QPORIT

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE is believed to have been born on this day in 1564. He is known to have died on this day in 1616. 

(There's an actual record of his death. There's no record of his birth, but there is a record of his baptism, from which the date of his birth is assumed.)

He lived through a tumultuous period, writing some of the greatest plays and poetry ever written in English, (and probably just... ever written).  

Some (just a few!) of his most revered plays are:

Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Othello, Romeo & Juliet (tragedies); a series of historical plays leading up to the reign of Queen Elizabeth; A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest (fantasies), and Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night (comedies).

This summer, the Public Theater will be presenting Twelfth Night free in NYC's Central Park Delacorte Theater (just renovated!).

THE PUBLIC THEATER: TWELFTH NIGHT - FREE IN CENTRAL PARK, NYC

https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2425/fsitp/twelfth-night/

Another great venue (also great workshops!) for Shakespeare in New York is 

THE RED BULL THEATER

https://www.redbulltheater.com/

Here's a list from Google (AI) and other sources, of some of the many venues around the US and the world that produce Shakespeare's plays:

• Shakespeare's Globe (London, UK): This is a modern reconstruction of the original Globe, built in 1599, near the site of the original theater. It's an open-air theatre in the round, similar to the original and still hosts performances and tours. 
• Allen Elizabethan Theatre (Ashland, OR): This theater, part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, offers a replica of an Elizabethan-era theater. 
• The Old Globe (San Diego, CA): The Old Globe is a well-known theater company and venue that performs Shakespearean plays and offers educational programs, says Wikipedia. 
• Curtain Theatre (Austin, TX): This theater company focuses on classical plays, including Shakespeare, according to Wikipedia. 
• Globe of the Great Southwest (Odessa, TX): A dedicated Shakespearean theater in Odessa, TX. 
• Adams Shakespearean Theatre (Cedar City, UT): This theater is part of the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, UT. 
• Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Williamsburg, VA): This theme park features a Globe Theatre replica for Shakespearean performances. 
• The Rose Playhouse (Twin Lake, MI): Part of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, The Rose Playhouse hosts Shakespearean plays and other theatrical productions. 
• Pop-Up Globe (Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY): A traveling pop-up Globe structure that performs Shakespearean plays. 

The American Shakespeare Center in VA. (They also produce the Blackfriars' Shakespeare Conference every few years.) https://americanshakespearecenter.com/

Here is one of his sonnets. (notice that the imagery is interpretive of the deeper meanings of the poem). 

SONNET 65 "SINCE BRASS..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4FRae1XRkI/

A performance of sonnet 65 with visual commentary.

Labels: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo & Juliet, SONNET 65, Sonnet as drama, The Tempest, William Shakespeare

# posted by QPORIT @ 4:29 PM 0 comments

Steven Spielberg's new version of West Side Story, set on the streets of New York, was previewed in an unusually good hour-long special on ABC. West Side Story is a truly great musical and by all appearances this should be a great film. The music is by Leonard Bernstein, with lyrics by Steven Sondheim. Tony Kushner wrote the screenplay for this version. Arthur Laurents  wrote the book for the original stage version. The story is adapted from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.

The actors are young, and many have not worked before in films. Rachel Zegler, (the new Maria) was last seen in her High School musical. The excerpts shown demonstrate prodigious new talent through out the cast. Rita Moreno (Anita in the 1961 film version) has a role; and many roles are cast with actors whose ethnicity and background matches their characters. 

Although I have not seen Spielberg's film version, yet, I've seen the original version of the story, which was missing the music, and set in Italy, but was beautifully written, and very powerful emotionally. 

CAST:

Ansel Elgort as Tony

Rachel Zegler as María

Ariana DeBose as Anita

David Alvarez as Bernardo

Rita Moreno as Valentina

Brian d'Arcy James as Officer Krupke

Corey Stoll as Lieutenant Schrank

Mike Faist as Riff

Josh Andrés Rivera as Chino

Iris Menas as Anybodys

David Aviles Morales as Aníbal

Sebastian Serra as Braulio

Ricardo Zayas as Chago

Carlos E. Gonzalez as Chucho

Ricky Ubeda as Flaco

Andrei Chagas as Jochi

Adriel Flete as Julito

Jacob Guzman as Junior

Labels: Arthur Laurents, film, Leonard Bernstein, musical, Rachel Zegler, Rita Moreno, Romeo & Juliet, Shakespeare, Steven Sondheim, Steven Spielberg, theater, Tony Kushner, West Side Story

# posted by QPORIT @ 1:56 AM 0 comments