Shakespeare’s ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ is this year’s selection for the Capital Classics Theatre Company’s annual outdoor Shakespeare festival at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford.

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Pack up your family or invite your friends — and a don’t forget prepare a picnic dinner — and head to the grounds of the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford to enjoy a magical night of Shakespeare under the stars.

‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ is this summer’s Shakespeare Under the Stars production of the Capital Classics Theatre Company. Courtesy photo

The Capital Classics Theatre Company is staging Shakespeare’s popular comedy “Love’s Labour’s Lost” this July 13-30, as part of the Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival. It’s rambunctious, romantic comedy, with a cast of characters who stumble and bumble in pursuit of true love.

“’Love’s Labour’s Lost’ is often acknowledged as Shakespeare’s most beautiful comedy of language,” said Director David Watson, associate professor of theatre at the Hartt School. “Every scene, every encounter is a delightful verbal tennis match. It’s a battle of the sexes – with four pairs of lovers. The question is: who will win in the end?”

“Love’s Labour’s Lost” features returning favorites from past Capital Classics productions and talented newcomers from Connecticut universities, such as Emma Krishnaswami and Billy Saunders Jr., who are recent graduates from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford.

Audience members are encouraged to arrive early to the Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival to enjoy pre-show entertainment, such as Youth in Community Arts performances on Thursdays; the Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop in West Hartford and the Elizabethan Consort on Fridays; local music groups for Prize Night on Saturdays; and lectures by local experts for the “Professor Series” on Sundays.

“Love’s Labour’s Lost” runs July 13-30, with performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5:30 p.m. Be sure to visit HartfordShakespeare.org for more information and the Festival calendar of events.