February 2016 Volume 16, Issue 2 A publication of the Manhattan Convention & Visitors Bureau
Shakespeare in The Little Apple
®
William Shakespeare continues to resonate in the literary world, generations after his renowned life. Celebrations for the legendary playwright will be ongoing through 2016, with galas particularly focused at each of 50 state locations that host Shakespeare’s First Folio collection. Kansas State University and the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art have earned this distinction as Folio host, with more than a dozen events planned all around Manhattan.
The Ruth A. Wefald Gallery on Beach Museum’s second floor will host the Shakespeare text in February. The First Folio is the first printed collection to contain all of Shakespeare’s plays, and it was created in 1623. Shakespeare wrote 36 plays, half of which had been printed during his lifetime; the rest printed by friends after his 1616 death and collected in the Folio.
“It’s exciting to gather around all of (Shakespeare’s) ideas and music,” said K-State English Professor Don Hedrick, who delivered a First Folio introduction last week at Hale Library on campus.
More First Folio events – Shakespeare in The Little Apple® – occur in Manhattan and are comprised of far more than lecture material: masquerade ball, plays and pub performances. City-wide venues include campus, Manhattan Public Library, Manhattan Arts Center, McCain Auditorium (Midsummer Night’s Dream with actors from the London stage), even a Shakesbeer pub crawl in the downtown area. First Folio highlights:
Check the website at K-State.edu/Shakespeare400 for a full rundown of events related to the First Folio.
• Opening reception Feb. 4, Beach Museum • Community-wide celebration Feb. 20, Manhattan Public Library • First Folio Gallery Feb. 25, Beach Museum • Closing reception Feb. 28, Beach Museum