News And Events
ESU National Shakespeare Competition Winner on Broadway
News
ESU National Shakespeare Competition Winner on Broadway
By Alice Boyne, President & Executive Director
We in New York City have been blessed to have on Broadway this season two extraordinary Shakespeare's Globe productions, Twelfe Night, or What You Will and The Tragedie of King Richard the Third. I was invited by our friend Neil Constable, CEO at Shakespeare's Globe in London, to attend the opening night, and I had the opportunity to see both productions back to back and really savor repertory theatre -- and to attend the party to wait for the reviews (raves as you'll see from the attached link) with the star-studded cast.
But that's not the "feel good" part of my story! The only American in the company is the 1999 winner of our ESU National Shakespeare Competition, Matthew Harrington. I remember Matt very well because his trip to New York for the Competition convinced him to choose the Tisch School for the Arts for his undergraduate studies. So, when we gathered tables of our scholars and students for the gala held for the Baroness Thatcher to launch our National Speaker Program, Matt attended as our Shakespeare Competition representative. We set up a meet and greet for Lady Thatcher and the scholars and we have a photo of Matt saying something to the Iron Lady that made her LOL. When I saw Matt at the opening night party he beamed and said that his career started with the ESU. And there's more! Matt's mother, Rhoda Auer, was so impressed with Matt's experience in the Competition, she became the coordinator of the San Diego Branch Shakespeare Competition and continues to run it to this day!
To see the full New York Times story on the Broadway productions, click here. Matt is second from the right in the photo.
To see a December 23 article on Matt in the Daily News, click this link: click here
