Category: Shakespeare Plays

William Shakespeare is widely regarded as one of the most influential playwrights in history, and his plays have been performed and studied for centuries. From the timeless tragedy of Romeo and Juliet to the hilarious antics of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare’s plays continue to captivate audiences around the world. Whether you’re a fan of tragedy, comedy, or romance, there’s a Shakespeare play for everyone. So why not revisit these timeless classics and discover the magic of Shakespeare for yourself?

Browse the entire text of Shakespeare’s plays right here on Shakespeare Geek.

Shakespeare Beer Continued : The Tempest

September 13, 2018September 13, 2018 ~ duane ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday I told you about the joys of the Shakespeare beer known as ShakesBeer and how I came to discover it. I’ve already discussed their New England IPA known as “Act One”.

Today let’s talk about their “Imperial IPA”, The Tempest. It would have been awesome if they’d kept the “Act” thing going but there’s an obvious hard limit there so I can see why they couldn’t do that.

I love the branding on this one. It’s no secret that The Tempest is my favorite play, and I’m happy to see its image on the shelf. If I could get my hands on the cans themselves (without the contents) I’d add them to my collection of Shakespeare stuff. I suppose I could just wash out an empty but I’d feel like I’m back in college building a tower of empties if I did that.

This one is noticeably darker than the Act One, but I suppose maybe not so noticeably because my wife claimed she could not see the difference until I put the two side by side.

A juicy New England Style IPA featuring six different hop varieties and a more robust 7.7% ABV.

I could definitely see and taste a big difference. The flavor is much stronger and richer here, and that 7.7% ABV is nothing to slouch at. Let’s put it this way, I had the Act One at a leisurely pace on a Sunday afternoon while I watched football. I had The Tempest after dinner on a weekday when I had to go pick up my kid from dance in an hour. Totally felt it, could not have had two.

I think both of these are going to make nice fall selections. As I’ve gotten older I still enjoy a beer, but I’m not the type to just keep pounding them back. So flavor is a big deal, but so is not getting buzzed – I’m getting too old for that nonsense, the kids need homework help. For both of these I’m happy to have one, maybe two, depending, and that’s just right for me.

It looks like they have a third option, A Midsummer Night’s Ale, but since it’s listed as a summer brew I’m going to assume that I missed the seasonal window and will have to wait until next year.

Hey ShakesBeer people, are you out there? I think we’d all like to see “A Winter’s Ale” as your next offering!

Titus Andronicus : The Sequel (No, Seriously!)

September 12, 2018April 19, 2023 ~ duane ~ 1 Comment

We’ve often joked about which Shakespeare plays provide the best take-off point for a sequel. There’s even a movie called Hamlet 2 which had some interesting ideas, when they got to the actual Shakespeare (think time machine … and sexy, rocking Jesus).

But what about Titus Andronicus? Room for a sequel there? A whole bunch of Tony Award winners think so. Nathan Lane and Andrea Martin are set to headline Taylor Mac’s Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus this spring:

The play takes place just after the conclusion of William Shakespeare’s first tragedy, Titus Andronicus. Set during the fall of the Roman Empire, the years of bloody battles are over, the civil war has ended, and the country has been stolen by madmen. There are casualties everywhere and two very lowly servants (played by Lane and Martin) are charged with cleaning up the bodies.

It already makes me think it’s taking a cue from “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.” Which is suitably ironic, because I can’t wait for the first people to make the connection that Nathan Lane played the voice for Pumbaa in Lion King, which is supposed to be Disney’s animated Hamlet, where they represent Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, so in a way, Lane has already played the role!

Oh I will kill you.

That Time Shakespeare Punched Burt Reynolds

September 6, 2018September 6, 2018 ~ duane ~ 2 Comments

Burt Reynolds has died.

When a celebrity dies, I tend to go looking for a Shakespeare connection. Often I find nothing. Sometimes I find a bio that says they performed in college. If I’m very lucky I’ll find a quote or even some video of a performance.

This is the first time I found evidence of Shakespeare punching the celebrity out.

Look how young he was! Reynolds, not Shakespeare. This turns out to be from an episode of The Twilight Zone called “The Bard“, that aired in 1963.

Does he call him a gleep? What is that?

All kidding aside – this article suggests that we have Shakespeare to thank for discovering Reynolds in the first place:

He began taking English lessons with a view to becoming a parole officer but his teacher, having heard Reynolds reading Shakespeare aloud, cast him in a production of the play Outward Bound, and his performance won him the 1956 Florida State Drama Award.

Later in his career (2008) we find A Bunch of Amateurs, which seems to be at least somewhat related to King Lear:

A sleazy Hollywood agent tricks one of his clients, a faded action star, into playing King Lear in an amateur charity production in England.

Found it! Oh look, Derek Jacobi:

RIP Mr. Reynolds. Flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Ophelia In The Water

September 5, 2018 ~ duane ~ 1 Comment

There’s a certain painting of Ophelia, by Sir John Everett Millais, that you’ve almost certainly seen. It’s that gorgeous green one that shows Ophelia in the water (and not much else). I’ve seen it on all kinds of merchandise, in fact. It was seeing it on a t-shirt today that inspired this question.

Here’s a link to the biggest version I could find.

When I saw the smaller merch version I thought, “Wait, who is that near the right edge of the painting? Is somebody there? That can’t be a fairy, that’s the wrong play!” So I went in search of a higher resolution image. Turns out it’s just flowers.

But that made me think. What flowers are they, exactly? When you see the picture in its colorful glory you see just how many flowers there are – the red, yellow and blue with Ophelia in the water, the white in the center, the purple that I thought was a lurking fairy.

Can somebody identify all of these flowers for us? Are they representations of the flowers that Ophelia hands out in Hamlet IV.v?

Ophelia. There’s fennel for you, and columbines. There’s rue for you,
and here’s some for me. We may call it herb of grace o’ Sundays.
O, you must wear your rue with a difference! There’s a daisy. I
would give you some violets, but they wither’d all when my father
died. They say he made a good end.

I am assuming that they are, but then again, maybe not. After all, she’s already gone flower picking and already given them away – so has she gone back out to the river to pick more of the same? Or something different? Or did the painter even get into that level of detail?

I’d love to appreciate this painting on a whole different level. Somebody tell me that the different flowers are what I hope they are.

When You’re A Jet (West Side Story Reboot Is Coming)

September 5, 2018September 5, 2018 ~ duane ~ Leave a comment

Are we ready for a new West Side Story?

What if I told you Stephen Spielberg is directing?

The casting call is up! September 11.

The announcement comes from the office of casting director Cindy Tolan. Auditions will take place at Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet in Brooklyn, with the sign-in for men beginning at 9AM and the sign-in for women beginning at 1PM.

The call stipulates auditionees should be between 15 and 25 years old with a strong dance background and ability to sing, and also specifies: “the Sharks are Latinx, the Jets are Caucasian.”

The original is certainly dated (look at that dialogue!) so that’s screaming for a rewrite. Will all those dance numbers still hold an audience’s attention? All the “coming to America” songs and aspects of the story are still as strong as ever, but I hope they don’t go over the top and make it purely commentary on the current administration.