honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, March 28, 2009

'Fun and accessible' Shakespeare

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

From top: Jordan Savusa as Romeo, Paul T. Mitri as Juliet, R. Kevin Doyle as Hamlet, and, alas, poor Yorick, in HRT’s “Shakespeare.”

spacer spacer

If you've ever wanted to say you've seen all the Bard's plays, you might be able to after less than two hours.

For its season finale, Hawaii Repertory Theatre is staging "The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)." Really abridged, as in 37 plays in 97 minutes, with three actors playing all parts.

Will the play make you a Shakespeare scholar? No. But if you've ever found it hard to find the humor in the revered playwright's comedies, this might be for you.

"We chose the play because it creates a lighthearted, nonthreatening atmosphere in which we can introduce people to Shakespeare in performance," said executive director Brian Lee Sackett. "For those people whose 'life Shakesperience' is lacking or, even worse, traumatic, you will see some Shakespeare done in this production, but done in a way that makes it fun and easily accessible."

The play will be staged at the Kawananakoa Backstage Theatre 7:30 tonight and 3:30 p.m. tomorrow, then three more times before it closes April 5.

Tickets are $25, with discounts for seniors and students. Information: 545-7170, www.hawaiireptheatre.org.