Of all of Shakespeare's plays, I'm hard-pressed to think of one that contains so many jokes at the author's own expense.
It's fascinating for me to imagine this eccentric, hyper-active man locked away in a room somewhere in London, scribbling away furiously on Romeo and Juliet; pouring some of the greatest language ever written about love onto parchment, and then, to give himself a break from tragedy, spinning his chair around to a completely different desk and writing jokes about butts, magic, and his own source material for Romeo and Juliet. For goodness' sake, he even has Theseus say in this play "don't have an epilogue, if the play is good enough you don't need an excuse" and then Shakespeare immediately has Puck deliver an epilogue.
Was he afraid the play wasn't funny? Honestly, I doubt it. I think he knew he had a hit - I just think he couldn't resist making one last meta-theatrical joke at his own expense.
Why does any of this matter? Because Shakespeare knew that Theatre was always two things at the same time: Tragedy and Comedy.
That's why the art form's emblematic masks are what they are. The actors, directors, designers, the artists and artisans who make Theatre - we should all take time to reflect on the dark and complicated nature and behaviors of humanity, the better to understand ourselves and thus make a better world, and to share those stories with audiences to move them in the true cathartic sense.
And also (as Shakespeare clearly knew): sometimes you gotta make jokes about butts. And magical faeries. And sometimes you even need to make jokes about Theatre, so that we all remember not to take ourselves too seriously all the time. If we don't take the time to laugh, then we're never going to enjoy the time we have here on this little rock that's flying through space.
There's room in the art form for all of it, and there's benefits to be gained from all of it. This particular production has been an immense joy for me personally. Designers and crews who have worked diligently to bring the world to vivid life, and a cast who have fearlessly flung themselves into one of Shakespeare's most vivid cartoon-worlds with a joyous abandon that was an absolute delight to be part of.
My thanks to Ms. Carroll, Ms. Holder, and Mrs. Kennedy, as well as all of our fabulous Booster volunteers. Thank you all for coming, and we hope you enjoy the show!
