NASHVILLE: Nashville Repertory Theatre has announced that it will team up with members of the nearby Nashville Shakespeare Festival for a staged reading of Hamlet on September 25 and 26. The performance, featuring the cast of Nashville Shakespeare’s King Lear (January 8–31, 2016), will be the first of this year’s REPaloud (Reading Excellent Plays Aloud) season. The organizations hope the reading will encourage local audiences to brush up on their Shakespeare in anticipation of Nashville Rep’s upcoming production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (October 10–31).

The title role will be read by Santiago Sosa; his costars include Amanda Card as Ophelia, Craige Hoover as Horatio, Sean Martin as Laertes, and Maurice Ralston as Claudius. Shannon Hoppe, Nettie Kraft, David Landon, Michael Roark, Colette Divine, and Becky Whalstrom round out the cast in assorted roles. Director Denice Hicks will double as Gertrude.

“Our professional theatre community really shines in readings like this. It’s a wonderful reminder of the exceptional talent pool in Nashville,” Hicks said in a statement. “Who knew having the King Lear cast do a reading of Hamlet in preparation for the full production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead could be so much fun!?”