Thank Cookie Monster for this one, folks – it was his parody of the mind virus known as “Call Me Maybe” that produced the following.  Bardfilm is on vacation, so hopefully I’ve done a reasonable job at filling the void while he’s gone…

Hey, Coriolanus!
We know you’re angry.
Your mother asked nice,
So spare Rome, maybe?

I know that we just got here,
But it’s too early.
So let’s get back together
After the hurly burly.

Hey there, Desdemona,
You have deceived me!
Iago said so.
And he’s trustworthy.

Good evening Mr. Capulet.
My name is Romeo.
It’s been a lovely party,
But now we must go.

In some random bit of spammy email marketing I saw the term “hidden gem” (and subsequent discussion about how to use this term in your marketing :)).  Well, this week I learned that I like Coriolanus much more than I thought I would.  It’s easy to talk about Hamlet and Lear and Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet for years on end.  Something like Coriolanus doesn’t get nearly as much love.

So, let’s talk “hidden gems.”  Which of Shakespeare’s plays is not commonly known, that should get more love?  The Great Tragedies are off limits – everybody’s seen and discussed those a thousand times.   No Dream, no Much Ado About Nothing.  We all know about those gems.

What else ya got?

How’s that for a title?

Actually, Mr. Pacino is talking about Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline doing a read-through of Romeo and Juliet this past week.  It’s actually a pretty cool idea when you think about it – can a 62yr old actress play a 13yr old girl?  Absolutely.

Pacino was in the headlines again talking about Free Shakespeare  and how, “When I couldn’t afford
anything, I was sitting there seeing George C. Scott in ‘The Merchant of Venice,’” he told Speakeasy on the lawn outside the Delacorte. “It’s Joe Papp. He was a radical and he was a visionary, and I loved him so much. It was just great being around him. You could see 50 years later, it’s still going on.”

Go read that second article in particular (it has more Pacino), and try to do it *not* in Pacino’s famous growly voice. It’s so much more entertaining if you read it in character. Random shouts of HOO-AH! are not required.

I know I’m a bit behind on some stories.  Bear with me while I play catch-up?  You’re the best.

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of the Bard’s old stomping grounds — ruins of a famous 16th-century theater, buried below the streets of modern London. Known in its heyday as the Curtain Theatre, it’s often been eclipsed by its more famous younger sibling, the Globe.

I saw a whole bunch of links about this one but I’m going to go with the NPR story because you can get the story in whatever way work best for you – audio or transcript, with lots of pictures.

On the one hand I agree that it is cool to have this piece of history.  But I just have to admit, archaeology is not my thing.  They mention “one of the nicest things they found” was a bit of a pot being used as a mousetrap.

…

Umm…..oh.  Yay?  I guess if you can’t draw a straight line between a thing and Shakespeare (and his works), it’s just not my cup of tea.  Your mileage may vary.