The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) 

Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield

  

Directed by Victor Warren; Original Set Designer, Judy Stacier; Additional Costume Designer, Nicole Watson; Lighting Designer, John Tibbetts; Sound Designer, Ed Thurber; Properties Coordinator, Nathan Colby; Production Stage Manager, Steven R. Espach 

CAST: David Josef Hansen, Rob Najarian, Christopher James Webb 

Performances through February 25, 2007 at Foothills Theatre Company   Box Office 508-754-4018 or www.foothillstheatre.com 

Sixteen comedies, eleven tragedies, seven histories, and assorted sonnets and poems are all presented in just over 90 minutes and for the amazing low price of a single ticket at Worcester's Foothills Theatre.  You don't have to know too much about the Bard of Avon to get pleasure from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), but don?t expect it to take the place of your CliffsNotes.  The Messrs. Hansen, Najarian, and Webb play the snippets and scraps of each play strictly for laughs, not for edification. 

Appearing in modern street garb, each of the actors takes a turn at introducing the show and providing some humorous, but none too accurate background on Shakespeare's life and works.  When the lights go down, they arrive on the stage attired in pantaloons, tights, and colorful high-top sneakers to present Romeo and Juliet, perhaps one of the most well known tragedies.  Rob is Romeo, while David takes on the first of several female personae as Juliet.  They are adorned with silly wigs as they dance to music from West Side Story, pantomime a fight scene beneath strobe lighting, and consume poison to cause their untimely deaths.  Before she breathes her last, Juliet steps out into the audience to (figuratively) projectile vomit over the front row.   Hansen is over the top and clearly enjoying himself with this part. 

Titus Andronicus is presented as a cooking show that is slightly reminiscent of Dan Aykroyd's Saturday Night Live satire of Julia Child, with lots of fake blood and body parts.  Christopher is sufficiently maniacal in portraying Titus, the bloodthirsty Roman general.  Othello is summarized in a clever rap as the actors don baseball caps and heavy gold chains while lamenting that they are not black. 

The costume department provides some very funny visuals as the boys narrate a summary of the 16 comedies distilled into one.  Rob wears a clown nose, a hat with a big fish on it, and juggles; David wears nose glasses and a fright wig and chomps on a banana; and Christopher sports an aviator cap and balances two trays of china cups and saucers while deftly stepping over David's discarded banana peel.   

As amusing as the comedies might be, they are not half as funny as the tragedies, according to the actors, and they set about to prove their point.  As Director Victor Warren describes it, think Monty Python does Shakespeare.  It is silly, but smart, and the deft physical comedy appears effortless.  These guys are having fun, but they are well trained and practiced.  Don't try this at home! 

The entire second act is devoted to skewering Hamlet, not once, not twice, but three times, and then, for good measure, a fourth time backwards!  They throw the kitchen sink at us by using fart jokes, sock puppets, strobe lighting, the Psycho shower scene, and audience participation to tell the tale of the Prince of Denmark.  Special praise goes to Ruth, the audience member who was plucked from her seat to portray Ophelia.  She was an excellent screamer and a really good sport.  Speaking of good sports, I was very impressed with the fencing ability that Christopher and Rob exhibit in the Hamlet and Laertes duel.  Listen for the Brokeback Mountain reference during the swordfight. 

Much of the pleasure in watching this show comes from the chemistry among the three actors and the able direction by Warren.  The props are often both clever and silly, and the lights and sound further enhance the merriment.  Judy Stacier's set looks Elizabethan and provides three gold curtains for the cast's frequent entrances and exits.  There is farce, there is slapstick, and there is even one monologue delivered seriously ("What a piece of work is man?"), so I guess you could say there is something for everyone in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).  Don't be afraid - you won't learn much.   

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