All the world's a stage - even in the winter

For many a Northwest theatergoer, the prospect of watching a Shakespeare play summons up balmy weather, a picnic on the grass, iambic pentameter under the stars.

Indeed, in this region and throughout the U.S., these works are often performed in outdoor settings — as they were in Shakespeare's own 16th-century era at the famed, open-air Globe Theatre in London.

But Shakespeare is truly a playwright for all seasons, with name recognition that can't be beat, and scripts that can be staged with infinite variety.

And on Seattle's fringe, in larger theaters, even at the ballet, his durable, box-office-friendly comedies and dramas are a hot commodity in this unusually chilly winter.

Here's a roundup of Shakespeare and related-to-Shakespeare productions in the vicinity:

Shows opening soon

"Hamlet," Seattle Children's Theatre

"Heaven and angels defend us!" The longest of Shakespearean tragedies (unedited it runs more than four hours) gets streamlined in this new SCT adaptation geared toward audience members ages 11 and up.

Rita Giomi, artistic associate of SCT, is staging the Bard's iconic, poetry-charged tale of ambivalence and revenge, with a compact company of five classically savvy actors. Playing the demanding lead role of a moody Danish prince is local actor Connor Toms.

One can expect clarity with passion to rule here, as it has in Giomi's previous compressed Shakespeare productions at SCT, of "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Tempest."

Opens tonight, runs through Feb. 25 at Seattle Children's Theatre, Seattle; www.sct.org or 206-441-3322.

"As You Like It," Taproot Theatre

Like, groovy, man. Veteran Taproot director Karen Lund is setting Shakespeare's boisterous romantic comedy in the late 1960s.

That's when young folk were dropping out of city life to form back-to-the-earth communes in woodsy locales — not unlike the play's Forest of Arden.

The staging concept for this tale of exuberant young love, and rural banishment, is not a new gambit. There have been quite a few "As You Like Its" bathed in hippie nostalgia. Now it's time to see what Taproot can do with the notion...

Previews Wednesday and Thursday, runs Feb. 1 through March 1 at Taproot Theatre, Seattle; www.taproottheatre.org or 206-781-9707.

"Battle of the Bards," Ghost Light Theatricals

Though not strictly speaking a Shakespeare outing, this two-night, benefit staged reading offers a mash-up of scenes. And two out of its three segments tie directly into Will of Avon's canon.

On the bill is an excerpt from "The Hamletmachine," German playwright Heiner Mûller's unorthodox, postmodern destruction of "Hamlet."

Also, there's a piece by American dramatist John Guare from "Love's Fire," a collection of short-short plays by modern authors inspired by Shakespeare's sonnets.

The capper is a section from "The Misanthrope," a classic comedy by Molière, the leading stage wordsmith of the French Renaissance.

Plays Feb. 1 and 2 at Freehold's East Hall Theatre, Seattle; www.ghostlighttheatricals.org or 800-838-3006.

"Roméo et Juliette," Pacific Northwest Ballet

With Prokofiev's sumptuous music behind them, the company performs a dance rendition of the ill-fated romance, originally choreographed by Jean-Christophe Maillot for a 1996 premiere by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo.

In this ballet critically praised as "swift and sleek," with "thrilling jumps and impassioned rolling," you can expect the blood to flow and Juliette to strip to the waist (but with her back to the audience).

Plays Thursday-Feb. 10 at McCaw Hall, Seattle; www.pnb.org or 206-441-2424. Read a complete preview of PNB's "Roméo et Juliette" Sunday in Entertainment & the Arts.

Ongoing shows

"Hamlet," Eclectic Theatre

A lively, well-received mounting at Odd Duck Studio, with Rik Deskin doing the princely brooding honors.

Plays through Feb. 1 at Odd Duck Studio, Seattle; www.brownpapertickets.com or 800-838-3006.

"Julius Caesar," Seattle Shakespeare Company

Brutus and his co-conspirators plot an assassination, and practice their aikido moves, in this overly gimmicky chamber airing of the historical tragedy, transferred to a modern martial-arts studio.

Plays through Sunday at Center House Theatre, Seattle Center; www.seattleshakespeare.org or 206-733-8222.

Farther afield

"A Midsummer Night's Dream," Oregon Shakespeare Festival

The Northwest's largest, most venerable classical theater company, OSF next month ushers in its first season with new artistic director Bill Rauch at the helm. Expect some changes (gradual and otherwise) in the aesthetic makeup of this popular theater — from the members of its acting company and its guest directors, to its choice of dramatic fare.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" opens Feb. 15, and three additional works by Shakespeare open later in OSF's 11-play, repertory season: "Coriolanus" in March (indoors) and "Othello" and "The Comedy of Errors" in June (on the outdoors Elizabethan stage).

Complete information on OSF's 2008 season, which runs through Nov. 2: www.osfashland.org or 800-219-8161.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com