The Hollywood Fringe Festival’s Week One Diary—Part III is all about the Bard who is nicely represented this year with a number of works, these are a few that just struck my interest:
MACDETH!
From Great Britain, or as it’s known nowadays Britain, Ryan J-W Smith brings this skewing of the Scottish play, described as “Shakespeare meets Monty Python in this hilarious” as well as a trunk full of awards from other theatre festivals including “The International Award” from last year’s Hollywood Fringe. The buzz about this production is not only good; it’s good in iambic pentameter.
Interested in learning more? Click HERE or HERE!
SWEET LOVE ADIEU
From Great Britain, or as it’s known nowadays Britain, Ryan J-W Smith bring – HEY! Wait a second we’ve done this! Well, it seems ol’ J-W is a bit of an overachiever. This is his second offering in the Fringe, another verse play of his own devising which promises “Verse, Tights, Codpiece, Lights!”
Interested in learning more? Click HERE or HERE!
TITUS ANDRONICUS JR.
A recently divorced teacher, in the midst of a nervous breakdown, is given the assignment of directing the spring play at Dawson Middle School. He decides to stage Shakespeare’s most beloved and light hearted work…. Oops! Forget the “beloved and light hearted” crap; he’s going to direct Titus Andronicus. Rape, hand chopping off, cannibalism and pre-teens which is a potent mix if you ask me. Written and Directed by Troy Heard.
Interested in learning more? Click HERE or HERE!
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED)
A long, long time ago somewhere between the death of the last dinosaur and when Ann Coulter crawled out of the primordial ooze, three young actors – Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield – wrote and performed a very funny little farce called The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). The trio now wears suits of woven gold, their shoes are chiseled from diamonds, they use hundred dollar bills as TP, throw away their domestics after one use and reside in ivory castles that dwarf those of the Rhine. (Except for Long he bought Iceland). It is a very funny play and has made them richer than Auric Goldfinger and Scrooge McDuck combined. This production offers an all female cast. Tracy Eliott, Patty Jean Robinson, Anna Quirino Miranda with Hallie Cooper at the directing helm.
Interested in learning more? Click HERE or HERE!
50 SHADES OF SHAKESPEARE
Two men and two women romp through the bard’s most libidinous scenes with the audience picking every night which actor will play which role in a gender [expletive deleted] orgy.
Interested in learning more? Click HERE or HERE!
HAMLET
In this adaptation by director Rachel Lynn Walker, the Dane will be doing his brooding in the 1940s, Claudius isn’t a king but the “head of the family” and the “kingdom” being struggled over is just a mere speck in the Nevada desert called Las Vegas. Raymond Chandler meets Bill Shakespeare, the rest is noir.
Interested in learning more? Click HERE!
A LITTLE HAMLET
Hamlet before it was Hamlet. DW McCann’s notion of Shakespeare pitching this wild idea for a play to his first investors, while “Hamlet” tries to learn his role.
Interested in learning more? Click HERE!
TIMELESS
Vanzu Khonsu, (aka Jovan Rameau) explores the nature of “time” as viewed through the works of the world’s greatest writers from Sophocles on. And of course, Shakespeare. Directed by Inger Tudor.
Interested in learning more? Click HERE or HERE!
♦ ♦ ♦
Click HERE for Fringe Week One—Part IV
EDITOR’S NOTE: The close of Preview Week brings us to the inaugural opening of The Hollywood Fringe which includes eats, drinks and “the grand reveal of Fringe Central” and, of course, the Plays!!
What: FRINGE OPENING PARTY 2016
Date: Wednesday, June 8
Time: 7pm (doors open)
Where: 6510 Santa Monica Blvd
Admittance is your Fringe Button, very reasonably priced at five dollars at the door (3 dollars for participants, primary contacts have gratis status). Please note, if you purchase online now, you can avoid a ticket que on the night.
The Fringe reports that:
“The infamous Bryan’s Bar is back! Home to cheap drinks for those wearing a Fringe button and full of good times for all. To soak up the booze, get your grub on at a partnering food truck pulled right up to the patio.”
Yay! What’s not to love? Welcome to June indeed!
