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 SOON.
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 — TBA
