The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival stages a free, professional, outdoor Shakespeare production in Southmoreland Park each summer, and has since its first official season in 1993.1 It was founded in 1991 by Tony Award-winning Broadway producer Marilyn Strauss, acting on a promise she had made to her friend Joseph Papp — founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival and of free Shakespeare in Central Park — to bring a free theater experience back to her hometown.1 Free admission is not a marketing posture here; it is the mission clause the organization was built around.

Founding

The idea dates to 1990 and to Strauss’s promise to Papp.1 Strauss founded the festival in 1991; it held its first official season in 1993, with an outdoor performance in Southmoreland Park, which “has remained its main venue” ever since.1 Joseph Papp died in 1991, the year the festival was founded — the promise outlived him by a season.

The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and states its mission as making “the works of Shakespeare and Shakespeare-inspired works accessible to a diverse audience through a free, professional, outdoor festival and additional free and paid performances and educational programs.”1 Its vision statement is unusually plain about what the form is for: “to use the power and presence of live professional performance to enhance the meaning of life and to illustrate the indomitability of the human spirit.”1

Programming beyond the main stage

The festival has expanded from a single annual production into educational camps, pre-show entertainment, a lecture series and contests, and it produces Shakespeare-inspired plays as well as Shakespeare’s own in order to reach new audiences.1 Two named strands appear in the public record of the last five years: Team Shakespeare, its youth-theatre program, and Romantic Revels, its annual fundraising gala — both of which placed in the Pitch poll in their own right.23

Productions, 2021-2025

The Pitch poll’s Best Play category records the festival’s main-stage season year by year, which makes it — incidentally — the only continuous production list available for this page:

YearProductionBest Play placing
2021William Shakespeare’s Christmas Carol (virtual / radio theatre)Winner, Best Virtual Play/Radio Theatre4
2022Romeo and JulietWinner5
2023The TempestWinner6
2024Julius CaesarRunner-Up7
2025Love’s Labour’s LostWinner8

The 2021 entry is the tell of its year: a Shakespeare festival whose whole premise is an outdoor park won that season’s Best Virtual Play/Radio Theatre — a category that existed in 2021 and 2022 only.

Recognition — The Pitch Best of KC

Thirty-five placings across five years9, more than any other entity in the Arts & Entertainment record. The festival is a fixture rather than a breakout: it placed in Best Cultural Event every year, 2021-2025, and in Best Theater Company every year from 2022.

YearGroupCategoryPlacingVotesEntered as
2021Arts & EntertainmentBest Cultural EventFinalist194Heart of America Shakespeare Festival10
2021Arts & EntertainmentBest Cultural EventFinalist2The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival11
2021Arts & EntertainmentBest Outdoor EventFinalist431Heart of America Shakespeare Festival12
2021Arts & EntertainmentBest Virtual Play/Radio TheatreWinner475”William Shakespeare’s Christmas Carol,” Heart of America Shakespeare Festival4
2022Arts & EntertainmentBest Cultural EventFinalist189Heart of America Shakespeare Festival13
2022Arts & EntertainmentBest Live Performance EventWinner322Heart of America Shakespeare Festival’s Romeo and Juliet14
2022Arts & EntertainmentBest Live TheaterFinalist121Heart of America Shakespeare Festival15
2022Arts & EntertainmentBest Local EventRunner-Up232Heart of America Shakespeare Festival16
2022Arts & EntertainmentBest Outdoor EventFinalist290Heart of America Shakespeare Festival17
2022Arts & EntertainmentBest PlayWinner254Romeo and Juliet - Heart of America Shakespeare Festival5
2022Arts & EntertainmentBest Theater CompanyRunner-Up187Heart of America Shakespeare Festival18
2023Arts & EntertainmentBest Cultural EventFinalist216Heart of America Shakespeare Festival19
2023Arts & EntertainmentBest Fundraising EventFinalist125Heart of America Shakespeare Festival’s Romantic Revels Gala3
2023Arts & EntertainmentBest Live Performance EventRunner-Up315Heart of America Shakespeare Festival: The Tempest20
2023Arts & EntertainmentBest Live TheaterFinalist173Heart of America Shakespeare Festival21
2023Arts & EntertainmentBest Local EventFinalist252Heart of America Shakespeare Festival22
2023Arts & EntertainmentBest Outdoor EventFinalist238Heart of America Shakespeare Festival23
2023Arts & EntertainmentBest PlayWinner325Heart of America Shakespeare Festival: The Tempest6
2023Arts & EntertainmentBest Theater CompanyFinalist214Heart of America Shakespeare Festival24
2024Arts & EntertainmentBest Cultural EventRunner-Up246Heart of America Shakespeare Festival25
2024Arts & EntertainmentBest Fundraising EventFinalist138Heart of America Shakespeare Gala - Romantic Revels26
2024Arts & EntertainmentBest Live Performance EventRunner-Up262Heart of America Shakespeare Festival: Julius Caesar27
2024Arts & EntertainmentBest Live TheaterFinalist188Heart of America Shakespeare Festival28
2024Arts & EntertainmentBest Local EventFinalist255Heart of America Shakespeare Festival29
2024Arts & EntertainmentBest Outdoor EventFinalist306Heart of America Shakespeare Festival30
2024Arts & EntertainmentBest PlayRunner-Up273Heart of America Shakespeare Festival: Julius Caesar7
2024Arts & EntertainmentBest Theater CompanyRunner-Up234Heart of America Shakespeare Festival31
2024Arts & EntertainmentBest Youth TheaterRunner-Up198Team Shakespeare - Heart of America Shakespeare Festival2
2025Arts & EntertainmentBest Cultural EventFinalist105Heart of America Shakespeare Festival32
2025Arts & EntertainmentBest Fundraising EventFinalist74Heart of America Shakespeare Gala - Romantic Revels33
2025Arts & EntertainmentBest Local EventRunner-Up238Heart of America Shakespeare Festival: Love’s Labour’s Lost34
2025Arts & EntertainmentBest Outdoor VenueFinalist89Southmoreland Park - Heart of America Shakespeare Festival35
2025Arts & EntertainmentBest PlayWinner242Heart of America Shakespeare Festival: Love’s Labour’s Lost8
2025Arts & EntertainmentBest Theater CompanyRunner-Up163Heart of America Shakespeare Festival36
2025People & PlacesBest Outdoor EventFinalist177Heart of America Shakespeare Festival37

Sources

Footnotes

  1. “About Heart of America Shakespeare Festival — Our Mission / Vision / History” — Heart of America Shakespeare Festival official site (accessed 2026-09-12) · Asserts: founding in 1991 by Tony Award-winning Broadway producer Marilyn Strauss; the idea beginning in 1990 from a promise to New York Shakespeare Festival founder Joseph Papp to bring free theater to her hometown of Kansas City; the first official season in 1993 with an outdoor performance in Southmoreland Park, which has remained the main venue; the mission and vision statements; expansion into educational camps, pre-show entertainment, lecture series and contests; the production of Shakespeare-inspired plays; 501(c)(3) status; the “25 for 25” campaign. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  2. The Pitch, Best of KC 2024 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Youth Theater: Team Shakespeare - Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Runner-Up, 198 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩ ↩2

  3. The Pitch, Best of KC 2023 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Fundraising Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival’s Romantic Revels Gala, Finalist, 125 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩ ↩2

  4. The Pitch, Best of KC 2021 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Virtual Play/Radio Theatre: “William Shakespeare’s Christmas Carol,” Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Winner, 475 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩ ↩2

  5. The Pitch, Best of KC 2022 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Play: Romeo and Juliet - Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Winner, 254 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩ ↩2

  6. The Pitch, Best of KC 2023 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Play: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival: The Tempest, Winner, 325 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩ ↩2

  7. The Pitch, Best of KC 2024 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Play: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival: Julius Caesar, Runner-Up, 273 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩ ↩2

  8. The Pitch, Best of KC 2025 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Play: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival: Love’s Labour’s Lost, Winner, 242 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩ ↩2

  9. All Pitch Best of KC placings on this page are taken from the first-party SceneThink winners portals, harvested 2026-09-12 and held at 05_Operations/Pitch-Best-Of-KC-Awards-2021-2025.csv. Vote counts are as the poll reported them. Method, per-year portal slugs and coverage limits are recorded alongside the dataset in the KS.City award record. ↩

  10. The Pitch, Best of KC 2021 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Cultural Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 194 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  11. The Pitch, Best of KC 2021 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Cultural Event: The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 2 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  12. The Pitch, Best of KC 2021 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Outdoor Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 431 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  13. The Pitch, Best of KC 2022 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Cultural Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 189 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  14. The Pitch, Best of KC 2022 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Live Performance Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival’s Romeo and Juliet, Winner, 322 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  15. The Pitch, Best of KC 2022 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Live Theater: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 121 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  16. The Pitch, Best of KC 2022 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Local Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Runner-Up, 232 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  17. The Pitch, Best of KC 2022 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Outdoor Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 290 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  18. The Pitch, Best of KC 2022 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Theater Company: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Runner-Up, 187 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  19. The Pitch, Best of KC 2023 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Cultural Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 216 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  20. The Pitch, Best of KC 2023 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Live Performance Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival: The Tempest, Runner-Up, 315 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  21. The Pitch, Best of KC 2023 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Live Theater: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 173 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  22. The Pitch, Best of KC 2023 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Local Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 252 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  23. The Pitch, Best of KC 2023 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Outdoor Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 238 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  24. The Pitch, Best of KC 2023 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Theater Company: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 214 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  25. The Pitch, Best of KC 2024 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Cultural Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Runner-Up, 246 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  26. The Pitch, Best of KC 2024 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Fundraising Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Gala - Romantic Revels, Finalist, 138 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  27. The Pitch, Best of KC 2024 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Live Performance Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival: Julius Caesar, Runner-Up, 262 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  28. The Pitch, Best of KC 2024 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Live Theater: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 188 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  29. The Pitch, Best of KC 2024 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Local Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 255 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  30. The Pitch, Best of KC 2024 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Outdoor Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 306 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  31. The Pitch, Best of KC 2024 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Theater Company: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Runner-Up, 234 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  32. The Pitch, Best of KC 2025 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Cultural Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 105 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  33. The Pitch, Best of KC 2025 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Fundraising Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Gala - Romantic Revels, Finalist, 74 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  34. The Pitch, Best of KC 2025 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Local Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival: Love’s Labour’s Lost, Runner-Up, 238 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  35. The Pitch, Best of KC 2025 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Outdoor Venue: Southmoreland Park - Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 89 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  36. The Pitch, Best of KC 2025 — Arts & Entertainment, Best Theater Company: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Runner-Up, 163 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

  37. The Pitch, Best of KC 2025 — People & Places, Best Outdoor Event: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Finalist, 177 votes (portal accessed 2026-09-12) ↩

See also

Categories
  • Wiki Page
  • Event
  • Performing Arts
  • Southmoreland
  • Modern

On the record — ks.city/wiki/events/heart-of-america-shakespeare-festival · last revised 2026-09-12