William Shakespeare’s 'The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI, Part 1'

The Shakespeare Initiative (TSI) will present William Shakespeare’s "The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI, Part 1"  at Brundage Park Playhouse in Randolph for six performances on September 30, October 1, 7 and 8 at 8 p.m. and October 2 and 9 at 2 p.m.  

"The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI, Part 1" (which in the TSI adaptation combines Shakespeare’s Part I with the first three acts of Part 2) charts the origins of England’s bloody Wars of the Roses, and features the young Shakespeare’s unforgettable portrayal of Joan of Arc. Engaging battles, political intrigue and betrayal ensue, as Henry the Sixth fights to keep the control his father obtained over France by marrying Margaret of Anjou.

Populated with dozens of complex characters, this early Shakespeare play features greed, conspiracy, lust, murder, witchcraft and clashes between armies and bitter rivals.

Featured in the cast are Nicky Fraebel, of Brookside, as the innocent boy king, Claire Bochenek (Rockaway) as Margaret of Anjou, Shawn Dawiskiba (Succasunna) as Plantagenet, Bob Scarpone (Flanders) as Gloucester, Neil R. Fitzpatrick (Randolph) as Winchester, Thomas J. Reissner (Rockaway) in the dual roles of Suffolk and John Talbot, Jonathan Baumgartner (Madison) as Warwick, Sybil Engleby (Bernardsville) in the dual roles of Joan La Pucelle and Margery Jourdain, and Gordon Tennyck (Flanders) as Somerset.   Also in the cast are Jeff Bingham (Mountain Lakes), Rene Dussault (Randolph), Rory Hoban (Morristown), William Horwitz (Oak Ridge), Jonathan Meola (Bridgewater), Becky Nitka (Hackettstown), Miles Rodgers (Morristown) and Michael Tarantella (Denville).  

The production has been directed by Richard Norman (Randolph) with costumes, lighting design/operation and sound by Mark Carovale (Mine Hill), set design/construction/painting and properties by Nola Young (Roxbury), and fight choreography by Claire Bochenek and Thomas J. Reissner (both of Rockaway). Claire Bochenek is the assistant to the director and Thomas J. Reissner is the stage manager.  

All tickets for the production are $10. For ticket reservations please call the Brundage Park Playhouse box office at 973-989-7092.