February 7 -- Dana Gioia, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will be in Omaha on Thursday, May 11th to attend the annual fundraiser for the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival.   A gifted poet and a great devotee of the works of William Shakespeare, Chairman Gioia will be in town to help celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Shakespeare on the Green, the free outdoor professional theatre festival produced each summer in Elmwood Park.

Shakespeare on the Green 2006 will feature the restaging of Nebraska Shakespeare’s first production, The Taming of the Shrew matched with a play new to the Nebraska Shakespeare stage, Antony and Cleopatra.  Artistic Director Cindy Melby Phaneuf will direct “Shrew.”  It will run June 22-25 and again on July 6 & 8.  Antony and Cleopatra will run June 29-2 and then again on July 5, 7 & 9, directed by Associate Artistic Director D. Scott Glasser.

Shakespeare on the Green is presented each summer in cooperation with Creighton University, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the City of Omaha.  Shakespeare on the Green is free public theatre, made possible through contributions. For more information about the fundraiser, Shakespeare on the Green, or other Nebraska Shakespeare programs, call (402) 280-2391 or Email at info@nebraskashakespeare.com.