Is It Time for Broadway to Move Beyond Shakespeare?
Theater Ready for a Refresh
Hark, put away thy Broadway programs. This cometh season, the bard is once more gracing the stage with his works. Pray tell, is it not time for something new? King Lear’s crown is gathering dust.
I bear no ill will towards Willie — but hear the same lines season after season. Who doth he believe he is, Tennessee Williams?
Producers ought to venture into uncharted territories. Perhaps “Romeo and Gladys”? Consider switching “Othello.” Experiment with Benji.
I ponder, what made this writer so revered? Shakespeare was akin to a hipster. With a beard, hoop earrings, and loose garments, he crafted his own language, fathered three children, and never lifted a finger around the house.
This isn’t merely a lack of decorum on my part. But truly, we’ve had enough. Everyone is familiar with Willie. No one will utter the title “Romeo and Henrietta” in earnest.
Mark my words — if we ever establish condos on the moon, the first-grade drama instructors would be querying those children: “Needest thou the can?”
Play the Bard Card
Everyone of note has tackled Shakespeare. Actors clad in costumes include Richard Burton, Kenneth Branagh, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Ralph Fiennes, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Jeremy Irons.
Only Pete Davidson remains, who might fumble around the stage howling “Out . . . out . . . brief chamber pot!”
And what’s Broadway’s top grosser now? “Othello” featuring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal. Next year’s trial run? After Davidson, only Conan O’Brien is left.
Willie was quite the romantic. Known for “Romeo and what’s-her-name” with the line “Love is a game.” “MacBeth” echoed “Love is perilous.”
Jealousy ran rampant in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” “Much Ado About Nothing” created quite the stir over passion. The phrase “As you like it” was quite straightforward about its preferences.
Consider Willie’s “The course of love never did run smooth.” Or “I love you so much of my heart” found in “Much Ado.”
Time to Change the Script
Forget Brad and Angie, overlook Lopez and her fifth ex who returned to his first spouse.
Our Willie crafted “My love is deep, the more I give to thee” from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” He seemed to have been rather diligent — not even whimsically — when penning it.
The chap is back on Broadway. Audiences are forking out nearly $1,000 to witness — and that’s merely for a rehash of what Willie has been saying for 500 years. Enough is enough.
Last year, the Tony went to an obscure musical no one had heard of. Title? “Shucked.” You could’ve snagged a seat for perhaps $49. Its Tony-winning star, Alex Newell, was a name unknown to most.
Yes, prices are escalating everywhere — milk, eggs, automobiles, crew members, performers. Yet Broadway is the essence of NYC.
Without the Great White Way, all that remains is Fifth Avenue where prices soar higher than a politician’s gaze.
And even Hunter Biden, who seems to be utterly unfamiliar with the concept of “work,” may need to rent out what’s left of his father’s reputation.
Television has deteriorated to the point where children are actually completing their homework. One 9-year-old had to marry due to winning a honeymoon vacation in Hawaii on a quiz show.
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.
