Punch Pick : Shakespeare Theatre Company to Celebrate 10 Years of “Will on the Hill”

As the energy continues to build for the impending stampede of Hollywood heavy hitters landing in D.C. aka White House Correspondent Association Dinner Weekend or some like to call it, “The Cool Kids in High School All Grown Up Come to Visit the Nerds in High School All Grown Up” or Nerd Prom … you get my drift, anyway, one my other favorite happenings is gearing up as well and that my friend, is Will on the Hill.

Euan Morton as Puck, Representative Mike McIntyre as Hamlet and Tim Daly as Richard III in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s 2011 Will on the Hill, The World’s A Stage. Photo by Kevin Allen.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company will hold its 10th year of celebrating the enduring power of Shakespeare’s words with the help of Washington’s politicians, lobbyists and journalists, who by the way have a fantastic sense of humor. This year’s Will on the Hill will be Speak the Speech, I Pray You!, an original play by Peter Byrne with assistance from The West Wing Writers Group. Will on the Hill will take place on Monday, May 7, 2012, in Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW). The evening begins with a VIP cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by the performance at 7:30 p.m. and a buffet dinner at 8:30 p.m.

Performance-only tickets to this popular annual event have already sold out, however patrons may enter their names on the wait list by calling the Box Office at 202.547.1122. A select number of VIP tickets are still available for purchase, and include a pre-performance cocktail reception and a buffet dinner with the opportunity to meet and dine with members of the cast and event sponsors. VIP tickets can be purchased for $250 by emailing WillontheHill@ShakespeareTheatre.org.

Speak the Speech, I Pray You! tells the tale of a director and stage manager tasked with corralling a cast of Washington luminaries for a benefit performance of Romeo and Juliet. This year’s cast includes Emmy Award-winning actor Richard Schiff, best known for his role as Toby Ziegler on The West Wing, and Tony Award nominee and STC Affiliated Artist Veanne Cox. Many Senators and members of Congress will take the stage as well, including Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Representatives Shelly Berkley (D-NV), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Susan Davis (D-CA), Theodore Deutch (D-FL), Donna Edwards (D-MD), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Michael Grimm (R-NY), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Mike McIntyre (D-NC), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Thomas Petri (R-WI), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Jared Polis (D-CO), Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Peter Welch (D-VT). In addition, STC welcomes an international government representative, The Honourable Ian Liddell-Granger MP (Member of Parliament for Bridgewater and West Somerset). Other illustrious cast members include Robin Bronk (CEO, Creative Coalition), Dr. Natwar Gandhi (CEO, District of Columbia), Major Garrett (Congressional Correspondent, National Journal), Rick Klein (ABC News’ Senior Washington Editor, World News with Diane Sawyer), William Kristol (Political Analyst, Founder and Editor, The Weekly Standard), Scott Simon (NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday) and Susan Stamberg (Special Correspondent, NPR’s Morning Edition).

Cast members subject to change.