Theatre Review: Shakesbeer Honors Shakespeare’s Sentimentality
Part of why I love Shakesbeer is that I truly believe I am seeing the actors of tomorrow do some of the best renditions of yesterday’s literature. With scenes from As You Like It, Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, and Tartuffe by Moliere, Shakesbeer both entertains and stuns you with its talent because it is never easy to get on stage, but, when the stage is a barstool, it is harder.
Honestly, I love the crowd Shakesbeer attracts. It is a ripe blend of literature geeks, theatre nerds, and a few tourists that looked up TimeOut’s things to do in the city. Yet, all are connected by their easy-going personalities and the overt eagerness to be happy. The jovial audience is so open to admiring the show and being awed that somebody could continue acting, despite heckling.
Sonnet 78 – The Peace Fountain, Manhattan
For the first time in my Shakesbeer history, actors were heckled by another crowd. A bunch of rowdy guys became overzealous and tried to disrupt the actors’ scenes through yelling and subtle shaming. Although I am not surprised that this happened, it was disappointing. It is a risk, in pub crawl, that you will meet an Inebriated fool. Yet, kudos has to go to Shakespeare Exchange, which teaches and runs other Shakespearean shows/ events throughout the city. These dramaturgists and directors DO NOT play with their actors. They have taught the actors’ to push through and the result is a show that humbles Shakespeare.
When people talk about Shakespeare, at times, they gloat over his complexity. Yet, the truth is he is an easier writer to understand than most assume. His language is poetically emotional, and, once you grab the sentiment, you grasp the soliloquy. Shakesbeer sees this and gives some of the clearest, most accessible renditions of Shakespeare I have ever witnessed. It is easy to confirm that Shakespeare is smart, but they also show he was emotionally intelligent; talking about mental health, gang violence, and gender fluidity before any of those terms existed. Thankfully, Shakesbeer sees that, and this weekend, you can too. Click Here To Buy Tickets.
