L-R: Travis Weisse as Gilbert Shakespeare and Chris Russell as young Will Shakespeare in Celebrationworks Theatre Ensemble's production of Shakespeare's Brother.Over the years, I've seen a lot of "adult" plays performed by high school students. Recently, there was even a local high school production of
Death of a Salesman, for crying out loud. Only once in awhile have I seen plays that were written for youthful performers that were presented by an adult cast, or better yet an intergenerational cast.
Such is the case with Celebrationworks Theatre Ensemble's
Shakespeare's Brother, which closes this weekend at the upstairs classroom theatre at 1420 Ogden Street in Denver (formerly the home of Shadow Theatre Co.).
How refreshing. What fun. The script is by Carol Roper, a local playwright with national credentials and connections, and the production was directed by Bernie Cardell, one of Denver's top comic directors. The cast ranges widely in age and experience. The result is a show that has the rough and ready feel of an amateur production, complete with an unsullied sense of "anything can and might happen" fun, a gleeful disregard for the "rules" of drama when they stand in the way of that fun, and an instant rapport with an audience, most of whom know and love at least one member of the cast.
Entirely fictitious, but with enough factoids planted throughout to prove Roper's done her homework,
Shakespeare's Brother thrusts the dreamy, lovesick junior poet Will (Chris Russell) into an unlikely adventure with his sneaky, entrepreneurial brother Gilbert (Travis Weisse) as they seek to make a fortune and rescue their hilariously pregnant mother (Beth Davis) from disgrace and their hapless, indebted glovemaker father (Jake Gallegos) from death at the hands of an apothecary/moneylender (Jay Jakowsky) who Shylock-like, demands a pound of flesh.
A variety of characters cross their path, including Will's future wife Anne Hathaway (Catherine Pilafas), a boisterous soldier of fortune/pseudo Jedi knight named Othello (Sam Gilstrap) and assorted harlots, pirates and washerwomen. Plot elements and even lines of dialogue draw heavily from Shakespeare's own plays, reminiscent of how
Shakespeare in Love gave hints to the Bard's potential sources of inspiration.
Like Shakespeare's plays, the show is raucous and sprawling, with scenes of comedy, action, romance and drama thrown in and jumbled about for maximum audience pleasure. Unlike Shakespeare's plays, this one is short: 70 minutes with no intermission.
From a religious/spiritual standpoint, there's not much to say except that there is an absurd, incongruous and somewhat embarrassing "wax on, wax off" scene in which Othello tries to teach the Shakespeare siblings the ways of the Force. No, really.
Amateur theatre publishers have an entire category of Shakespeare-related plays, introducing student actors to some of the lines, characters and themes of the great playwright's work, without actually having them struggle through a production that is beyond their reach. The idea is to instill a love and appreciation for Shakespeare, and make his plays more accessible.
Shakespeare's Brother is a worthy entry into this sub-genre, made all the more enjoyable by a supremely gifted director and an intergenerational cast that throws itself wholeheartedly into the endeavor.
In honor of Denver's altitude, ticket prices are $5.28 and are available by calling 303-282-5391. For more information, visit
www.celebrationworks.org.
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