Celebrate Leap Year with “Branagh Theatre: The Winter's Tale” at the Grand!

Ellsworth, Maine - The Grand announces the first in a new series of high-definition simulcast performances from The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company – a production of Shakespeare's classic The Winter's Tale, starring Branagh and one of Britain's grande dames of the stage and screen, Judi Dench,  presented in a special Leap Day screening on Monday, February 29th at 2 pm. General admission tickets for the screening are $18 for adults/seniors and $15 for Grand members and are available at The Grand Box Office, by phone (207) 667-9500, or online at www.grandonline.org.

Shakespeare's timeless tragicomedy of obsession and redemption is re-imagined in a new production co-directed by Rob Ashford and Branagh, following their triumphant staging of Macbeth in  Manchester and Manhattan. King Leontes appears to have everything: power, wealth, a loving family and friends. But sexual jealousy sets in motion a chain of events with tragic consequences. The Winter’s Tale stars a remarkable group of actors, featuring Dench as Paulina, alongside Tom  Bateman (Florizel), Jessie Buckley (Perdita), Hadley Fraser (Polixenes), Miranda Raison (Hermione) and Branagh as Leontes.

So bring a friend and share the experience at The Grand of a performance from Judi Dench about whom Neil Norman writes, "In the key role of Paulina, Dame Judi Dench is nothing less than a marvel. Stern, brave, heartbreaking and with a warmth that would melt a glacier, she is the human heart in this cool and wondrous production of the Bard’s most avant-garde play. Don’t miss."
 – The Kenneth Branagh Theater Company's live simulcast hi-definition presentation of The Winter's Tale at 2 pm on Monday, February 29th.

The Grand is proud to present Branagh Theatre Live, a new series of high definition simulcasts and encore performances from The Kenneth Branagh Theater Company, which includes Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet directed by Branagh and starring Lily James and Richard Madden from Disney's live-action Cinderella, as part of The Grand's commitment to presenting theater in all its forms.

A full schedule can be found online at www.grandonline.org. Or follow The Grand on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grand-Auditorium/112755987339.