Stage: The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged)

Bite-size bard: Shakespeare gets hilarious short shrift in The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged)

By Jessica Kruse

If you're a purist when it comes to Shakespeare (that is, if you can recite Shakespearean monologues on command, if nothing less than a stunning performance of King Lear or The Tempest will do, and if the idea of anyone joking about the Bard has you grinding your teeth in rage) stop reading this. I mean it. Stop right now. For the rest of you--dabblers and aficionados alike--welcome to the wonderful world of Shakespeare. Sort of.

In The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged), 60 Shakespearean works are performed in approximately two hours. If you're remotely good at math, you'll realize that even on a good day this demands just the slightest bit of editing, the result being similar to what might happen if Shakespeare were taken over by Monty Python. Even the most famously gruesome scenes become funny in the hands of these actors. Blood, wrath, death, sex--nothing remains sacred.

Over two hours, the show manages to make Titus Andronicus into a Julia Child-esque cooking show, combines all of Shakespeare's comedies into one play titled The Love Boat Goes to Verona, runs the histories as a play-by-play football game, and performs Hamlet four times (including once backwards). The show even comes equipped with a blow-up doll to play a fourth character when necessary. And throughout all of this, the audience never stops laughing.

In fact, it's virtually impossible not to laugh. The show is just that good and the actors are all fantastic. The three (yes, only three) players, Stage Door Entertainment's Shawn Hackler, Jonathan Maimes and Jennifer Tidwell, take advantage of their acting talent as well as previous experience and training in Shakespearean theatre. And it shows. The play is wickedly funny, but the talent and affection for performing Shakespeare is evident the entire time.

Okay, so I might have lied a little. If you're a Shakespeare purist you could possibly still enjoy this show. But for anyone seeing this play, you need to put aside whatever preconceived notions you have about the Bard, sit back and simply enjoy. It's not your high school English class Shakespeare, but really, who wants that anyway?