Oh, friends, the Lower Naugatuck Valley hills are officially alive tonight... and no, we aren’t doing The Sound of Music, but we do have a novice nun in the mix! I am so incredibly happy to welcome you here tonight.

For me, this production of Measure for Measure is the culmination of a lifelong obsession. I was first introduced to this play at the age of 14 at the Yale Repertory Theatre. That production was wild. The entire theater was filled with the gritty, vibrant characters who make up the streets of corrupt Vienna. They didn't just stay on stage—they ran in and out of the aisles, sat right next to you, questioned you, and expected a question right back. As a teenager, it was completely eye-opening. It was the moment I realized how vital, interactive, and alive Shakespeare is meant to be. That is exactly what he wanted—the theater of his day was an open, visceral dialogue. No audience member was ever meant to be a bystander. We are all pulled into this thing together.

Later, in an Acting III class during my undergrad at Wagner College, I dove deep into the famous prison scene between Isabella and Claudio. Beyond just walking away with a great monologue that helped me get hired for acting jobs in my early 20s, I realized the staggering complexity of this text. It runs the entire gamut of human experience: one minute capturing the absolute fun of being siblings (something I can deeply relate to—and a huge Happy Birthday to my brother, Nick!), and the next, confronting the sharp reality of death, and seeing how quickly human selfishness can turn ugly.

​

I always knew I was destined to play with this piece again, and I am so proud to present it to you tonight through Valley Shakespeare Festival, reimagined through the lens of the roaring, fast-paced 1920s.

​

Many scholars call this a “problem” play because they find the ending ambiguous or unsatisfying. I don't see it that way at all. To me, it has aged perfectly since 1603. The ending is simply that the world spins forward and keeps going. You can either get swept up in the chaos, or you can slow down and choose to listen a bit.

​

We are presenting this play at a profound crossroads. As we reflect on America 250 and the fragile, beautiful experiment of our nation, the echoes in Measure for Measure are loud. Setting the play in the 1920s feels entirely natural—an era when a rapidly changing world clashed with old-world morality, when underground life thrived, and when the struggle for personal autonomy was front and center. Today, we are still living in a world having trouble believing women. We still see leaders operating under the ethos of "do what I say, not what I do." We see a new generation of youth fiercely trying to find their footing and leadership, while the world runs so fast that sometimes retreating to a cloistered nunnery doesn't sound half bad.

​

And let's be honest about our own local woes, too. Making theater happen right now—keeping it alive, vibrant, and entirely free and accessible in the park—is a beautiful, exhausting, uphill battle. We feel the weight of the world spinning faster, the financial struggles, and the systemic hurdles of keeping a non-profit cultural space thriving in a challenging climate.

​

But despite those woes, our rehearsal room this summer has been fiercely, undeniably alive. It has been packed with jazz, laughter, newfound camaraderie, and the pure, unadulterated fun of exploring a rare gem together under the open sky. We pushed through the obstacles because we believe in the power of coming together as a community, sharing a picnic, and engaging with stories that matter.

​

So tonight, as the sun sets over the valley, remember: you are not bystanders. You are part of this story, part of VSF, and part of this ongoing American experiment.

​

But tell us... what do you think?

​

Cheers,

Tom Simonetti

Founder & Executive Director, Valley Shakespeare Festival