And now for something completely Shakespearean…

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). Well, the title pretty much says it all. Three actors, as themselves, present (as promised) 37 plays in 97 minutes. The Complete Works was created by the Reduced Shakespeare Company and first performed in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1987. The deconstruction and consolidation of Shakespeare’s works would prove a smash hit in England, playing at the Criterion Theatre in London for nine years. The play is currently enjoying a return engagement this summer at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in Boscobel.

After a brief poll of the audience checking to see who has read King John, the play gets things started with that deathless classic Romeo & Juliet, establishing the sort of evening you are in for. There are the actors, some costume pieces, wigs and in this instance, a wheelbarrow full of props (not to mention the sassy prop mistress/actress). They find various ways of distilling the various tragedies: Othello is performed as a rap, Titus Andronicus as a cooking show, Macbeth is reduced to a single duel complete with overzealous Scottish accents, etc. The comedies are combined into one singular play, as most of them are pretty much formulaic. The history plays are presented as a football game. And so on and so forth…

The script allows room for considerable improvisation and there is no third wall to the action, with consistent acknowledgment and awareness of the audience right from the very start. This later devolves into audience participation in the second act, which is entirely devoted to Hamlet, plus three encores. The sonnets receive their moment in the spotlight – on an index card to be passed around the audience from row to tow. Plus, they also manage to sneak in a bit about the Shakespeare Apocrypha. (That professor of mine should be thrilled).

The three actors taking on this mammoth lampoon are Chris Edwards, Jason O’Connell and Kurt Rhoads. Together, they play an immense number of characters from all plays. Think Man #1 and Man #2 from The 39 Steps, a similarly British romp with considerable parallels. It’s silly, it’s wittty, it’s farce. All three work well with one another, a testament also to director and Artistic Director of HVSF, Terry O’Brien. Back when I sat in on rehearsal, I got to see the four of them work on various sections of the piece. They ran various bits again and again, each time becoming more solid and infinitely funnier just from an hour in the rehearsal room.

Edwards particularly shines in his solo moments with the audience, particularly after the other two have run off at the end of Act One. He’s also a superb foil to the lunacy of the other two (though he’s a riot as Juliet’s nurse). Rhoads displays unexpectedly hilarious gravitas in his sly deconstruction of serious Shakespearean actors, running the gamut from Jack Benny to Charlton Heston. O’Connell gets to do the most outrageous aspects, splaying Shakespearean ingenues as dithering, vomit-prone sprites and tapping into an accomplished trunk of celebrity impersonations. (Two of his standouts include Queen Gertrude as played by Carol Channing and King Claudius by way of Jack Nicholson).

The play is for the most part hilarious, though some sketches work better than others. For instance the set-up for Titus is infinitely funnier than the punchline. O’Connell comments at one point that the tragedies are funnier than the comedies, and in this case that is true. The Hamlet portion is funny, but a bit overlong. However, it’s worth it for the three encores, each one subsequently more outrageous than the first. In spite of those minor quibbles, it doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the sheer lunacy at hand.

During the second act, three things crossed my mind: The 39 Steps, Monty Python and Anna Russell. All three, much like this work, are extracted from an uncanny British sense of humor, reveling in absurdity and steeped in comic tradition and wit. The first two complement Complete Works in its style and structure. Opera parodist Anna Russell popped in my head because she did one of her famed opera analyses on the fictional Verdi opera Hamletto, or Prosciuttino, which itself is a thinly-veiled deconstruction of Hamlet.

I once again brought my friend Dana along, who as an average theatregoer stressed the overwhelming amount of fun she had, especially evidenced at her inability to contain her laughter at Ophelia’s drowning. It’s a rare crowdpleaser, like the sort of small-scale theatrical events that used to dominate Off-Broadway in the days of yore. If you know someone who hates Shakespeare, bring them to this one. If they really hate it, put them in the front row. If you love Shakespeare, you should already have your tickets.

Meanwhile, I return for one last visit this Thursday for the third and final entry in the HVSF season, Pericles.

Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival 2009 Season

For those of you in the region:

HUDSON VALLEY SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES
2009 ECO-COMIC STIMULAS SEASON

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival has announced its 2009 Eco-Comic Stimulus Season. Designed to bring laughter, joy and relief from the news of the day in a spectacular outdoor setting, the Eco-Comic Stimulus Season offers something for everyone at below market prices.

The season features total mad-cap hilarity; love hiding in plain sight; battles of wit (and the sexes); shipwrecks; marriage; near death experiences; and one of the greatest reunions in all of Shakespeare. It will open with last season’s runaway hit, the impossibly funny The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), followed by the romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing, and the action packed adventure/romance, Pericles.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), directed by the Festival’s Founding Artistic Director Terrence O’Brien, will open the season on June 20 (previews begin June 16). Much Ado About Nothing, directed by John Christian Plummer opens June 27 and Pericles, also directed by Mr. O’Brien, will open on July 4. The three plays will run in repertory through September 6. Performances begin at 7pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; 8pm Friday and Saturday; and 6pm on Sundays.

“These are tumultuous times and we know that a lot of people are really struggling,” said Mr. O’Brien. “We hope that our 23rd season will provide a bright spot by giving people an opportunity to leave the news behind for a few treasured hours. I think we have everything you could ask for built into our plan: romance, adventure, comedy, a magical setting and a night out that leaves some money in the bank (or under the mattress)! We may not be able to provide tax relief, but we can certainly provide eco-comic relief!”

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival has inspired and delighted audiences with its vigorously original interpretations of the great works of William Shakespeare for twenty-two seasons to much critical acclaim from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Poughkeepsie Journal, The Journal News and numerous other regional and national publications. Founding Artistic Director Terrence O’Brien has maintained a commitment to making the timeless plays accessible to all audiences, relieving the burden of heavy language and over-dramatization that so many equate with Shakespeare. “We want the audience to feel the same way about the plays as we do,” explained O’Brien. “The stories are timeless and we work to eliminate the affectation so often associated with Shakespeare. Our productions are lively, fast-paced and reflect our own excitement. You know it’s working,” he continued, “when you not only have people return season after season but every year they bring more new friends.”

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, the region’s only professional resident Shakespeare company, makes its home under an open-air tent theater perched high up on the banks of the Hudson River on the grounds of the historic 19th Century Boscobel estate in Garrison, New York. Using the dramatic views of the Hudson Highlands and the sweeping vistas from the elegant lawns of Boscobel as near-perfect stage scenery, the critically acclaimed Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival presents unparalleled productions with the perfect marriage of theater and nature. Audience members are invited to arrive two hours early in order to enjoy a picnic meal – with one of the most spectacular al fresco views – on the grounds of the estate.

“If you’re searching for the best of all possible times … you’ll have trouble topping the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. I can’t think of another outdoor festival that has a higher overall batting average. Hudson Valley’s deliberately informal productions are a model of cultural populism at its most engaging and effective.” -The Wall Street Journal

TICKETS AND INFORMATION
Ticket prices for all performances are $29-$46. Tickets are available through the HVSF Box Office which opens on April 27: 845-265-9575. Tickets are also available online beginning April 17 at hvshakespeare.org. Discounts are available on most nights for groups, students, senior citizens and children 12 and under. The Festival offers several special packages, including a tour of the Boscobel mansion and Exhibition Gallery plus tickets. In addition discounts at local hotels and restaurants are also available. For packages and information visit the Festival website, www.hvshakespeare.org and are available through the box office.

For more information about the 2009 Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, as well as information about their ongoing Education and Community Outreach Programs, contact the Festival at (845) 265-7858.