Jennifer Alpeche's Blog

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon made its debut in July 2006 and in celebration of its addition to the Royal Shakespeare Company's group of theatres, the RSC will be offering 100 free tickets for theatre-goers under 30, through the month of August. To secure your free tickets, simply go here.

Based on the Elizabethan courtyard theatres, the RSC's Courtyard Theatre seats 1,000 and features a thrust stage. It is a prototype for the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre, which will begin its transformation in spring 2007, right after the Complete Works Festival ends its year-long program.

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

In his review of Shakespeare in the Park's presentation of Macbeth, John Heilpern of The New York Observer comments on the production as well as the state of the Public Theatre's Shakespeare program overall and how it could use a more focused approach. For instance: hiring a director who understands Shakespeare. I should say so.

Indeed, why hire a director that doesn't have a background in Shakespeare? We've seen that even directors that do can have hits and misses (i.e. Kenneth Branagh). I suppose the idea is that such a director would bring a fresh perspective to the Bard's work, but not if he/she isn't certain where to begin, which seems to be he case with Moises Kaufman's adaptation.

I would definitely agree with what Mr. Heilpern says about the power of Macbeth resting with its story of slumbering ambition and ensuing self-destruction. It's a powerful story all its own; one that doesn't need distractions, such as a WWI setting and apparently, some time travel?!

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

You may have heard that a rare first folio containing 36 of Shakespeare's plays, including first publishings of Macbeth, Twelfth Night, and 16 other works, was sold at Sotheby's for £2.8 million or $5.2 million on July 13, 2006. Amazing! According to the auction house, it was purchased by an anonymous London book dealer.

Published in 1623 -- seven years after Shakespeare passed away -- the First Folio is in truth priceless. To be sold for a record amount isn't surprising, but to place a price on the book at all seems almost impossible. Imagine if these works were lost forever? I can't imagine not knowing Viola or Macbeth or any of the other incredibly vivid characters Shakespeare created.

Still in its 17th-century binding, the book was sold as part of Sotheby's sale of English Literature and History. It also includes "extensive markings and annotations", which offers further insight into the time, the period, the Bard. I can't imagine possessing such a treasure.

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Next Stage Ensemble is a summer training program that helps students refine their skills in voice and movement while also providing them the opportunity to perform in hour-long productions. The touring company also helps bring Shakespeare to the people, especially those who may not be able to travel. Performances are held in libraries, community centers, bookstores, summer camps, retirement communities, and schools.

This year, the Next Stage Ensemble is staging The Tempest and The Comedy of Errors. Check out the schedule to learn when the Ensemble might be in your area, such as the upcoming Picnic Series performance on July 15. Pack a lunch and enjoy an afternoon with the Bard at F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre on the campus of Drew University.

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C., declared "the nation's foremost Shakespeare company" by The Wall Street Journal", recently announced that The Harman Center for the Arts will open in October 2007, helping to transform the company into a national destination theatre. The new center will comprise of the existing Lansburgh Theatre and the new (still under construction) Sydney Harman Hall, which is now 60 percent complete. The major project is not only historic for the Shakespeare Theatre Company, but for all performing arts in the Washington D.C. area.

Landon Butler, Chairman of the Shakespeare Theatre Company Board of Trustees, noted "The building of this new complex, along with a number of other recently completed facilities including the Studio Theatre's new space, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and the Atlas Performing Arts Center, represent a significant increase in the infrastructure of the performing arts in Washington."

The Harman Center for the Arts, which will cost an estimated $85 million, has received $55 million in contributions. Dr. Sidney Harman and the Harman family, of which the new center will be named after, have given $19.5 million in support of the project and the performing arts in general. The family also recently donated $500,000 for the company's Free for All. A $20 million grant was also given by the District of Columbia in 2004, in full support of the Shakespeare Theatre Company's vision.

Suffice it to say, it's definitely an exciting time for the performing arts in Washington D.C. and I believe many will be watching the Shakespeare Theatre Company in the next year as a model of how to build around a successful theatre program -- artistically, educationally, and economically -- to the benefit of all.

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* Based on official press release "Shakespeare Theatre Company Announces the Harman Center for the Arts Will Open on October 1, 2007". Shakepeare Theatre Company.

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

In April 2006, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) launched the ambitious Complete Works Festival, a year-long celebration staging all of Shakespeare's works - from plays to poems.

Now the RSC has announced its plans to transform the Royal Shakespeare Theatre into a more intimate venue, a "modern take" on the stage upon which Shakespeare originally performed over 400 years ago. The current auditorium in Statford-upon-Avon was built in 1932 and is influenced by cinema design; but in its new presentation, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre will seat just over 1,000 people, feature a thrust stage, and bring the furthest seat in from 30 meters to 15.

The transformation is scheduled to begin in spring 2007, after the end of the Complete Works Festival. The project is estimated to cost £100 million (of which £85 has already been pledged) and will take three years, during which time the RSC will continue to perform in Stratford-upon-Avon at the Courtyard Theatre, a prototype of the planned Royal Shakespeare Theatre, set to open in July 2006 with Michael Boyd's Henry VI trilogy).

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* Based on official RSC press release.

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

As was reported by Broadway World *, The Public Theatre's first preview of William Shakespeare's Macbeth will be delayed by one day, with the debut happening Wednesday, June 14 instead. The cause of the delay: the weather.

Recent rains have somewhat slowed the play's production, but no other delay is expected. Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Mara Manus made the announcement. The rest of Macbeth's schedule should continue as planned (June 14 - July 9).

The Shakespeare in the Park production stars Liev Schreiber as Macbeth and Jennifer Ehle as Lady Macbeth. In this staging, Macbeth is a "victorious general who applies the rules of war to domestic politics and in the process turns his country upside down."(1)

See this political thriller at the Delacorte Theatre in NYC's Central Park beginning Wednesday. Showtime is at 8:30pm and free tickets may be picked up the day of the performance at Delacorte Theatre starting at 1pm, or at The Public Theatre Box Office from 1-3pm.

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* "Rains Delay Shakespeare in the Park's Macbeth by One Day". Broadway World. June 10, 2006.

(1) Official write-up. The Public Theatre.

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

Yesterday on BBC1, "Imagine... Being Hamlet" aired and I wish I could have seen it. In the documentary, Alan Yentob follows Wayne Cater as he prepares to play Hamlet, the role many actors regard as their rite of passage. Other actors who have played the part are also interviewed, including Sir Derek Jacobi and Ralph Fiennes.

For those lucky enough to get BBC channels, another Shakespeare documentary will be airing on BBC4 Wednesday night: "The Hobart Shakespeareans", which spotlights fifth-graders at Hobart Elementary and their teacher Rafe Esquith, a man determined to introduce Shakespeare to his students. At the end of the year, the kids expertly stage Hamlet "with aplomb" and it's said to be something we just got to see. I wish I could!

While here at Suite101.com, you can read about soliloquies in "The Soliloquy..." and learn all about Canada's outdoor Shakespeare Festivals, thanks to Sarah B. Hood's awesome guide. (Thank you, Sarah!)

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

Imagine no Macbeth or Viola or... Hamlet?!

This may have been the case had it not been for John Heminges and Henry Condell, two actors of the King's Men, the theatre company that originally performed William Shakespeare's plays.

Seven years after the Bard's death in 1616, Heminges and Condell produced the First Folio containing 36 of Shakespeare's plays, including "Twelfth Night" and "Antony and Cleopatra". Many experts say that had not this folio been compiled, the works could have been lost to Time. Shakespeare himself never attempted to get his works published during his lifetime.

The task thus fell to his mates, who knew how important these plays would be. On July 13, Sotheby's of London will be auctioning off a rare first-edition folio to private collectors. Only one other folio is in the hands of a private collector: oil magnate J. Paul Getty. Of the approx. 750 copies originally printed, about a third survive (in varying conditino) and can be found in libraries and institutions throughout the world.

The folio that Sotheby's is auctioning has its original calf-skiin binding and also includes ink markings made by previous owners. For the past 300 years, the folio has been part of the Dr. Williams' Library in London. The sale of the book should help the library with its own preservation.

The expected value of the book? Sotheby's expects it to sell between $4 million and $6 million.

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

This makes you smile. When quality art-appreciation projects are given the support they need to 1) get made and 2) be found. In the more recent announcment of the National Endowment of the Arts Awards, there was one that stood out for the Shakespeare follower:

Oregon Public Broadcasting; Portland, OR; $25,000. To support the production of a documentary film about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. Directed by Jon Else and produced by Bonni Cohen, Shakespeare's Wings will be a two-hour, behind-the-scenes cinema verite program intended for national broadcast on PBS. (Source: NEA)

Founded over 60 years ago, the Oregeon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a theatre company most worthy of such attention, and through the broadcast of such a feature, it can only help further not only the efforts of OSF, but Shakespearean companies/groups throughout the country - big and small.

The Bard's poetry and drama will certainly live on forever, but though staged, these works still need to be seen. In the new documentary, the success of OSF will surely be explored. At last count, the company was presenting more than 780 performances a year for approximately 360,000 patrons!

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

Beautiful to read and riveting to listen to, the St. Crispin's Day speech in Henry V is one to inspire.

Listen to an MP3 of Kenneth Branagh's version (from his Henry V) here, which I feel gets it very much right. Very moving to hear (and see), the speech is complemented by a score that swells and quiets at precise moments. Though specific to England, one cannot help but feel inspired by Shakespeare's words, as King Harry's asks these soldiers to believe in one another, to ignore the odds, and to feel the pride of being there on the battlefield versus somewhere safe.

In his review of Branagh's 1989 film, Roger Ebert noted:

There is no more stirring summons to arms in all of literature than Henry's speech to his troops on St. Crispin's Day, ending with the lyrical "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers." To deliver this speech successfully is to pass the acid test for anyone daring to perform the role of Henry V in public, and as Kenneth Branagh, as Henry, stood up on the dawn of the Battle of Agincourt and delivered the famous words, I was emotionally stirred even though I had heard them many times before. That is one test of a great Shakespearian actor: to take the familiar and make it new.

-- And so what did you think of it? Does Branagh pass your acid test?

Also, do you all remember in the fifth season finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ("The Gift"), as Buffy and her team leave to battle Glory and her minions, Spike and Rupert Giles - the two Brits - make the following exchange:

Buffy: Everybody knows their jobs. Remember, the ritual starts, we all die. And I'll kill anyone who comes near Dawn.

Spike: Well, not exactly the St. Crispin's Day speech, was it?

Giled: We few... we happy few.

Spike: We band of buggered.

Good for a laugh, but just again astonishing how Shakespeare exists in our modern world, as relevant today as he was 400+ years ago.

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Ebert, Roger. Henry V. SunTimes.com. December 15, 1989.

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

On this special day, fans of William Shakespeare all over the world, celebrate his birth. Perhaps you will read a sonnet or a favorite passage, watch an adaptation, or simply wish him a happy birthday. For the most dedicated however, a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon this time of year is no doubt the stuff of dreams.

This year, festivities were scheduled for the weekend of April 22-23, and included street theatre, the Shakespeare Morris Men, Children's Country Dancing, the Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers, and the Coventry Corps of Drums. On Saturday, a marvelous procession journeyed to Holy Trinity Church to unfurl flags and lay floral tributes at the Bard's grave. On Sunday, many returned for the annual Shakespeare Service.

And what did you do? Reading this entry should qualify, as you're sure to have wished him well. How about this famous quote:

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so".

--Hamlet, Act II, scene ii

The Royal Shakespeare Company's Complete Works Festival also begins today. Yay!

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

When I saw that it was Emma Thompson's birthday today, and given how my mind often floats to Shakespeare, I of course thought of her portrayal as Beatrice in Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (1993). Married in real life at the time, both Thompson and Branagh brought the best out in each other, and with Beatrice and Benedick, that worked perfectly well.

I also thought of why we root for couples like B&B, Darcy and Elizabeth or C.K. Dexter Haven and Tracy Lord ("The Philadelphia Story"), and I think it's because it's so clearly obvious that they belong together -- if only they would put the gloves down for a moment; set aside their pride and prejudice; talk.

I love such couples, and it's truly the getting-there that's most thrilling. Once they do get together, it's wonderful still, but it's the verbal jabs that make you shake your head with the knowing that these two people may know a lot, but they have yet to open their eyes and hearts to what's right in front of them. And it's the arguments and disagreements that make the moment when they DO get together, all the more powerful. In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare let Beatrice and Benedick fight their battles, but it's clear that he was also working his magic, bringing his star couple closer together as we cheer on from the sidelines.

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

In two weeks, the Royal Shakespeare Company will kick off a year-long celebration with its Complete Works Festival. But for those of us unable to reach Stratford-upon-Avon, there's always a festival nearby. The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival for instance is currently showing The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged in 97 minutes) and Much Ado About Nothing. On Friday, April 14, the repertory season will add its run of The Tempest. Currently in only its ninth season, the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival aspires to be the city's resource for "great classical theatre". Tickets are $25 for all performances. The season will end May 21. And so - what's playing in your area? Something grand, I'm sure!

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

Late last year (Nov 2 to Dec 11, 2005), the award-winning Classic Stage Company staged William Shakespeare's Hamlet with Michael Cumpsty in the starring role. During that same period of time, CSC also highlighted plays that contributed to the "Revenge Tragedies of the Elizabethan Age": Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, John Marston's Antonio's Revenge and Phillip Messinger's The Roman Actor. This spring, the company's promotion of Elizabethan plays and Shakespeare's genius continues with "Monday Night Lear", in which King Lear will be presented in four evenings via the interpretations of four distinct actors. The first performance is April 17 (NY, NY).

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

Founded in 1935, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is one of the oldest and largest theatres of its kind in the world. A non-profit organization, the OSF stages an eight-and-a-half-month season annually and welcomes approximately 360,000 theatregoers each year. For the 2006 season, OSF offers 11 plays to choose from, including four from William Shakespeare: The Winter's Tale, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and King John. Presently playing at the Angus Bowmer Theatre is The Winter's Tale, a story of betrayal and irrational paranoia, remorse and atonement, secret identities, and a wrong made right a generation later. The play will continue until October 29, 2006. The next Shakespeare play to take the stage will be The Merry Wives of Windsor June 6.

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

Variety critic Toby Zinman notes that while director Tina Landau's musical take on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Matthews Theater at McCarter Theater Center in Princeton, New Jersey) is "fun", it ultimately misses the mark on tone, style and delivery. The lyrics (mostly lines from the play) are apparently "often difficult to understand over the loud music." Reading this, I could see why the production would receive a negative response, for the words are the thing with Shakespeare, and if they're overpowered by music or garbled by shaky mics, then why even use the Bard's lines at all? Based on Mr. Zinman's review, I'd say that this "highbrow musical" has attempted to transform timeless eloquence into commercial pop, and not surprisingly, come away the lesser for it. (Music by GrooveLily.)

Posted by Jennifer Alpeche

The Royal Shakespeare Company's history dates back to 1879, when the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was opened and a performance of Much Ado About Nothing was staged. From that one production grew another, as did the company's recognition. Post-1945, it began to win acclaim thanks to stars such as Michael Redgrave, John Gielgud, Vivien Leigh, and Laurence Olivier. In 1961, the company adopted its current name, and to this day, remains committed: to keeping modern audiences in touch with Shakespeare's work. This year, the RSC takes on - the complete works.