The Play's the Thing

Are any of you peeps out there from the NC area?  If so, have I got great news for you!

There are so many Shakespeare productions in the Triangle this Spring!  I'll share a few upcoming with you:

Romeo and Juliet at Burning Coal Theatre in Raleigh.  I saw this one and it was phenomenal.  They aren't afraid to make the play less serious in its romantic endeavors, and Romeo and Juliet act like giddy, fools in love, rather than the extra-serious and overly dramatic renditions that come across nowadays as a bit archaic.  Plainly put, Juliet acts like an infatuated teenage girl and Romeo acts like a man in love with being in love - and bounds across the stage with the joy of it.  It's crucial for there to be a solid comic in Mercutio, and this one certainly has one.  I highly recommend - though the run is almost over.  Don't wait!

Much Ado About Nothing at Raleigh Little Theatre.

This is one of my favorite plays - who could keep from loving Beatrice and Benedick?  No one, that's who.  This show opened last night and I already have my tickets.  Check out their showtimes to see if you're interested in a Much Ado version set in post-WWII America.  I know I am!

The Tempest at Titmus Theatre at Thompson Hall - NC State University.
2/27/2015 ONLY

New York’s acclaimed Aquila Theatre - the foremost producer of touring classical theatre in the United States – returns to NC State with two new productions of classic works. "The Tempest" is Shakespeare’s famous tale of forgiveness and enlightenment. Believed to be his final play, it is imbued with magic, the supernatural, and a heightened sense of theatricality. DO NOT MISS THIS.

A Midsummer Night's Dream at Raleigh Little Theatre in the Rose Garden

Mischievous sprites, lost lovers, and bumbling rustics cross paths in a magical night under the towering trees, fairy ferns, and blooming roses of the Raleigh Rose Garden.  Bring your chairs, picnics, and the whole family for this fanciful 90 minute evening of Fun!  Can you imagine how fun it will be to see this story told with actual woods surrounding it?

Equivocation. n.

1. the use of ambiguous expressions, especially in order to mislead or hedge

2. Logic. a fallacy caused by the double meaning of a word. 

England, 1605: A terrorist plot to assassinate King James I and blow Parliament to kingdom come with 36 barrels of devilish gunpowder! 

Shagspeare (after a contemporary spelling of the Bard’s name) is commissioned by Robert Cecil, the prime minister, to write the “true historie” of the plot. And it must have witches! The King wants witches! But as Shag and the acting company of the Globe, under the direction of the great Richard Burbage, investigate the plot, they discover that the King’s version of the story might, in fact, be a cover-up.

Shag and his actors are confronted with the ultimate moral and artistic dilemma. Speak truth to power—and perhaps lose their heads? Or take the money and lie? Is there a third option—equivocation? 

Sounds good to me!

There are more coming up later in the spring, including Macbeth and Measure for Measure, but there isn't as much info about them as of yet.  Perhaps I'll have to do another extra post about them then!