The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

Shakespeare's Plays: All of them (at least, all are mentioned)

KATE SAYS this is the corniest, silliest, and (occasionally) sophomoric production in the world. And I love it. Every time I watch it, I think, "This is the corniest, silliest, most sophomoric production," and I still laugh my head off.

Some of my favorite parts include Adam constantly throwing up, Jess's put-upon Hamlet, Ophelia's "drowning scene" (cup of water), Reed's commonsense reaction to odd moments, and, then, Adam's sudden, surprisingly serious recitation of Hamlet's "What a piece of work is man" speech.

Here's the rub: this is probably the most accurate production of Shakespeare on record: the genius of Shakespeare is that he went from corny and slapstick all the way to serious and profound. Adam--who is positively manic in this production--delivers the Hamlet speech quickly, even gaspingly, and yet the words retain their glory. Whenever I hear it, I think, "Man, that guy could write!" (I also think that at the end of Taming of the Shrew; political-correctness-scholitical-correctness--who cares about content when the words are so damn fine?!

Additionally, Reed's juggling routine mirrors how Shakespeare was produced through much of the 19th century--between sideshows, such as jugglers and the dancing bear. It wasn't until the late nineteenth century that people got all pompous about him!

Actually, they were probably pompous about him before. That's what so cool: he can be all things to all people. So, even though the Ophelia scene isn't my favorite part of the production, I often use it to teach Freudian interpretation. Nobody does it better!

MIKE SAYS okay, this is hilarious.  The framework of the play is genius, and the way it involves the audience in a fun, thoughtful, and playfully critical look at the works of Shakespeare is the way all things should taught.

While many of the works are merely mentioned and brushed over, the play still offers a pretty good summary of the ideas that Shakespeare presented, and a pretty frank assessment of their originality. While watching the play, I actually had an epiphany--Shakespeare and James Cameron had a lot in common.  Now, follow me on this one: Both men are amazingly talented, but they both have the gift of making works that people want to see; they may not always be the most original, but the expression and exploration of the old ideas are new and glorious. They're both showmen, and know how to reach the widest amount of people.

The fact that such a show like The Complete Works could be cobbled together from Shakespeare's work is solid proof of this.  The three actors give wonderfully insane performances, and jump from thoughtful to silly in a heartbeat, but they keep it rolling. While the British choose to preserve the past, we Americans make fun of it.  While it may not be very professional, it sure is a lot of fun.