Our Special 2025 Anniversary Season is Here
For the 25th season we are celebrating the very best of Shakespeare including the return of Hamlet directed by Michael Sexton in Shakespeare Glen, the launch of a brand new family-friendly production inside the Saint Louis Zoo developed with puppets by Michael Curry Designs based on Romeo & Juliet and a remount of Tre’von Griffith’s magical region-wide tour of A Midsummer Night Dream.
The season will kick off with a very special one-night-only performance of “All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain” from the Grammy-Award winner and Tony-nominated Patrick Page joining the previously announced Shakespeare in the Streets in East St. Louis that close out the full summer season in September.
Read the full press release to hear more from Producing Artistic Director Tom Ridgely and Michael Macek, President of the Saint Louis Zoo. Press Release.
An Expanded Forest Park Season

Hamlet
MAY 28 - JUN 22
Free in Forest Park
Written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. Directed by MICHAEL SEXTON.
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Romeo & Zooliet
JUL 8 - AUG 17
Shakespeare in the Zoo
A wild new play at the Saint Louis Zoo
Sign Up To Learn MoreFor One-Night-Only

25th Anniversary Gala Celebration & Performance
MAY 15
The Sheldon Concert Hall
With a special performance by Grammy-Award winner and Tony-Award nominee PATRICK PAGE, "All the Devils are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain"
Sponsor Tickets Available NowIn the Community

A Midsummer Nights Dream
AUG 19 - SEP 14
TourCo: Free in Public Parks
Written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. Directed by TRE'VON GRIFFITH.
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Shakespeare in the Streets
September 2025
Free in East St. Louis
Written by DEASIA PAIGE. Directed by KATHRYN BENTLEY.
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Confluence New Play Festival
March 27-29, 2025 at 3333 Washington
Take part in the development of new work at the annual Confluence New Play Festival. Three new plays commissioned by the Festival will premier as stage readings to members of the public and our theater industry friends. Join us for plays by the 2024 cohort: Aurora Behlke (St. Louis), M. Kamara (Carbondale) and Aaron Scully (Warrensburg). Get Tickets
Nature Speaks with Author Gerit Quaely
April 24, 2025 at the Missouri Botanical Garden
Join us for special collaboration with the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Nature Speaks series – an experiential opportunity integrating nature, learning, and art. Author, lecturer and actor Gerit Quaely will give an engaging talk on her book Botanical Shakespeare: An Illustrated Compendium of All the Flowers, Fruits, Herbs, Trees, Seeds, and Grasses Cited by the World’s Greatest Playwright.
More event announcements coming soon!
2025 Season Partners
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s commitment to radically accessible free theater is made possible through the support of hundreds of Festival members and supporters throughout the year. Lead support of the 2025 Season comes from:
The Pershing Charitable Trust, The Bellwether Foundation, The Trio Foundation of Saint Louis and The Strive Fund.
As well as the Mary Ranken & Ettie A. Jordan Charitable Foundation, Thompson Coburn LLP, First Bank, Gertrude & William Bernoudy Foundation, Dula-Kobusch Charitable Trust, Biggs Family Charitable Foundation, Carter Community Memorial Trust, Clifford Willard Gaylord Foundation
2025 Season Key Art Design and Type by Daniel Frumhoff
Illustration by Nan Cao