The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at Harlequin in down town Olympia. An irreverent, hilarious, high-speed romp through all 37 of the Bard’s plays (and 154 sonnets) in under two hours! Every second was used and abused with comic action and commentary. All performed by three actors. My wife Peggy couldn’t join me for this Sunday miracle, so I invited my friend, Ryan. This was his first time seeing a live on stage production. He was thrilled and loved it!
What a fantastic production. This is the best show of The Complete Works that I have ever seen. The three actors were great, but what really made it work, was the teeny, tiny, stage they used. Four audience sections were created for the one hundred lucky people who had tickets.
The actual stage was about eighteen feet wide and fourteen feet deep. (this photo was shot during rehearsal) Each of the four corners allowed the actors to zoom in and out. Near the end play the audience was attacked with spray cans . . . everyone howled, laughed, and cheered,
The play opens with a welcome by Drew Doyle in his suit of many colors and patterns. I look forward to more roles by this Los Angeles native now living here in the Olympia area.
This was the first time I’ve seem Alyssa Kay on stage. She is a fight director, and I loved her fight staging in Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville, and Murder for Two. She did a marvelous job of acting and fighting in The Complete Works!
Eleise Moore was everywhere. Peggy and I’ve seen Eleise in two of our Harlequin favorite productions: Baskerville and Every Brilliant Thing. Joining us in Every Brilliant Thing was my cousin Lindy (Lavinia) who is an actress and director herself. We were all three blown away by Moore’s skill. EBT was fantastic and similar to The Complete Works as a black box production and audience involvement. I can hardly wait to see more of all three of these actors, again.
The Complete Works runs through March 31st, but you may have to buy or beg tickets from your friends. With only 100 seats, your chances might be slim . . . but well worth it.
For more information please visit: https://harlequinproductions.org/
I absolutely enjoyed the show and it was a great one to get me back into my love of theater and musicals. I would highly recommend that if you’re wanting to start seeing very interesting plays sign up to be an usher at local play houses. Thank you again, Don and Peg.