Riley Baracskai’s reimagining of William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure is days away from opening. Considered one of his most confusing and mysterious plays, Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure is one of the Bard’s lesser known works. Produced as an Independent Project through SUNY Fredonia student-run group, Performing Arts Company, Measure for Measure runs from March 22-24 at The Adams: a multi-disciplinary arts center housed in a 113 year old building recently reopened in Dunkirk, NY.

The play centers around the fate of Isabella, sister of Claudio, who is arrested by Lord Angelo, the temporary leader of Vienna. Angelo is left in charge by the Duke, who pretends to leave town but instead dresses as a friar to observe the goings-on in his absence. When Isabella pleads for her brother’s life to Angelo, he tells her the only way to save Claudio from a brutal death is “by yielding up thy body to my will.”

Baracskai, a B.A. Theatre and Arts Administration senior, found in researching the Shakespeare classic the clear connection between the characters and the stories brought to light by the #MeToo movement. “By highlighting the sexual assault related discussions in Measure for Measure in conjunction with its treatment of its female characters, I am aiming to expose audiences to the dangers that institutionalized power gaps pose to those who happen to fall on the lower end of the divide, many of which are women in and out of the workplace.”

Featuring Anna Dempf, Emmett Wickersham, Jack Levenberg, and Jack Bausch, the cast of 14 students make the beautiful and complicated world that Shakespeare created 400 years ago come back to life. “A story of manipulation, shame, pride, and control, Measure not only explores the relationships between men and women in contemporary society, but indeed calls into question the very ways in which our societies place and exercise power over others” says Baracskai.

To learn more about the show, please visit bit.ly/FREDmeasure. Tickets can be purchased for $5 (Students) and $10 (General Admission) at the Fredonia Campus Ticket Office in person, online at fredonia.edu/tickets, or over the phone during business hours at 673-3501.