2026 PRODUCTION: MEASURE FOR MEASURE

Get ready for sizzle, sass, grit and whoopee!

Lady Shakes presents Shakespeare's Measure for Measure., set in 1926 New York City, in the glitz and glamour of the Jazz Age.

This play explores themes of justice, power, desire, mercy, love, forgiveness and redemption.

And course there will be showgirls!

LOCATION: Black Box Theatre in Topeka Performing Arts Center

DATES: September 18 & 19, 2026 at 7:30 pm

September 20, 2026 at 2 pm

VIP TABLES AND GENERAL ADMISSION ON SALE NOW!

Click here for ticket info!

you're ticket to the speakeasy

IT'S NOT JUST A PLAY, IT'S A WHOLE EVENING, DARLING.

Lady Shakes Theatre Company invites you into the world of Measure for Measure: A Nightclub Experience — Shakespeare's most provocative play, reimagined in a 1926 Jazz Age speakeasy. Power. Desire. Justice. It has never felt more relevant.

This isn't just a night at the theatre. It's a speakeasy. There's a cash bar, cabaret VIP tables, and yes — there's a password. Every ticket comes with a way to find it.

Dust off your best flapper dress - 1920s attire encouraged. There may be a prize involved.

VIP TABLES

All VIP tables put you cabaret-style, right at the edge of the action. This is Shakespeare in the round — you're not watching the speakeasy. You're in it.

Three-Top — $159
Three seats. Three drink tickets. One charcuterie platter.

Four-Top — $212
Four seats. Four drink tickets. One charcuterie platter.

To purchase a VIP table online: enter the number of seats at your table (3 or 4). This will unlock the VIP table options for your selection.

GENERAL ADMISSION
Adult — $20
Student — $13
Open seating on risers.

Ticket info here!

details

The Production

Lady Shakes is pleased to announce our all-women production of Measure For Measure. We will bring plenty of sizzle to Shakespeare's Measure for Measure with a 1920s Jazz Age cabaret setting for our 2026 full length production. Performances will be September 18, 19 and 20, 2026 at Topeka Performing Arts Center, where we will transform the Black Box Theatre into a New York City speakeasy.

While the setting is strictly the cat's meow of Manhattan in the 1920s, the language is the real McCoy—straight from the pen of William Shakespeare.

Directed by Alexandra Reilly.

Stage managed by Melissa Escobar.

Cast

DUKE — Katherine Lawrence

ESCALUS — Donna Lambrecht

ANGELO — Martha Boatright

ISABELLA — Brynna Darley

CLAUDIO — Amanda Burton

PROVOST — Robin Bonsall

LUCIO — Heather Robinson

MISTRESS OVERDONE — Mary Franz

POMPEY — Penni Hansen

FRIAR THOMAS/FROTH — Marsue Payne

ELBOW/FRANCISCA/FRIAR PETER/ABHORSON — Briana Hightower

BARNADINE — Kate Duncan Butler

DANCER 1/JULIET/FIRST GENTLEMAN/MESSENGER — Amanda Abbott

DANCER 2/MARIANA/SECOND GENTLEMAN/SERVANT — Jayden Monson

DANCER 3/KATE KEEPDOWN/OFFICER 2 — TBA

DANCER 4/OFFICER 1/ATTENDANT — Jandy Wills