The Complete Works of Shakespeare

Welcome to the minor leagues of Monty Python Meets Bugs Bunny. Three energetic actors in sneakers (David Raphaely, John Zak and Brian McCann) attempt a feat “unprecedented in the history of theater”: to distill all of Shakespeare’s 37 plays as well as his 150 sonnets into a single evening and “make these 400-year-old plays accessible to a modern audience,” aided only by a seemingly endless stock of costumes, props and bad puns (Hamlet is confused with Winnie the Pooh’s friend Piglet). Some of the slapstick ideas are inspired (a rap version of Othello, Macbeth performed in genuine Scottish accents, Titus Andronicus as a TV cooking show, Hamlet performed backwards, like a VCR tape rewinding), but for the most part I found the slapstick gags sophomoric and heavy-handed and the actors’ execution too self-congratulatory. To be sure, John Zak contributes a very funny turn as an actor who just doesn’t want to do Hamlet, and the opening night audience— whose participation was often encouraged (e.g., “By yonder blessed virgin I swear…”)— seemed to be having a great time. High school students who’ve been force-fed the Bard will probably love this show, and may even learn something from it.— Dan Rottenberg.