Andre Holland and Annie Parisse. Photo Credit: Sara Krulwich.
The Public Theater’s annual production of two Shakespeare plays in Central Park is as sensational now as it was when the tradition began 44 years ago. Running 2 hours and 30 minutes with a 15 minute intermission, this year’s All’s Well That Ends Well tells the story of low-born Helena and her creative attempts to win the aristocratic Count Bertram’s love. Although one of Shakespeare’s lesser known works, this problem play displays both a wide array of characters as well as a surprisingly contemporary feel. While Shakespeare in the Park always performs its plays as they would have been performed at the Globe, certain elements of All’s Well That Ends Well, especially the war scenes and Helena’s strong, independent attitude, made the performance sometimes seem to be set during World War I, giving the play both a relatable modern flavor and a taste of 17th century England.
The play itself, already a fairytale for grown-ups, was only made more magical by the atmosphere of the Delacorte Theater. [click to continue…]
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all's well that ends well,
Delacorte Theatre,
Shakespeare in the Park,
The Public Theater
Urge for Going will run through April 17 at the Public Theater. (Tickets are $15.)
Packed tight into a small stage, it is clear that some thick accents and some bold characters can go a long way. The Public Theater’s Urge For Going (written by Mona Mansour and directed by Hal Brooks) travels through a young girl’s life in a small kitchen, where she is crammed between one too many family members, and the urge to escape.
The story takes place in a refugee camp in Palestine, and the set does the story justice. The stage is set up as a small kitchen with a television that only has access to a few channels, and holes that run down the walls.
The main character we are introduced to is Jamila, who is clearly living in the wrong place at the wrong time. The people she depends on for support can hardly give her anything she needs. Her father who is her only role model, is hardly responsive. We see throughout the play, she becomes more independent and becomes the family’s support overall. This is because she knows that once she leaves her home, she will have opportunities to do things that no one in the family has ever dreamed of. [click to continue…]
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Hal Brooks,
Mona Mansour,
The Public Theater,
Theater Teen Reviewers and Critics,
Urge for Going
One of the great things about living in New York City is that we have the opportunity to do things that many people wouldn’t get to do anywhere else; for example, a free week-long immersion into Shakespeare run by the professionals behind Shakespeare in the Park.
This was my second summer doing Shakespeare Lab Jr., and I wondered how it would be compared to last year. This five-day program held at the Public Theater on Lafayette Street is aimed at the same people who are part of High 5: teens (13-19) living in the five boroughs.
Last year I was put in the 8th/9th grade group, but this year I was going to be in the 10th/11th/12th grade group, and I worried it would be more intense. It was in a different studio, and with none of the same people as last year, but some teens had done it before, as I had.
The workshop includes learning about a Shakespeare play and its characters, doing theater warm-ups/games, and focusing on sonnet writing and structure. At the end of the week, parents are invited to a presentation. [click to continue…]
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Programs for Teens,
Shakespeare in the Park,
Shakespeare Lab Jr.,
Summer Shake Up,
The Public Theater
Well, hello, President Jackson.
There is an upside-down stuffed crocodile body hanging to the right, a faux red fox on the piano on the stage, and what looks like a veiled werewolf head to the left. Blood-red velvet curtains are draped around the walls, and chandeliers hang from various positions on the ceiling. The stage has a strong western look, but ironically, fancy portraits of men in old-fashioned clothing line the walls. Then a man wearing black skinny jeans walks out after a song from the ensemble, addresses the audience, curses, and starts singing a rock song.
This man is Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States. [click to continue…]
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Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,
The Public Theater
Shakepeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theatre
Walking into the Shakespeare in the Park performance at the Delacorte Theatre, the vampire-esque music in the background let the audience know right from the start that the Greek play, The Bacchae by Euripides, was going to be dramatic. A tragedy? Yes, but also a horror story.
The story centers on a government that has outlawed love. The horror comes in when the people get a visit from the god of wine, Dionysus (also called Bacchus, and very well played by Jonathan Groff), and they refuse to worship him by joining in drink and revelry. This is when Dionysus’s possessed worshipers, called the Bacchae, descend to terrorize the Greek town of Thebes. [click to continue…]
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Delacorte Theatre,
Shakespeare in the Park,
The Public Theater
$5 Tickets
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