After the show, I drove home in haste, went to my library, pulled out my beloved tome of the complete works of The Bard, and said a short prayer. I went to my collection of scripts and retrieved The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr. Just what had Adam Brick, Joshua Everett Johnson, and Tim Park have done to the master. They did exactly what playwright/performers Jess Borgeson, Adam Long, & Daniel Singer had written - with some hilarious embellishments.
Director Rob Salas and a great design team enhance the production, giving their audience a delightful evening. Ken Imaizumi and Heather-Michelle Mowery offer an array of outlandish, yet sorta period, costumes. Bonnie Durben's props complement the costumes in their off-the-wall designs. The skull is a work of genius. Ashley Jenks' lighting design allows the show its own feel even though it is played on the set of Sailor's Song.
Enough of the behind-the-scenes folks; this is the Tim, Adam and Joshua show. And what a show it is! The energy of these three young men is astounding. This is by far the best production of the three I've seen.
While it helps to be familiar with Shakespeare; in this production, it is not necessary. Tim provides a rousing prologue. Due to a serious time displacement, Hitler and the Nazi regime get involved with the history of Shakespeare. Then it's time for the conflicts between the Montagues and the Capulets and their offspring, Romeo and Juliet. Then, in rapid succession, the complete works of William Shakespeare spew forth in a torrent of familiar lines. Alas and alack, just as we think we're finished with all the plays, it's discovered that the sonnets aren't properly recognized. Oh, there's a heated debate about even considering the reduction of Hamlet, and thus is born the second act.
Not totally happy with entertaining us, the stage three take a lovely lady from the audience, beckoning her to play Ophelia in the scream scene. Not satisfied with just that, they drag a man from the audience and made him run back and forth across the stage on command. Still not happy, they quadrasect the audience into wavers and various chanters, and command us to perform for them. The chanters represent Ophelia's Id, Ego, and Superego. The poor man runs crazily back and forth on the stage. It'ss all quite a frenzy. One of the evil three stopped the audience participation for the famous Ophelia scream.
The absolute joy of The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr is recognizing the snippets and remembering a given play. In this production, watching three zany actors bring the audience to uproarious laughter adds so much. Further, they aren't content with just the stage but perform in the audience area as well.
