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HSRT presents no-holds-barred Bard
By Sue Merrell
The Grand Rapids Press
7/15/09
 You’re not going to believe what Hope Summer Repertory Theatre has done with “The Cmplt Wrks of Wm Shkspr Abrdgd.”
Granted, any show that tries to present all 37 Shakespeare plays in two hours is pretty unbelievable to start with, but director James Saba wants to make sure everyone knows this is the no-holds-barred version, and he makes his point quite well from the moment the unbelievable set, shall we say, arrives.
That beginning – which I dare not reveal – is hard to top, but the three actors certainly try. Hanging from a ladder for Juliet’s balcony scene. Demanding a seat from someone in the audience. Even melting like the Wicked Witch on the West in “The Wizard of Oz.”
Audience participation
Friday’s sold-out house of 500 also got more than it bargained for in audience participation, including a kiss, a knife at the throat and an elaborate group wave (not to mention you’d better keep an eye on your purse.)
Created in 1987 by the Reduced Shakespeare Comapany, “The Cmplt Wrks of Wm Shkspr, Abrdgd” bears only a glancing resemblance to the Bard’s work. “Titus Andronicus” becomes a cooking show, with Jonathan Spivey pulling a Julia Child voice out of his chef’s hat. “Othello” becomes a rap song. The histories are combined into a football game tossing around the British royal crown. There are a few comments on the plays, but usually the humor comes from heading off on a completely different tangent.
In fact, the scene combining all of Shakespeare’s comedies is the dullest 10 minutes of the evening, barely inspiring a smile, even with each actor wearing clownish headgear.
Teddy Yudain gets most of the female roles, wearing long, unruly wigs and sometimes revealing necklines. When it comes to wardrobe malfunctions, however, Michael Hanson’s boxom nurse in “Romeo and Juliet” got the biggest laughs.
Hanson gave some wonderful, though brief, portrayals, including a prissy Romeo with an exaggerated codpiece and a toothy Polonius in “Hamlet.” He also did fairly well as a stand-up comedian improvising while the other two actors were off stage at the beginning of each act.
The second act is devoted to “Hamlet,” with Spivey playing the title role. He got his biggest laughs when he interrupted one of Hamlet’s famous soliloquies to pay tribute to Susan Boyle, a Scottish spinster who recently wowed the world with her performance on “Britain’s Got Talent,” but lost in the final round.
Yudain took up the torch with a serious delivery of the soliloquy and you could have heard a pin drop as everyone savored the Bard’s words for a few brief moments before the insanity resumed.
You don’t need to know much about Shakespeare to enjoy this show – and don’t expect to learn much. But come prepared to laugh. You just will not believe it.
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