Rensenhouse, Rapport and Roach turn in detailed comic performances. It’s a big cast with nice moments scored by longtime festival veterans as well as relative newcomers. As the story unfolds, we witness what begins as a ridiculous comedy about a pirate’s daughter slowly metamorphose into the timeless tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet.” The point is clear: Artists and writers rarely know where they’re going. One aspect of the play lingers beyond the comedy and romance, and that has to do with the creative process. Shakespeare is married, although he hasn’t seen his wife back in Stratford for years, and Viola has been promised to the foppish Lord Wessex (Todd Lanker, in an over-the-top comic performance). The romance between Will and Viola is, of course, destined to be bittersweet. Henslowe, for his part, is facing intense pressure from his financial backer Fennyman (Bruch Roach), who isn’t above ordering his goons to rough up someone to make a point. Will has also promised the play to rival producer Richard Burbage (Matt Rapport) and struggles to keep each of them at arm’s length as he hopes for a burst of inspiration. We get snippets of speeches Shakespeare wrote and Hall, like the screenwriters, litters the story with amusing lines from the Bard’s work that are voiced utterly out of context.Īs the play opens young Will Shakespeare is struggling to make headway on a new comedy tentatively titled “Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter.” He gets a little help from fellow playwright Christopher Marlowe (Cody Proctor) as he faces a looming deadline to deliver a finished script to producer Phillip Henslowe (John Rensenhouse). Lee Hall’s adaptation follows the film’s busy plot closely and reiterates its wit and jokey backstage humor.
Schwader and Clemens are real-life spouses who perform together with ease and effortless charm. Theatergoers will encounter a comedy/romance that balances farce with romantic longing, captured vividly by Matt Schwader as Shakespeare and Hillary Clemens as the fictional Viola DeLesseps, a noblewoman driven to be an actor - so much so that she conceals her gender. It marks the first time the venerable organization has staged a play written by someone other than William Shakespeare. The production also showcases a great cast made up of festival veterans.Īt any rate, this is a historic moment for the annual festival. It’s funny, charming, romantic and, if you look closely, meaningful in its reflections on the creative process and the agony involved in artistic creation. The festival production is everything it needs to be. The answer may be pretty simple: Because American regional theaters - including Shakespeare festivals - can always use another crowd-pleaser to boost attendance.ĭon’t get me wrong.
#SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE ONLINE MOVIE#
As I drove home from the lively opening-night performance of “Shakespeare in Love” at the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, I found myself contemplating a basic question: Why, exactly, did there need to be a stage version of the 1998 Oscar-winning movie co-written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard? Playing every day but Monday, please visit or call 21 for times and ticket prices.Let us begin with a confession. Filled with action-packed adventure, fiery romance, and wit, get ready to fall head over heels for CPH Artistic Director Laura Kepley’s lush, lavish, and lusty production that celebrates the power of live theatre. Young playwright Will Shakespeare is short on inspiration until he encounters the beguiling Viola, and their star-crossed love inspires a masterpiece. The Academy Award-winning romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love comes to the stage, complete with swordfights, secret trysts, and backstage drama. Annual Reports & Comprehensive Annual Financial Reportsīased on the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard.Ohio Library for the Blind & Physically Disabled.
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