A Valentine's Affair 2026: Love Scenes From Shakespeare

Give us 90 minutes and we'll give you the timeless love affairs from Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Cyrano de Bergerac, and more.

Madison’s unique Valentine’s Day tradition continues with the eighth installment of A Valentine’s Affair, a celebration of classic love stories from William Shakespeare, Edmond Rostand, Thomas Heywood, and William Congreve. An evening of passion, pursuit, misunderstanding, marriage, and mayhem on the Bartell stage.

Spend your Valentine season with the sparring Beatrice and Benedick, the magical pursuit of Helena, Hermia, Demetrius, and Lysander, and the incomparable love triangle of Roxane, Christian, and Cyrano. And, of course, the comedy chaos of Sonnets From a Hat.

Featuring the ensemble of Ben Seidensticker, Deanna Summerlott, Jason Compton, Laura Kochanowski, Madeleine O'Keefe, Mitch Taylor, and newcomers Reesa Karamanski and Shelton Tripp. Directed by Joseph Green.