's not the case here. There are tights and swords and all of the traditional trappings of a story set in the 15th century.

"The director chose to set it period essentially, you know so it presents some challenges," Jeff Bukovinsky, who plays Richard III, said. "It makes it easier. You don' t have to change any of the language, really. But it also presents some challenges. The costuming has to be a bit more elaborate."

There is an interesting side note to this production. In a lucky bit of timing, the remains of King Richard III, missing for 500 years, were positively identified earlier this month after being found beneath the ruins of an old church, which were covered by a small city parking lot.

"We didn't realize when we chose it that they would actually find and identify his body," Carter said. "So, I guess our PR department is second to none in terms of that happy coincidence."

The Alban Arts Center presents William Shakespeare's "Richard III."

Alban Arts Center
65 Olde Main Street
St. Albans, WV

Feb. 22, 23 and March 1, 2 at 8 p.m.
Feb. 24 and March 3 at 2 p.m.

Tickets:
$15 adults
$10 students/seniors

Call 304-721-8896 for reservations, and visit www.albanartscenter.com for more information.

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