Theatre Articles
Shakespeare Abridged Your Hub Article
By Karen Groves, Mar 28, 2010
If you missed the Evergreen Players production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) two years ago, now is your chance to make up for it.
If you miss it this time around, you're cheating yourself out of a raucous evening (or afternoon) of laughs.
It's hilarious.
The acting ensemble of Matt Bacchus, Len Mattheo and Bruce Montgomery romps across the stage in a furious pace in this comical interpretation of the Bard's plays and, ever so briefly, his sonnets, which are supposedly scribbled on an index card in tiny script that's impossible to read.
So much for the sonnets.
Audience participation is introduced early on, but never distracts from the action, not to mention the frantic costume changes Montgomery undergoes as the bewigged and occasionally nauseous female character.
The director Scott Ogle admits in his notes that he and the trio are pals having a good time. With the audience as onlooker, it's contagious, as their alternating silliness and unabashed good timing never lets up.
This production veers from the original with the introduction of a video that, although lighthearted and reminiscent of a silent movie escapade, was a tad too long, depicting Mattheo chasing Montgomery through downtown Evergreen.
And if you wonder what Michael Jackson and Sarah Palin could possibly have to do with Shakespeare . . . I'm not sure.
Suffice it to say Montgomery's ability to transform himself into those celebrity characters only adds to the fun.
The show plays one more weekend through April 3 at Center Stage, 27608 Fireweed Dr., Evergreen Call 303-674-4934 or www.evergreenplayers.org.
Shakespeare Abridged Your Hub Article here.