The guy’s been dead for almost 400 years, but he certainly hasn’t gotten much rest.
It would seem that each of the 38 plays that William Shakespeare wrote is being performed in Brooklyn this season, and sometimes by more than one company. If we keep going at this rate, there will be no shrews left to tame by the time summer rolls around.
GO Brooklyn sorted through the heaps of Hamlets to find the most worthwhile productions in the borough. If you’re looking for something a little different, check out these performances, they’re sure to give you the Shakes.
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Mauel Harlan
This spring, two troupes known for their rambunctious productions return to show everyone how to do Shakespeare right: Director Edward Hall brings his all-male “Taming of the Shrew” and “Twelfth Night” to BAM this month, and Declan Donnellan’s widely praised Cheek by Jowl company brings its stylish interpretation of the Bard’s problematic late romance “Cymbeline” to the Harvey in May.
Staging the plays with men playing all the roles — which, we’re constantly told, was how it was done in Shakespeare’s time — has ceased being a gimmick, and in Hall’s hands both comedies are revitalized, their gender-bending antics underlining their humanity. “In ‘Twelfth Night,’” said BAM’s Executive Producer Joseph Melillo, “the relationship of a man playing a woman playing a man is done with such sensitivity that it becomes a complex emotional and psychological journey.”
Declan Donnellan and Cheek by Jowl are in their element with “Cymbeline,” according to Melillo: “One of the most convoluted Shakespearean plots will be unraveled with clarity and commitment, along with vivid, colorful performances.”
“The Taming of the Shrew” and “Twelfth Night” are performed in repertory March 17 – April 1, and “Cymbeline” is performed May 2 – 12 at the BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St. at Rockwell Place in Fort Greene). Tickets are $25 through $65. For information call (718) 636-4100 or visit www.bam.org.
— Kevin Filipski
Kings County Shakespeare Company
Jonathan Slaff
Nobody ever sued Shakespeare for sexual harassment, but that doesn’t mean he’s not in for a working over. If you’ve ever found yourself offended by the sexist nature of his work, sweet revenge is finally yours.
Kings County Shakespeare Company has modernized “the Taming of the Shrew,” christened as “Ruff Love or What You Will,” and turned one of the Bard’s most-popular comedies into a “gender-friendly” performance.
A what? “ ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ breaks the box office, but every time I’ve gone to see it, I’ve talked to women and some men who say it’s a sexist play and they’ll never see it again.” said Deborah Wright Houston, artistic director. “Some thought the last speech [referring to women as weak and subordinate] was too harsh.”
Houston claims that she has cut the misogyny out of the show, which is now down to a svelte two hours.
“I rewrote the speech in iambic pentameter — as close to the original language as possible, taking out the harsh language toward women,” she said. She also rewrote the father, Baptista, as Kate and Bianca’s mother.
The original play may not be as misogynistic as it appears on the surface, however. “I think perhaps Shakespeare was trying to hold a mirror up to the world and say, ‘This is the way things are.’ Everyone has his place in the world. Men have their place, women have theirs. The play is about the relationship between men and women and the need for honesty.”
“Ruff Love or What You Will” will be performed at The Great Room at A.R.T./N.Y. (138 S. Oxford St. between South Portland and Cumberland streets in Fort Greene) from March 8-19. $18. For information, call (718) 398-0546 or visit www.kingscountyshakespeare.org.
— Rob M. Errera
The Wooster Group
Paula Court
The painfully avant-garde drama club the Wooster Group has mounted its very own “Hamlet” at DUMBO’s culture emporium, St. Ann’s Warehouse. The month-long run takes a fresh sniff of what’s rotten in Denmark — starting from impressions that a film of Richard Burton’s 1964 performance left on the company.
“The Wooster Group has done a number of shows dealing with the ‘royals,’ and always with wit and originality,” said St. Ann’s Artistic Director Susan Feldman. “They find a truth by way of deconstruction — in a way reversing the subconscious and conscious mind so that, through ingenious sound design, movement and, often, video ‘character making,’ an internal reality is revealed. They are always fascinating and profound.”
This version of “Hamlet” has traveled to Barcelona, Paris and Berlin, hitting Brooklyn before its final stop at Shakespeare Mecca the Public Theater in October.
The Wooster Group’s “Hamlet” will be performed at St. Ann’s Warehouse (38 Water St. at Dock Street in DUMBO) through March 25. Tickets are $27.50 — $37.50. For information call (718) 254-8779 or visit www.stannswarehouse.org.
— Adam Rathe
Brooklyn Repertory Shakespeare Company
Dorian Nisinson
“We’ll be serving beer and popcorn. We want to go for that ballpark-style entertainment,” director Neal Zupancic told us. Beginning March 12, Brooklyn Rep will kick off “Monday Night Shakespeare” with an eight-week run of “Cymbeline” at Park Slope’s spooky arts spot, the Brooklyn Lyceum.
“The thing about ‘Cymbeline’ is that it’s considered to be a sort of self-parody play,” said Zupancic. “We thought it would be fun to do.”
One scene, which demonstrates Shakespeare’s ability to poke fun at himself, is Zupancic’s favorite: “The female lead wakes up from a sleep and finds a body and thinks it’s her husband, but it’s just someone who was beheaded wearing her husband’s clothing,” he says, referring to this obvious parody of “Romeo and Juliet.”
Zupancic hopes the performances will reach a larger audience than usual. “In Shakespeare’s time, any person of any class would go see [his shows]. Now it’s seen as an academic thing.”
Monday Night Shakespeare will be performed at the Brooklyn Lyceum (227 Fourth Ave. at President Street in Park Slope) on Mondays at 8 pm, March 12 – April 30. Tickets $20 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. For information call (866) 469-2687.
— Rob M. Errera
