I drove home in haste, went to my library, pulled out my beloved tome of the complete works of The Bard. I gave a short prayer. I went to my collection of scripts and retrieved The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr. Just what had Adam Brick, Joshua Everett Johnson, and Tim Park done to the master. They did exactly what playwright/performers Jess Borgeson, Adam Long, & Daniel Singer had written with some hilarious embellishments.
Director Rob Salas and a great design team enhanced the production, giving their audience a delightful evening. Ken Imaizumi and Heather-Michelle Mowery brought an array of outlandish, yet sorta period costumes. Bonnie Durben’s props complimented the costumes in their off-the-wall designs. The skull is a work of genius. Ashley Jenks’ lighting design allowed the show its own feel even though it is played on the set of Sailor’s Song.
Enough of the behind-the-scenes folks . . . this is the Tim, Adam, and Joshua show. And what a show it was! The energy of these three young men is astounding. This is by far the best production of the three I’ve seen. While it helps to be familiar with The Bard; in this production, it is not necessary.
Tim provided a rousing prologue. Due to a serious time displacement, Hitler and the Nazi regime got involved with the history of Shakespeare. This was just a wee bit of century clash. Then it was time for the conflicts between the Montagues and the Capulets and their offspring, Romeo and Juliet.
Then in rapid succession the complete works of William Shakespeare spew forth in a torrent of familiar lines. Alas and alack, just as we thought we were finished with all of the plays, it was discovered that the sonnets were not properly recognized. Oh, there was a heated debate about even considering the reduction of Hamlet and thus was born the second act.
Not totally happy with entertaining us, the stage three took a lovely lady from the audience, beckoning her to play Ophelia in the scream scene. Not happy with just that, they dragged a man from the audience and made him run back and forth across the stage on command. Still not happy, they quadrasected the audience into wavers and various chanters, and commanded us to perform for them. The chanters represented Ophelia’s Id, Ego, and Superego. The poor man ran crazily back and forth on the stage. It was all quite a frenzy. One of the evil three stopped the audience participation for the famous Ophelia scream.
The absolute joy of The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr is recognizing the snippets and remembering a given play. In this production, watching three zany actors bring the audience to uproarious laughter added so much. Further, they were not content with just the stage, but performed in the audience area as well. Whether you are knowledgeable about The Bard, be sure to see this production. You could go on Sunday and see a matinee of Sailor’s Song and The Compleat Works of Wllm S hkspr at seven.
Cast
Adam Brick, Joshua Everett Johnson, Tim Parker
Technical Staff
Costume Design Ken Imaizumi with Heather-Michelle Mowery, Light Design Ashley Jenks, Props Bonnie Durben
Genre: Comedy
Author: Jess Borgeson, Adam Long, & Daniel Singer
Director: Rob Salas
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2008
Dates: Sun, Tue, Wed 7 pm (Aug 10-20), Thu-Sun (Aug 28-31)
Running Time: 134 minutes with a 10-minute intermission
New Village Arts
New Village Arts Theatre
2787B State Street
Carlsbad, CA
Box Office Phone: 760 433-3245
Edress: www.NewVillageArts.Org