Henry V leads the charge in the Hudson Highlands

O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene! 

O but it was here – with views, food and the most epic battle scene – we ended our weekend with the warlike Harry, a most charismatic King Henry V played by the indomitable Emily Ota, who confidently leads Shakespeare’s charge atop the Hudson Highlands in Garrison this summer.  

Henry V, the first of three performances as part of this year’s Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF), continues with selected shows through August 21, 2023. Love’s Labor’s Lost is currently running through August 27, followed by the world premiere of Penelope, an original musical retelling of The Odyssey, opens September 3 and runs through September 17, 2023.

Renderings for HVSF’s new open-air theater. Link

For its second year, HVSF has returned to its new home under a temporary tent at the former Garrison Golf Course. Plans for the festival’s 98-acre permanent site include an open-air theater made from timber and slate that “mimics the contours and geology of the Hudson Highlands.” The site will also feature environmentally-sensitive parking, and accessible paths through native meadows and wildflower gardens. The new theater is expected to be ready for the 2025 season.

Theater-goers are urged to come early to enjoy the spectacular views of Storm King Mountain (on the left) and Breakneck Ridge (on the right) with the grounds open for picnicking beginning at 4pm before showtime. In addition to concessions, the Valley Table, a restaurant on site, also offers a three-course prix-fixe menu before the show with indoor and outdoor seating available. A nightly walking tour takes place at 6pm to explore HVSF’s new grounds, and on Thursdays, actors, directors and other members of the crew will explain their process during Prologue Nights. Neighborhood Nights also offer 15-percent discounts for residents in qualifying counties on select dates (7/24: Ulster, Orange, Rockland and Bergen counties; 7/27: Putnam, Dutchess and Westchester).

Photo by niki@hvny.info

For the only show of the 2023 season, the stage for Henry V is set in the round, allowing seating on all sides to fully immerse the audience, and blur the fourth wall as the king stomps fiercely though his adoring crowd who look upon him with wonder and awe. The audience, as The Chorus explains in the opening monologue of Henry V, is a key figure in the performance, not just to imagine the cast of 15 playing multiple characters, representing tens of thousands of men fighting battle, but to join the efforts and bring the battle to glory – even handing actors their props, and dutifully shaking hands with the king. “Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts,” says Davis McCallum, HVSF Artistic Director and director of Henry V. “That’s the secret motto of the production: we’re all in this together.”

That king – played undoubtedly by Emily Ota – struggles to lead, to fight, to win the hearts of his countrymen, and even that of Princess Catherine – played a coy by Omar Shafiuzzaman – eventually. At the apex, the battle at Agincourt transforms the humble stage into a choreographed, heart-pumping psychedelic trance that brings all those present into the throes of war.

“We were excited about an approach that highlights both the character’s flaws AND his strengths as a leader,” McCallum said. “Emily really embodies the idea of using language to inspire and motivate. When it comes to the way gender works in the play, we’re not changing the gender of the character and we’re not trying to fool anyone into thinking that the actor playing King Henry is a man. We’re just doing the play, and asking every member of the team and the cast – including Emily – to bring all of their lived experience to embodying the story in the most personal and meaningful way.”

For tickets, showtimes and more info, visit: https://hvshakespeare.org/
Read a Q+A with Davis McCallum, the director of Henry V, here: https://hvshakespeare.org/production/henryv/
For more info about HVSF’s new home, visit: https://hvshakespeare.org/newhome/