Shakespeare in Tennessee

Letter to the editor after “The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged” comes to Tennessee. I bet you already know where this is, perhaps unfairly, going?

Some may wonder if I was just shielding young, innocent ears. No, had my wife and I been alone that night, we too would have walked out. And we weren’t the only ones. The couple we met in the parking garage elevator had a college-aged child and a college graduate with them, and all four were amazed at the total lack of decency. But then once again, I did get to teach my children the difference between what is decent and what is utterly crude.

In fairness to Tennessee I point readers back to this January 2010 article on a similar topic.  This time, however, Will O’Hare – Education Director for the Classic Theatre Project – came to his group’s defense.

6 thoughts on “Shakespeare in Tennessee

  1. Probably one of them Conservative Christian colleges. There's one in Florida in which male and female students aren't even allowed to use the same staircases. I'm sure Tennessee has its share.

  2. A "college aged 'child' and a college graduate" "amazed at the total lack of decency."

    That, to me, is more 'shocking' than anything I've heard in quite a while.

  3. First ruel of Shakespeare: if you don't know what it means, it's probably dirty.

    If you're not hearing indecency in Shakespeare, then they're not doing it properly!

  4. The "Complete Works, Abridged" Folks do get scatological at times. Don't get me wrong, they're hilarious, but some of the really obvious, crude jokes are groan-worthy (Coriolanus-related puns, for example.)

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