Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks is planning its second all-female production, with upcoming performances of “The Tragedy of Hamlet.”

“Hamlet” will open Saturday in Frick Park and run weekends through Sept. 26 in four outdoor venues around the Pittsburgh area.

As with the troupe’s 2019 production of “Julius Caesar,” choosing all women actors was a deliberate choice, said PSIP founding artistic director Jennifer Tober.

“We’re pushing back against sexism and marginalization (of women actors) in the theater,” she said, and the stereotyping of female characters as being either “wenches or witches.”

“We love men, too, but we wanted to provide a place for female and female-identifying actors,” she said. “We also actively tried to recruit people of color. Part of our mission is to further justice in the community and to make greater opportunities for people who have been denied or pigeon-holed into certain roles.”

An all-female “Hamlet” is “not unheard of when Sarah Bernhardt leads a number of woman who have played the Danish Prince,” says director KJ Gilmer in her program notes.

The roles of Hamlet and his love interest Ophelia will be shared during each performance by local actor Melissa Franklin and Angela Hsu, an opera singer from California.

“They will switch roles during a movement piece within the play,” Tober said, making “an interesting comment on gender roles.”

New opportunity

“I choose to cast two women of color as Hamlet to give the actresses an opportunity to say these beautiful words and perform a role that, 20 years ago, may have not been able an option outside of an educational situation,” Gilmer said.

“What does it mean for a woman of color to play ‘Hamlet’? It means playing a role that was largely off limit to us regardless of talent,” she continued. “We are in a special place in theatre right now. Theatre is coming back but coming back different. The work that is being produced is embracing difference, change and is becoming more inclusive.”

“We start out approaching the characters as characters,” Tober said. “(The actors) are not playing a man, they’re just playing a character. We don’t change the pronouns, but the characters are sort of androgynous.

“The idea is that anyone can play anything,” she said.

Although the script has been edited for time, clarity and plot movement, Gilmer says audiences will find that their favorite scenes and passages have been retained.

“Hamlet” features production design by Lisa Leibering, choreography by Tomé Cousin and Tonya Lynn and stage management by Jason Via and Quinn Murphy.

“Hamlet” will be presented at 2 p.m. Sept. 4-5 and 25-26 near the Blue Slide Playground in Frick Park, Sept. 11-12 near the Super Playground in Highland Park, and Sept. 18-19 at the North Park Boathouse; and at 6 p.m. Sept. 10-11 and 17 in Schenley Plaza in Oakland.

Attendance is free, although donations are taken to support the organization.

Details: pittsburghshakespeare.com orPittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks on Facebook