Shakespeare 400 Screenings: Six Hallmark Hall Of Fame Telecasts

TICKET INFO
FREE for Paley Center Members 
Screening in New York and Los Angeles;
Included with general admission (Visit New York / Visit Los Angeles)
No advance ticketing; purchase at the door.

Become a Member!  Join us online or contact Membership at 212.621.6780 / 310.786.1066.

William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616. This 400th anniversary year is being celebrated around the world with theatrical presentations, screenings, seminars, museum exhibitions, and walking tours.

As part of the celebrations, The Paley Center for Media in New York and Los Angeles is offering a rare chance for the public to see six seminal Shakespeare telecasts—none of these programs are commercially available nor can they be found on YouTube. Stars including Richard Burton and Richard Chamberlain are joined by distinguished British and American actors in supporting roles, and all but one of the Hallmark Shakespeare offerings feature the renowned British actor Maurice Evans.

Evans and Hallmark Hall of Fame executive producer and director George Schaefer meticulously cut each play for television (to fit the 90-minute to two-hour time slot allotted to Hallmark Hall of Fame) with a goal to keep each small screen adaptation “taut and swift” and infinitely enjoyable for audiences of all ages, many of whom were experiencing Shakespeare for the first time.

Saturday, April 23

12:15 pm
Richard II (1954) with Maurice Evans, Frederic Worlock, Kent Smith, Bruce Gordon, Morton DaCosta, Richard Purdy, Louis Hector, and Sarah Churchill; directed by George Schaefer (2 hours)

2:30 pm
The Taming of the Shrew (1956) with Maurice Evans, Lilli Palmer, Diane Cilento, Philip Bourneuf, John Colicos, Jerome Kilty, and Douglass Watson; directed by George Schaefer (90 min.)

4:15 pm
Twelfth Night (1957) with Maurice Evans, Rosemary Harris, Dennis King, Max Adrian, Frances Hyland, Denholm Elliott, Alice Ghostley, Lloyd Bochner, and Howard Morris; directed by David Greene (90 min.)

Sunday, April 24

12:15 pm
The Tempest (1960) with Maurice Evans, Richard Burton, Roddy McDowall, Tom Poston, Lee Remick, Liam Redmond, and William H. Bassett; directed by George Schaefer (90 min.)

2:00 pm
Macbeth (1960) with Maurice Evans, Judith Anderson (pictured right), Ian Bannen, Michael Hordern, George Rose, Malcolm Keen, and Jeremy Brett. Shot on location in Scotland, this telecast of Macbeth won every major Emmy Award that year including Program of the Year, Outstanding Drama, Best Actress (Anderson), Best Actor (Evans), and Best Director (George Schaefer) (1 hr. 45 min.)

4:00 pm
Hamlet (1970) with Richard Chamberlain, Michael Redgrave, Margaret Leighton, John Gielgud, Richard Johnson, Ciaran Madden, Nicholas Jones, and Martin Shaw; directed by Peter Wood (1 hr. 45 min.)

Screenings are subject to change.