Jim Butz

Jim Butz, the acclaimed St. Louis actor who has starred in a number of Shakespeare productions, will play the title role in ”Hamlet” next summer at Shakespeare Festival St. Louis.

The production, the festival’s 10th free show in Forest Park, will be directed by another well-regarded St. Louis theater artist, Bruce Longworth.

The play brings Butz - who said years ago that he’d always dreamed of playing  “the big boy” - a sweet second chance. He was to have portrayed Hamlet in a 2006 production staged here by two small companies, Vanity and RiverCity. Shortly before the play opened, however, Butz developed a serious vocal problem that forced him to step out.

The production went on successfully with director Jason Cannon as the prince of Denmark, and Butz won a Kevin Kline award for his portrayal of Mark Antony in ”Julius Caesar,” the 2006 Festival production. In other words, it all worked out. Still, this is a bonus.

Butz has playedf principal roles in Shakespeare productions including “Richard III” at the Festival, “The Merchant of Venice” at New Jewish,” “Troilus and Cressida” at St. Louis Shakespeare” and “Measure for Measure” at Mustard Seed. He’s also appeared in many modern plays, delivering particularly strong performances in “Lobby Hero” and “A Number” in the Studio Theater at the Repertory Theatre of St Louis.

Longworth heads the acting program at Webster University’s Conservatory of Theatre Arts. As a director, an actor and a voice and dialect coach, he works all over the the country. He’s been involved with more than 90 productions at the Rep in one capacity or another, as well as with productions at many other St. Louis theaters, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Festival, the Muny, Stages St. Louis and a number of other companies here. His portrayal of  the hopelessly romantic Henry in “The Real Thing” at off the cuff (now Black Cat) remains, after 11 years, a highlight of many many nights in St. Louis theaters.

“Hamlet” will play May 28-June 20, 2010, in Forest Park.