Shakespeare In Hollywood

The Community Players of Concord, NH will present the highly entertaining comedic mash up, Shakespeare In Hollywood, on Friday and Saturday, May 4 and 5, at 7:30 pm, and on Sunday, May 6 at 2:00 pm, at the Concord City Auditorium (“the Audi”), 2 Prince St., Concord, NH. Tickets and information are available at www.communityplayersofconcord.org. Box office hours are Wednesday through Saturday, May 2-5, 4:30-7:30 pm, and Sunday, May 6, noon to 2:00 pm. Tickets are $20/$18, with a $2 per ticket discount for on-line purchases before May 2nd. For further ticket information, contact David Murdo at nhdm40@comcast.net, or (603) 344-4747.

It’s important to know that Shakespeare In Hollywood is NOT a Shakespeare play, so those who are allergic to Shakespeare need not worry. (Though the show does have plenty of Shakespearean references, quotes, misquotes and in-jokes that will certainly entertain.) The show’s plot is centered on the set of a movie that actually was made in 1935, when celebrated Austrian theatre director Max Reinhardt was persuaded to turn his smash stage production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream into a movie. The cast included some of Tinsel Town’s most famous movie actors, including Jimmy Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, Dick Powell, Mickey Rooney and Joe E. Brown. There was plenty of conflict on the set, as the debate between "celebrated art” vs. commercialization raged, the cultures of stage and screen clashed, and oversized egos abounded on all sides of the camera.

Playwright Ken Ludwig (Lend Me a Tenor and Moon Over Buffalo), had an idea – what if two of the play’s fairies, Oberon (king of the fairies) and Puck (his mischievous, spritely servant, who loves pranking mortals), somehow came to life, walked onto the movie set, and mistaken for substitute actors, were cast to play themselves? A central premise in Shakespeare’s play involves a magic potion wielded by Puck, which, when applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person, causes that person, upon waking, to fall in love with the first living thing he perceives. So what would happen if these fairies, smitten by the glitz and glamour of show biz, gladly assume their “star” parts, but not without applying their magic love potion now and again? In other words, what happens when you mix 1930's “movie magic” with the magic of fairyland? The answer is, a fast moving and chaotic laugh riot, where blonde bombshells, movie moguls and arrogant "asses" get tossed into loopy love triangles, transformations, and overall mayhem. For audiences, it is “a fast, funny, entertaining night.” (NBC 4)

Indeed, Director Betty Lent and her cast of 19 – half of whom are new to the Community Players of Concord - keep the action fast in this, the closing show in the Player’s 90th Anniversary season. With no blackouts and actors doing all the set changes, scenes melt in and out, with no pauses in between. The highly physical comedy of Act 2 only quickens the pace as the show barrels to its ludicrous ending. “It’s a wonderfully entertaining evening of theatre,” Lent says, “and, despite its Shakespeare references, and quick wit, the story is very accessible. There’s no need to think too much – people can just come and enjoy one of the funniest comedies they’ve seen in a long time.”