To go or not to go? That is the question! Technically it’s ‘be’ or ‘not be’ but with Shakespeare being hundreds of years of dead, I’m sure he’ll grant us this liberal creative license…especially considering what the world at large is doing to his canon from a musical standpoint! I won’t extoll and wax poetic like Polonius, earning me an eyeroll from Laertes and Ophelia, no I shall to the point as brevity is the soul of wit.
If love be rough— be rough with love! Or get on down to Club Escalus for Mercutio’s Funky Boogie Woogie! Or both! All of the above. Groove to rhythm of ’75, baby— and nah, we don’t mean no 1575. We’re talkin’ 1975, ya dig? And we’re talkin’ Baltimore Baby! Closing out their 2023/2024 season on their Main Stage (and please join them for their fabulous summer fling out at the PFI in Ellicott City when R&J closes) Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is bringing you the grooviest production of Romeo &
author: Wes Dennis & Liana Olear
How shall you beguile the lazy time, if not with some delight? Perhaps by running off to Silver Spring Stage for their performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and spending the evening with besotted Athenian lovers, pranking fairies, and those oddest of creatures, amateur actors!
The Director, Emma Hooks, shows a solid understanding of Shakespeare’s language, and her actors illustrate the words with enthusiastic action (though language purists – or audience members not expecting to hear multiple F-bombs punctuating the iambic pentameter – may not appreciate the choice to also insert modern phrases to add reactions where the bard neglected to spell them out).
“Such welcome and unwelcome things at once ‘tis hard to reconcile.” Macduff, ActIVsc.iii
I spent hours trying to find the way I felt about the current Rude Mechanical’s production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth only to have Billy Bard having already wrapped it up for me more than halfway through the show. This particular production is a balancing act of strong performances, questionable conceptualizations, impressive technological inclusions, mismatched aesthetics, and a barrage of death,
It was a bright and cold day in September and the clocks were striking 13. No, that’s not quite right.
We that are true lovers run into strange capers. That’s more like it. Or rather, Shakespeare’s As You Like It, as directed by Ian Gallanar now appearing on the stages of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s boards for their fall-opening of the 2023/2024 season. Though one could readily meet the confusion of “Am I watching George Orwell’s 1984 (or even L.
“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes”
“Now is the Winter of our discontent”…. No wait, nevermind. That’s a different Shakespeare show, and a different season entirely. But Summer is here in Maryland and when it comes to the Macbeths, “discontent” is an apropos word to define their predicament, but the exact opposite to describe how you will feel as you enjoy this timeless production of the Scottish Play;
When the play opens with the infamous “To be or not to be…” you start to think time is out of joint. Or maybe that you’ve just misremembered how Hamlet starts? You ever look at one of those maps of the United States where all the states have been shoved around into different spaces in the outline but it still mostly looks like the outline of the country even though everything is all discombobulated?
In a modern context, the production of William Shakespeare’s works largely hangs upon the performers’ ability to voice these verses in such a way that the audience not only instantly and instinctually understands their meaning, but may also benefit from their specific notes of humor, tragedy, etc. In this sense, Spotlighters Theatre’s Twelfth Night – the classic gender-bending romantic comedy – is a decidedly mixed bag.
The older generation of performers seem to know exactly what they’re doing here,
What great ones do the less will prattle of— and here be the great ones: Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, in their 20th Anniversary season, presenting to you something certainly worth prattling about! Twelfth Night, directed by the company’s founding Artistic Director, Ian Gallanar, is arguably one of The Bard’s more sensible comedies and CSC does it a great justice with excellent performances, lively music, and a charming aesthetic that would float anyone’s boat.
Move over, Tom Stoppard (and also Disney-Marvel-verse). You no longer hold the market on “origin backstory/alternate POV” when it comes to Shakespeare. That’s right, there’s a new— okay, not new, per say— but there’s another option when it comes to doing weird stuff with Shakespeare that isn’t Shakespeare but still is totally Shakespeare. And Artistic Synergy of Baltimore’s children’s performance group has got it. The Rude Mechanicals, by Ed Graczyk, is now appearing on the ASoB stage,
Ay, me! What’s in a name? Would a show by any other name still be so tragic? Probably. The Bard’s Wagon Players have surfaced for their annual summertime “Shakespeare in the Park” production! And this year— the sizzling summer of 2022— it’s none other than the infamous tragedy, Romeo & Juliet. Directed by Nathan Rosen, Produced by Bob Frank, and Stage Managed by Liana Olear, this outdoor offering has two different locations— Hannah More Park in Reisterstown and Catonsville Community Park in Catonsville— over the course of two different weekends,
“Friendship is constant in all other things, Save in the office and affairs of love.”
Love is in the air; but some may need a little meddling, I mean “help,” from their friends to realize it. As for the audience, it is easy to feel the love in Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s Much Ado About Nothing. Playing under the open sky and in the ruins at the PFI Historic Park in Ellicott City now through July 24th,
“Oh for a muse of fire that would reach the uppermost heights of creativity— the stage a kingdom…” we’ve all heard it. We all recognize it. Do we all know that it comes from one of Shakespeare’s histories? You may have heard it, recognize it, and even know that it comes from Henry V, but you’ve never heard it until you hear it slipping delicately over the lips of Lesley Malin, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s Executive Producing Director— or for the purposes of this performance— The Chorus.
Hello.
My name is Amanda Gunther.
You killed all 37.
Prepare to be reviewed.
Going out with a rather impressive bang— though by no means are they finished producing or existing— The Rude Mechanicals, now in full-time residence at The Greenbelt Arts Center, have attained one of their coveted company goals: Produce all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays. Cymbeline, Directed by Erin Nealer, completes the quest of all 37.
I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say that indeed dreams— rare visions or not— do come true; live theatre with in-person audiences have returned to us once more. The Maryland Ensemble Theatre is at their finest in bringing a most peculiar, wondrous and intriguing theatrical endeavor to those of us who have waited so long to return to the theatre. Directed by Julie Herber,
“The heavens were all on fire, the earth did tremble.”
Shakespeare’s tale of the roles and
duties of fathers and sons is brought to life with energy and thoughtfulness in
director Rosa Joshi’s 1 Henry IV at the Folger Theater. The second
installment of the Henriad tetralogy, the play deftly balances the personal and
political consequences of the deposition of Richard II.
C. Stanley Photography The cast of Folger Theatre’s 1 Henry IV (Peter Crook as King Henry IV at center) C.
This green plot shall be their stage! And by this, tis meant
the Hodson Outdoor Theatre of Hood College, unless of course it rains, and then
there’s an indoor option, but speak not, yet mortals, of tempests— that’s
another Shakespeare altogether! Think instead upon the season, the season of
midsummer, and attend ye well to the first-annual Frederick Shakespeare
Festival, presenting productions by Endangered Species (theatre) Project, and
in this case the production be A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
I am amazed; I know not what to say. Though the words be but
borrowed from The Bard, the sentiment bares much troth for feelings in my left
pap, where heart doth hop, in regard to The Bard Wagon Players. Striking up
against adversity— both of weather foul and ill-sentiment to their company’s
original namesake— the little mobile wagon full of Shakespeare doth enter its
third season upon the grassy fields of performing outdoor* Shakespeare here in
Maryland.
Marry, sirs and madams and those of all genders, I shall
commit no false report; moreover, I will speak no untruths; secondly, I shall not
be a slanderer; sixth and lastly, I shall belay a jovial account; thirdly, I
shall verify only just things pertaining to this account; and to conclude, I
send ye my most polished praises to this Storytellers: A Theater Arts Academy’s
production of Much Ado About Nothing. Hopping houses,
Shakespeare Theatre Company brings its
Summer Free For All program to life for a 29th season, this year reviving its
2018 production of Hamlet, originally directed by Michael Kahn and
remounted by Artistic Associate Craig Baldwin, and starring Michael Urie as the
title role. The show is a power-packed run at over 3 hours, but a scattered
performance from the cast and an incohesive design leaves the audience feeling
every minute of it.
For fans of Shakespeare’s comedies, Love’s
Labour’s Lost should not be overlooked. Often brushed off as a draft for
Shakespeare’s later hits, there is joy and humor in this play that would be
criminal to dismiss. The performers in the Folger Theatre’s current production,
directed by Vivienne Benesch, rise to the challenge at every turn and carry the
audience along for a raucous and heartfelt ride.
The
Colonial Players of Annapolis have decided to mount a production of Shakespeare
for the first time in over 20 years and after seeing the production the one
question to ask is why have they waited so long? The Merry Wives of Windsor, running now through March 23rd
at the Colonial Players, is a fresh take on a classic Shakespearian Comedy and
a thrilling joy of a night of theatre!
The real King John of England has a murky reputation. We know him for the Magna Carta. We know him as a villain from the tales of Robin Hood. And, at a stretch, we know him as Shakespeare’s earliest monarch, chronologically. Folger Theatre capitalizes on a chance to tell the rarely-told tale of this questionable king in its current production of Shakespeare’s King John, directed by Aaron Posner.
As the Folger describes,
Raw emotions and a powerhouse of a production on display!
The 2018-2019 World Stages season opens with Measure for Measure, produced by Cheek by Jowl and the Pushkin Theatre Moscow, a production filled with raw emotions and powerful performances. This production is superbly directed by Declan Donnellan and extraordinarily designed by Nick Ormerod. In the politically charged atmosphere that we are currently living in, this timeless piece is presented in such a relatable,
Macbeth at the Folger Theatre is unlike any production you will have seen before. That’s a guarantee the Folger can make as they stage for the first time since its origination Macbeth by William Davenant, a Restoration-era adaptation of Shakespeare’s text. Director Robert Richmond, in a collaboration with scholars and the Folger Consort musicians, presents a production that is the result of years of research and work to present something unseen by a modern audience.
How goes the world? A loaded question if ever there was one to be asked, especially in this day and age. But set yourself back from this day and age, set your dial of existence back to 1978 in order to prepare yourself to digest The Rude Mechanicals’ latest offering: Timon of Athens. Directed by Joshua Engel, this miscreant play of Williams Shakespeare’s is finding a new lens through which to be viewed in the hands of The Rude Mechanicals.
Shakespeare Theatre Company is in its 28th year of presenting the annual Free for All program, offering free productions every summer. This year features Romeo & Juliet, the STC’s most often-produced play, as directed by STC Associate Artistic Director Alan Paul. STC’s Free for All emphasizes accessible, relatable Shakespeare, and in that goal, this production excels. For those who have never seen Romeo & Juliet,
If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well it were done quickly. With expedience and precision one can readily say 4615 Theatre Company’s production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth were done both well and quickly. Directed by Jordan Friend, this intimate production unfolds in the laps of the audience, shaking tremors of terror and raw Shakespearean storytelling into the minds of 30 individuals at a time, ensuring that they shall burn for dreams restlessly and indeed sleep no more.
Quotidian Theatre Company’s An Irish Twist on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Leah Mazade and Stephanie Mumford, and set in 1817 Galway, Ireland, embraced the fun in the original text while putting a uniquely, playfully Irish spin on the setting. This creative re-imagining is a delight to watch, and the talented cast, crew, and musicians create an engaging, uplifting revival of Shakespeare’s classic fairytale.
Midsummer follows the plight of two young women,
I have unclasp’d to thee the book even of my secret soul. Where lies my text? In Storytellers: A Theater Arts Academy’s bosom! In what chapter of their bosom? To answer by the method, in their current production of Twelfth Night. Directed by Terry Sweet Bouma with Assistant Directors Alyssa Bouma and Alex Foley, this true comedy of errors and mistaken identities is a fine showcase of youth digesting and transforming Shakespeare.
