One of theater’s most hated villains is coming to American Canyon this weekend for what is likely the first outdoor Shakespeare production in the city’s history.

Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park is bringing “The Tragedy of Richard the Third” to the southern gateway to Napa Valley at Independence Park at 4 p.m. Saturday for free, with drinks and snacks for sale. The audience is encouraged to bring something comfortable to sit on.

“Richard III” is Shakespeare’s retelling of the Duke of Gloucester’s sneaky, manipulative seizure of power and short reign as king of England in the 1400s. The play isn’t exactly historically accurate, said Dalia Vidor, Vallejo Shakespeare’s executive producing director. In Shakespeare’s version, King Richard III is a scoundrel whose reign is marked by deceit and murder.

A new audience

The amateur Shakespeare company typically performs in Vallejo, Benicia, Fairfield, Oakland, Martinez and Piedmont. With the expansion to American Canyon, supported by the American Canyon Arts Foundation, the actors have a chance to connect with a broader, younger audience typical of the city.

American Canyon is one of the newest cities in the Bay Area, incorporated in 1992, and is something of a hub for live theater. The city is a draw for audiences attending award-winning productions at American Canyon High School — the biggest high school in Napa County. But the city doesn’t have a local theater company.

Richard III is a character that audiences love to hate, according to Vidor.

“Whatever you’re doing in Shakespeare is probably happening right now, 400 years later,” she said. “Measure for Measure,” a less-known play, for example, “is #metoo in your face,” she said.

Richard is “my favorite part,” said Vidor, who will play him. “He’s such an interesting character. He is akin to what we would see as an incel.”

Vidor’s favorite line? “‘The secret mischiefs that I set abroach I lay unto the grievous charge of others,'” she said. “It basically means he has lied to everybody, and he’s blamed it on other people.”

A resurgence of theater

Switching cast and character genders is not unusual for Vallejo Shakespeare. Part of Vidor’s goal with the company is to help “decolonize Shakespeare,” she said.

A recent production of “Hamlet” was a wide mix of racial and gender identities.

“I don’t care who or what you are, as long as you can play the role,” Vidor said.

If you ask Vidor, live theater is back.

“You can’t AI live theater.”

— Dalia Vidor, executive producing director of Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park

“There is going to be a resurgence,” she said. “You can’t AI live theater.”

Recently, Video said, “There are larger audiences, and a lot of younger people are getting involved.”

The cast of “Richard the Third” had 10 days to rehearse before the play launched in Vallejo in July, what Vidor calls “ren-style.”

“Back in the Renaissance, people didn’t have a director,” she said. “People would direct themselves.”

After the American Canyon production, the company will perform Sunday in Piedmont at Dracena Quarry Park at 4 p.m., and Aug. 14 and 15 at Vino Godfather Winery in Vallejo.