When: Thu., April 18, 7:30 p.m., Fri., April 19, 8 p.m., Sat., April 20, 8 p.m., Sun., April 21, 3 p.m., Wed., April 24, 7:30 p.m., Thu., April 25, 7:30 p.m., Fri., April 26, 8 p.m. and Sat., April 27, 8 p.m. 2013
A tiger's heart in a woman's hide is about to be unleashed at Spirit Square as a "new" Shakespeare drama, Queen Margaret, opens at Duke Energy Theater. Adapted by director Tony Wright from the three parts of the Bard's Henry VI, the world premiere Shakespeare Carolina production takes us back to a colorful era of French female warriors. Not long after Joan of Arc was stopped and staked by the English, the French royal who wedded England's meek King Henry VI became a central figure in the protracted civil war known as the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485). After a fine outing as the title rebel in Brecht's Antigone last summer, actress Katie Bearden stars as the teenaged Princess of Anjou and eventually emerges as the leader of the House of Lancaster.
— Perry Tannenbaum