Shakespeare’s Macbeth is coming to the Almaden Library’s Community Room on Wednesday, March 28, at 5:30 p.m.

Everyone is invited as the library welcomes “Shakespeare on Tour” for a professional production of the Bard’s shortest tragedy. 

This FREE 55-minute performance is specially adapted for families and will delight audiences of all ages.

The cast brings to life “Shakespeare’s gripping tale of the tragic consequences of misguided ambition. Mysterious dangers are foretold and hasty courses of action have dark consequences that affect both the individual and society.”

This “touring production travels with a cast of professional actors in costume, with set, props, and recorded music. At the conclusion of the show they will take questions from the audience.”

This is a rare opportunity for people to watch a live performance for free and to talk with the actors afterward.

If you haven't had the opportunity to see any of Shakespeare's tales brought to life recently, you won't want to miss the chance to see "Macbeth" as done by Shakespeare on Tour!

You will become entranced the gripping tale of the tragic consequences of misguided ambition. The five member cast plays all of the roles convincingly, as they quick-change from scene to scene, often speaking directly to the audience, further drawing them into to the magic of the misty heaths, the brutal actions, and the bloody politics of old Scotland. The believability of the play is enhanced by the careful use of music and sound effects, and the spare use of props and simple costume changes. The script is a 55 minute adaptation of Macbeth, performed in Shakespeare's original text, that was created by director Rebecca J. Ennals.
 

Please check their web site to see when their next performances will be!

In early April, the Library will present two performances of Shakespeare's play The Tempest (read watch listen), specially adapted for families. These 55-minute shows feature professional actors, hand-painted sets, and captivating costumes, all designed to make Shakespeare accessible to children while keeping the excitement of the original productions.  Please join us at King Library, Room 225, on April 3 at 5:30 pm, or at Almaden Branch on April 6 at 6:00 pm. Stay afterward for a post-show Q&A with the actors!

Shakespeare's The Tempest is coming to the Almaden Library on Wednesday, April 6. Join us at 6 pm as we welcome Shakespeare on Tour for a traveling production of the bard's final play. The performance will delight audiences of all ages as as the cast brings to life the  humor, romance, and adventure of this delightful tale. Meet Prospero, Ariel, the slave Caliban, and the clowns Stephano and Trinculo as well and other inhabitants of this enchanted island as the play explores the timeless themes of forgiveness and revenge, good versus evil, freedom versus captivity, and youthful impetuousness contrasted with aged wisdom. San Jose's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library will also feature the performance on Sunday, April 3. 
 

Like adventure stories?  Mysteries?  Treasure hunts?  Intrigue?  Maybe you're a history enthusiast.  Ah, and let's not forget that touch of romance. 

Interred with Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell has it all.  The library has the book, ebook, and audiobook versions!  Our hero Kate Stanley is on the track of a long-lost Shakespeare play.  Who will get it first?  Kate?  The killers?  Which set of killers?  In the course of this tale of derring-do, we globetrot from England to Harvard to Washington DC to Spain to the US Southwest. 

While the bulk of the tale takes place in the present, two other time periods are covered: early 1600s England, where we meet a young playwright caught up in a romantic triangle at King James' Court.  Guess who?  And later on, in the great American Wild West of the late 1800s, we catch up with a few more colorful characters, miners and adventurers and con artists, setting the stage for the web of intrigue that Kate Stanley and company face in the present. 

As an added benefit, author Jennifer Lee Carrell has a knack for passing on Shakespearean information, and yes, trivia, in a fun, exciting, give-me-more manner.  Who knew that a Mexican War lieutenant by the name of Ulysses S. Grant, sans beard, played Desdemona?

Altogether, this is a rollicking, page-turning adventure.  Enjoy!