Review: THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED] [AGAIN] at Contemporary Theater Company

When Shakespeare penned, “Oh, what fools these mortals be,” he couldn’t ever have imagined the deliberately, delightfully foolish behavior his words would incite more than four centuries later in ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again],’ now at Contemporary Theater Company.

Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield, ‘The Complete Works’ invites Shakespeare enthusiasts and non-fans alike to experience all 37 of the Bard’s works in less than two hours. Under the spright direction of Autumn Mist Jefferson, three performers—Ricci Mann, Jared Nobrega, and Ryan Sekac—prove to be equally clever and courageous as they pay tribute to his classics (‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ‘Othello’) and lesser-known works (‘Troilus and Cressida,’ ‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’).

Throughout the rapid-fire production, the trio never strays from the playwright’s written words but allows themselves some creative liberty with the settings. ‘Titus Andronicus’ is staged as a cooking show, the history plays (‘King John,’ the Henriad) use a football game analogy, and Tybalt has the proud temperament of a WWF champion. After breezing through his sixteen comedies in less than five minutes and congratulating themselves for finishing early, their proud sense of accomplishment is short-lived when they realize one glaring omission, ‘Hamlet.’

Each of the performers shines and lends their own unique brand of silliness to the production. Nobrega starts out as a plant in the audience, repeatedly vomits (confetti) during his sequences, and breaks out in a sweat with the physical demands of his improvised actions. Mann, the pre-eminent scholar (as opposed to preeminent), treats the plays with a Biblical significance, narrating with confidence and authority while shamelessly allowing her counterparts to do most of the heavy lifting. The ferociously charming Sekac boasts a mischievous disposition that acknowledges the absurdity of the task at hand, yet revels in it with unapologetic excitement.

The Hamlet-dedicated second act, while arguably longer than necessary, invites the audience to participate in the retelling of the Prince of Denmark’s plight, and the hilarious results bring the evening to a fitting close. The ensemble’s evident chemistry, the script’s bawdy jokes, and the stage’s playpen-like atmosphere make for a fun, frivolous theater experience.

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