Welcome to Colonial Players Fall Production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)!
This play, written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield, premiered at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1987. It was then performed for nine record-breaking years on London’s West End, and has been the world’s most performed stage parody for the last 20 years.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) is a hilarious, fast-paced romp through the Bard’s extensive playbook. The original cast included three (that’s right, only three) men in tights who weaved their wacky way through ALL of Shakespeare’s comedies, histories, tragedies and some sonnets in one wild 90 minute show (give or take a few minutes).
The authors developed this show in a non-traditional manner, mixing modern commentary with the Bard’s verse. The result provided our students the opportunity to understand and perform pivotal scenes from Shakespeare, while also challenging their physical and improvisational comedic timing. In addition, our students needed to possess a sense of humor, high energy, a willingness to take risks, and a heightened sense of awareness in order for this show to be successful. We hope you will sit back and enjoy the authors' edgy foolery and leave our theatre laughing (and, of course, wanting to see the show again).
The dedication and time invested by all the students is apparent in the final product of this show. In addition to our actors, student crew members have helped to create a comedic environment. I would be remiss if I did not thank Abbie Polsky for her dedication this fall as Stage Manager. As a collective team, the cast and crew brought this intense story to life.
A number of adults contributed countless hours to make this fall production a success. It goes without saying that I appreciate their friendship, time, creative energy, and dedication to the students and to the Colonial Players program. Melissa Downer (PW Class of ’94) and Brian Weiner, thank you for your countless hours blocking and creating quirky and enjoyable characters. Your efforts truly show in this final production. Jordan Sones (’06), thank you for your willingness to always help with more than just our exceptional lighting scheme – it is always appreciated. Barb Sharavsky, your attention to detail and patience with costumes and make-up always adds a new level of depth to our shows. Jen Crea continues to keep us all on-point as our Business Manager, and her hard work is always appreciated. Paul Marro provided creative guidance to our design and paint crew. And, thank you to Eric Scheidly for his support in ensuring the cast’s hard work could be heard by our audience. I feel honored to work with such a great team.
