Classic Theatre Of Maryland To Bring “Hamlet,” Timeless Shows To Life

The Classic Theatre of Maryland (CTM) will kick off its 2026-2027 season with a William Shakespeare classic, “Hamlet,” running October 1-18.

Sally Boyett, CTM’s founder and producing artistic director, said she is enthusiastic about the production, the first “Hamlet” she’s directed in six years.

Considered one of the greatest plays of all time, “Hamlet” is Shakespeare’s longest play. The tragedy depicts Prince Hamlet’s ill-fated attempts to avenge his father’s murder.

“Shakespeare was never meant to be read on the page … it was meant to do the scenes,” she said.

Shakespeare has the power to resonate with audiences because his works explore universal human emotions, and Boyett said she firmly believes Shakespeare’s work “translate(s) through different decades and centuries.”

However, the move to focus more broadly on works of the Western canon came because, as Boyett noted, “Shakespeare can be a little intimidating to audiences.”

Boyett began her career as a ballet dancer trained at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York. She switched to musical theater, performing in her first professional equity show at the age of 18. Her career includes the Broadway national tour of “Crazy for You” and European tours of that same show and of “42nd Street.”

After moving to Annapolis to start a family, Boyett realized she couldn’t leave theater behind.

In 2009, she started a troupe that was formally recognized as the Annapolis Shakespeare Company in 2010. Its first iteration focused on educational theater, but by 2013, the organization pivoted to a nonprofit centering on high-quality professional productions featuring cast members who are equity actors, with many coming from New York to perform. The Annapolis Shakespeare Company rebranded as the Classic Theatre of Maryland in 2021.

Following “Hamlet” are alternating performances of “Holiday Inn” and “A Christmas Carol” from late November through early January. After that, the schedule includes “She Stoops to Conquer,” directed by Donald Hicken, former head of the theater department at the Baltimore School for the Arts and a Tony nominee; “Dames at Sea,” an homage to 1930s movie musicals; Molière’s “The School for Wives,” and “The Secret Garden.”

“The Secret Garden” will be a triumphant, full-circle moment for CTM. During COVID, lockdowns prevented a successful stage performance. The theater company created a filmed version of the performance, but this summer will be its first live staging of “The Secret Garden.”

CTM’s schedule is ambitious for any organization. Actors perform six to nine shows per year, averaging 200 performances in addition to monthly cabaret nights.

“We just keep swimming,” Boyett said.

That’s becoming harder with reductions in grant funding. “We’re in a real lean period … We have to rely on our donors and ticket buyers,” Boyett added.

In turn, the theater serves the Maryland community by offering internships for students, pioneering programs to engage the elderly via communal play readings, and providing a place where aspiring young actors might find their first equity role.

Theater and the arts join people together. “The arts define civilizations,” Boyett noted.

The theater’s most recent cabaret night focused on 1920s songs. One of the attendees was born in 1929 and bonded with his daughter through that musical moment.

“(Those) tunes got passed down and were a way for generations to connect,” Boyett said.

In this sometimes-lonely digital age, art can offer connection, and CTM is doing just that.

For more information about the Classic Theatre of Maryland and its performance schedule, visit www.classictheatremaryland.org. To learn more about internships or volunteer opportunities, email info@classictheatremaryland.org.