The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged): Savannah Cultural Arts Theatre

The works of William Shakespeare, along with certain religious texts, have been perpetual favourites in the race to identify canonical texts. Indeed, some have even pointed to their spiritual transcendancy and nearly sacred nature. But really, they're plays. Good plays, but plays nonetheless.

And it is with just this healthy outlook that the cast of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) approach the writings of the bard and do much to pull down this false altar and dispel some time-worn shibboleths. Though Shakespeare is certainly a talented and important writer, this is no reason to lose one's head, and the cast, under the direction of Ellie Pyle, delivers a cure to this in horse-doctor's doses.

The three-man cast (Ryan McCurdy, Phil Keeling, and Darwin Hull) play exceptionally well together, rendering the works of Shakespeare not only accessible but also immenently enjoyable. Mr. Keeling pontificates on the virtues of the Bard with airs that give even us here at The Savannah Dramaturgy pause, holding forth in a style that not only indicates that he is familiar with Shakespeare, he is familiar enough to hold a little contempt. Mr. Hull, though muddy at times, comes across as enthusiastic and likeable in his attempts to tell these stories. Indeed, carrying such a play (they do, after all, cover the complete works of William Shakespeare) is much akin to a literary clean and jerk, and we look forward to more from Mr. Hull as he builds muscle. Mr. McCurdy delivers a delightfully disturbing performance as almost every single woman from the Shakespearean canon, and is capable of playing the audience with the same skill he brough to bear on his keyboard in Cardinal Rep's productions of The Rocky Horror Show.

These kinetic actors have been yoked (loosely) by the City of Savannah's new Theatre Arts Coordinator, Elizabeth (Ellie) Pyle. In her debut with the City's Cultural Arts theatre, Ms. Pyle seems to have performed a wonder akin to herding fruit bats. Further, by leavening a script originally created in 1987 with fresh popular culture (The Titus Andronicus/Cooking Show segment is translated from Julia Child to Paula Deen, for example), Ms. Pyle manages to keep things fresh.

Though they are to be applauded, the pedant within this author must shake his head slightly at the attitude with which the texts of Shakespeare are treated. In order to truly make fun of something, one must both understand it and love it. It does become obvious, at times, that the cast members are unfamiliar with the material with which they are dealing, and as such their satirical guffawing simply becomes snarky.

The second issue raised by this production has a great deal more to do with society more generally. If I recall correctly, this play is entitled The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). It is not entitled The ALMOST BUT NOT REALLY Complete Works of William Shakespeare. And yet, upon attending this production in its second weekend, this author was most disturbed to find that the treatment of Othello to have been severely truncated and, in some ways, even more severely castrated. In the original script, after a disatrous treatment of "One who loved too well..." with the actor in the guise of a habrour quay, Othello is to be summed in a rap. I found, much to my chagrin, that the rap from the script (which had also been seen in rehearsal by this author) was quite simply gone.

At this point, The Savannah Dramaturgy must ask why this change was made. Evidenced by the fact that the rap had been utilized in rehearsal, along with grapevine discussion in the city's theatrical community, the rap was cut at the behest of the city's officers or bureacrats. Dramaturgically speaking, Othello needed some form of "real" treatment akin to that accorded Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, or even Anthony and Cleopatra. And yet, it was not afforded such and was instead swept under the rug.

This was, on the part of the city, a cowardly and pandering move. Let us presume, for a moment, that the chief objection to the Othello treatment is based in being racially offensive. For the city to have simply excised the rap, as opposed to allowing the theatrical community to bring it out into the open and then (heavens forbid) actually discuss the content if the audience was offended. By eliminating the rap, the city has denied our community the opportunity to actually deal with such issues should they arise. Instead, a preemptive strike was made and the play suffers. While some might argue that Savannah's tax dollars are not being spent to offend people, The Savannah Dramaturgy counters that they should not be spent to cover up public discourse. It is a true shame that dramaturgical sense was not employed in this decision, and instead there was a mere avoidance of possible contention.