MUCH ADO or MUCH A-DUDE, That Is the Question

Men playing women in ISF's Much Ado

Choosing the most outrageous setting for your Shakespeare production has been all the rage for a while. You could see a post-apocalyptic, drug-addicted Hamlet who lived on the moon one night, A Midsummer Night's Dream with zombies in a swamp the next, and on the third, visit a banana republic Julius Caesar where Caesar bore a distinct resemblance to Juan Peron. These creative staging ideas were intended to make the plays more accessible to modern audiences who could immediately recognize what it meant if Twelfth Night's Andrew Aguecheek and Toby Belch looked like Laurel and Hardy or Katherina and Petruchio pulled out six-shooters in the Wild West.

The ideas are certainly creative, but when you see these productions, the basic question of whether it works remains. Is the setting a gimmick or does it actually illuminate something in the play?

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

More recently, a new fashion in Shakespeare has emerged. Instead of sending Hamlet into outer space, companies are picking up on "Original Practices," where they attempt to recreate Shakespeare's plays as they were actually performed in Shakespeare's time. The idea seems to be to strip away modern contrivances and get back to Shakespeare the way Shakespeare intended. But once again, the question remains. Does it work? Is it a gimmick or does it illuminate the play?

In this year's schedule of three mainstage plays at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Artistic Director Kevin Rich handed Much Ado About Nothing over to director Jonathan West with an eye on examining and experimenting with some pieces of the Original Practices pie. That means that in performance, you'll find Elizabethan costumes, on-stage music and lights, actors speaking directly to the audience, pillars that look a bit like those at the resurrected Globe Theatre in London, and... An all-male cast.

This Much Ado goes with a Much A-Dude approach not only to adhere to Original Practices, but also to take advantage of playing in repertory with Timothy Findley's Elizabeth Rex, wherein the queen converses with members of Shakespeare's acting troupe, including the men who have just finished performing Much Ado for her. For the Illinois Shakespeare festival, the casts cross over between the two plays, with, for example, Christopher Prentice (seen below) taking both the role of the actor in Elizabeth Rex who plays Beatrice and Beatrice herself in Much Ado.

Christopher Prentice as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing

It's an interesting experiment to use that kind of cross-pollination and to see what happens when a man plays a character like Beatrice, who defies gender stereotypes and even talks about wanting to be a man so that she can throttle feckless Claudio. But... It also denies an actress the chance to play this particular role, one of Shakespeare's best and brightest women.

Director West has not gone for camp or over-the-top humor from the ungainly appearance of his "women," as you might experience in Tyler Perry movies or from other roles where men have famously played women, like Edna Turnblad in the musical Hairspray or even Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. Instead, West's actors, including Prentice as Beatrice, Colin Lawrence as Hero, Jack Dwyer as Margaret and Colin Trevino-Odell as Ursula, play it straight for the most part.

Of the four men who cross gender lines, Colin Lawrence is the most successful at suggesting there is actually a female character in front of us. His Hero is sweet and giddy, with good energy and good humor.

But in the role of Beatrice, half of the central romance, Prentice doesn't really come alive. He has a commanding physical presence and projects intelligence and strength, but none of the spark or charm necessary to create a memorable Beatrice. He also doesn't show much chemistry with Matt Daniels, who is otherwise a fine Benedick. It's telling that Benedick's gulling scene -- where a trio of men pull a fast one on him while he eavesdrops -- plays much better than the parallel Beatrice gulling scene, which gets bogged down by the gender switch.

Joey Banks holds Norman Moses, as Dogberry, in his lap.

Luckily, Dogberry, the bumbling constable who accidentally catches the bad guys and saves the day, emerges as a definite highlight in this production. Norman Moses gives Dogberry a Wizard of Oz flourish and enough comic tricks to make every appearance a delight.

In the end, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival Much Ado About Nothing succeeds in looking different and raising questions about how and why we see Shakespeare as we see it. As a comedy, it also succeeds when Dogberry is on the scene. As a romantic comedy, however, it leaves a bit to be desired.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
By William Shakespeare

Illinois Shakespeare Festival
at Ewing Cultural Center

Director: Jonathan West
Music Director/Composer: Shannon O'Neill
Costume Designer: Lauren Lowell
Scenic Designer: Kristin Ellert
Lighting Designer: Sarah Maines
Choreographer: Jean Kerr
Stage Manager: Jamie K. Fuller

Cast: Thomas Anthony Quinn, Matt Daniels, Michael Pine, Norman Moses, Todd Denning, Christopher Prentice, Colin Lawrence, Phillip Ray Guevara, Ron Roman, Joey Banks, Jack Dwyer, Colin Trevino-Odell, Fredric Stone, Timuchin Aker, Wigasi Bryant, Robert Michael Johnson, Adrienne Boni, Michelle Plunkett, Pamela Schuett.

Remaining performances: July 17, 19, 22, 25, 27 and 30; August 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9.

For ticket information, click here.

Note: The Illinois Shakespeare Festival provided a press ticket and asked me to review a preview performance of this production of  Much Ado About Nothing.

MUCH ADO, ELIZ REX and ANTONY AND CLEO Bow This Week at IL Shakes Fest

The Illinois Shakespeare Festival has become a year-round entertainment option, what with a staged reading in April from the Shakespeare Project of Chicago and a Theatre for Young Audiences show -- this year Shake, Shake, Shake Your Shakespeare by Nancy Steele Brokaw -- that started in mid-June. But the real repertory begins tomorrow with previews of the three mainstage shows. These three preview nights offer 2-for-1 tickets, meaning you can score those platinum-plus seats you always wanted for half price if you can use two.

Michael Pine as Claudio in Much Ado

Much Ado About Nothing, the witty romantic comedy that pairs too-smart-for-their-own-good Beatrice and Benedick, is up first, previewing tomorrow at 7:30 pm and officially opening Friday, July 11, at 8 pm. This Much Ado is not the one you're used to from previous Festivals or from the Joss Whedon black-and-white movie that hit theaters last year. This Much Ado features an all-male cast. Why shut out the ladies? Illinois Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Kevin Rich is a proponent of something called "Original Practices," which tries to recapture the way Shakespeare shows were performed in Shakespeare's own time. The idea behind it is to open up Shakespeare, to make it quick and breezy and accessible to modern audiences, with the thrust stage, outdoor setting and fast finish time attributed to Elizabethan staging. So Much Ado About Nothing, as directed by Jonathan West for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, will take a bow in the direction of "Original Practices," with men playing both the male and female roles, just as you might've seen in Elizabethan England, a time when it was considered immoral for a woman to be on stage.

Given the fact that there are a limited number of roles in Shakespeare plays for women, anyway, I will admit I am not a fan of this all-male notion, especially when it means that a role like Beatrice -- witty, wonderful Beatrice -- is handed over to the guys. Sure, that's what Will himself would've expected, but we're here and now, when it isn't lascivious or lewd for a female to trod the boards. I'd prefer we take our cue from Abigail Adams instead of Queen Elizabeth I and "remember the ladies" when it comes to performing Shakespeare.

Deborah Staples as Elizabeth Rex

Much Ado's all-male cast is also influenced by the second show on the schedule, Timothy Findley's Elizabeth Rex, directed by Paula Suozzi, which previews July 9 at 7:30 pm and opens July 12 at 8 pm. Elizabeth Rex was written in 2000 and it has been well-performed since then, including a very good Chicago Shakespeare production in 2012. It's a perfect fit for a Shakespeare festival, given that Mr. Shakespeare and some of his actors are characters in the play. And the Illinois Shakespeare Festival has made that fit even tighter, using the plays that appear in Elizabeth Rex to form its repertory and pulling the actors from one cast into the others.

Elizabeth Rex begins with the end of a performance of Much Ado by the Lord Chamberlain's men, with Queen Elizabeth herself in attendance. After the performance, the actors retreat to a barn to rest. Queen Elizabeth joins them, in dire need of a distraction as she awaits the execution of a former favorite, the Earl of Essex, who tried to raise a revolt against her. The Shakespeare we see is in the midst of writing Antony and Cleopatra, and he takes note of who and what Elizabeth is to create the grand Egyptian queen of his imagination.

Deborah Staples and Todd Denning

And that is why Antony and Cleopatra, directed by Artistic Director Kevin Rich, is the third play gracing the stage at Ewing Manor this summer. A preview of Antony and Cleo is scheduled for Thursday, July 10th, with its official opening night set for Sunday the 13th. Both shows begin at 7:30 pm. Keeping the connections coming, the actress who plays Elizabeth  in Elizabeth Rex, Deborah Staples, will cross over to play the titular queen in Antony and Cleopatra, too.

Similarly, the actors we see finishing up Much Ado as Beatrice and Benedick in Elizabeth Rex will actually play Beatrice and Benedick in the full, all-male Much Ado About Nothing on other nights. Those actors are Christopher Prentice (Beatrice) and Matt Daniels (Benedick), and they'll showcase their versatility by taking on Alexas and Enobarbus in Antony and Cleo.

For all the details on all three shows, visit the Illinois Shakespeare Festival website. You'll find a printable calendar, ticket info, and the scoop on extra tours, talkbacks and greenshows, and lots more if you investigate the Festival site.

Special Offer on Shakespeare Tickets Till January 29

The Illinois Shakespeare Festival sent out its season brochures last week, with all kinds of important info about what will be happening inside and outside the Theatre at Ewing in the summer of 2014. There's a variety of options, with subscriptions, "flex" tickets, individual tickets and a small number of steeply discounted $10 tickets available for Tuesday performances of Antony and Cleopatra, Much Ado About Nothing or Timothy Findley's Elizabeth Rex, this year's three mainstage productions.

A host of extras -- The Shakespeare Project's All's Well That Ends Well in April, performances from The Improvised Shakespeare Company on Saturdays in July and August, a family-friendly show called Shake, Shake, Shake Your Shakespeare written by Nancy Steele Brokaw, plus the usual green shows, tours and pre-show jazz concerts -- are back to keep you entertained.

All of that will be more important as we head toward the spring and the April Shakespeare Project performance and the May 15th deadline for flex tickets. But there's one special offer you need to know about now.

This one is only good through January 19, and it's a goodie. The Festival is offering what they call Platinum Subscriptions, including tickets to all three of the main shows plus a bonus ticket to allow you to bring a friend, for only $75. The regular rate for that  would be in the $89 to $99 range. But remember, that very special rate for Platinum Subscriptions is only good till January 29, 2014.

I will be writing more about the Festival's three main shows and how they interconnect in terms of casting and plot, as well as the provocative idea of "original practices" and the all-male Much Ado About Nothing that's in the works. But for now, you need to shake off the winter doldrums and plan ahead for a summer of Shakespeare (with a special appearance by Queen Elizabeth). You can find out more at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival website or Facebook page, or call 866-IL-SHAKES, visit the Illinois State University box office in person between 11 am and 4 pm on weekdays, or go directly to Ticketmaster.

Just a tip: If you have a hope of scoring a $10 Tuesday ticket, now's the time to do that, too. Those babies go fast!

It's MUCH ADO, TONY & CLEO and ELIZABETH REX for the ISF in 14

The announcement has been made, and we now know what will be playing when the Illinois Shakespeare Festival begins again next summer. This time, Festival Artistic Director Kevin Rich has created an integrated line-up, with two Shakespeare choices that link together through the third, Timothy Findley's Elizabeth Rex, which imagines Queen Elizabeth I taking a breather in the barn where Shakespeare and his players are lingering after a performance. They've just performed Much Ado About Nothing, which will also be on the Illinois Shakespeare Festival bill, and we see William Shakespeare in the midst of writing Antony and Cleopatra, which is the other show chosen for next summer. Ta da! All tied up neatly with a bow, and one of the best uses of repertory, overlapping themes and shared cast ever.

Husband-and-wife directors Jonathan West and Paula Suozzi, who have extensive credits in Milwaukee, will direct Much Ado and Elizabeth Rex, while Rich will take on directorial duties for Antony and Cleopatra himself. Much Ado was last seen at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival in 2007, while you'll have to go all the way to 1991 to find Antony and Cleopatra.

Here's how the Festival breaks down next year's offerings:

ELIZABETH REX, by Timothy Findley
Directed by Paula Suozzi

This brilliant, award-winning play imagines Queen Elizabeth spending the eve of her lover’s execution in the company of William Shakespeare and his players. Seeking distraction from her grief, she watches Much Ado About Nothing and afterward, banters with Beatrice about identity, sexuality and love. Meanwhile, Shakespeare is writing a new play called Antony and Cleopatra – about a Queen’s tragic affair with her lover – which Elizabeth finds suspiciously familiar. Elizabeth Rex will be performed in repertory with both of these Shakespearean plays, making a trilogy of uniquely connected productions that cannot be missed.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, by William Shakespeare
Directed by Jonathan West

Messina’s soldiers have returned from victory abroad to discover new battles at home! Sworn bachelor Benedick and his fiery counterpart Beatrice engage in a war of words and wit while their friends watch their attraction grow stronger with every skirmish. Meanwhile, Claudio plans to wed his true love Hero, unaware of the villainous Don John’s desire to foil his plans. Will these battles end in victory? Our hilarious production has the answers – and a whole lot more – featuring the same actors who play these parts in Elizabeth Rex.

ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, by William Shakespeare
Directed by Kevin Rich

Shakespeare’s epic portrayal of Mark Antony’s intoxication with the stunning Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Drunk with passion, the Roman war hero and leader neglects his duties back home, ignores prophecies, and enrages his former allies by choosing Egypt and its beautiful ruler while the Roman Empire hangs in the balance. When Octavius Caesar turns on Antony, is his attack on Egypt enough to rouse the smitten soldier into action? Often requested and seldom performed, this production is as enchanting as its Queen. In our repertory, Cleopatra will be played by the same actress who plays Queen Elizabeth in Elizabeth Rex.

I am loathe to suggest I called this combination, because, well, I didn't. Last time I was making guesses, I went with Twelfth Night and Julius Caesar. But back when I reviewed Elizabeth Rex at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, I did include this little addendum:

As a side note, I would love to see Elizabeth Rex played in repertory with Much Ado About Nothing, which begins this play, and Antony and Cleopatra, which is supposedly being written during this play, with some of the same actors who are supposedly playing roles in Much Ado taking those roles in Much Ado, and the actor we see as Benedick and reading a few of Antony's lines taking those roles, too. Maybe we should even throw in A Winter's Tale, so the bear has something else to do?

With three plays in the Festival's rotation, there's no room for A Winter's Tale, but the other three are represented, so... Great minds think alike?

A Much Different MUCH ADO with Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones

Joss Whedon's black-and-white home-grown Much Ado About Nothing has been the story of the summer, exciting Whedon fans and bringing a few new folks to Shakespeare's most romantic comedy. But last December, a very different Much Ado was announced, offering the prospect that Beatrice and Benedick, usually envisioned as a pair of mature lovers, would be very mature indeed. In this production for London's Old Vic, Beatrice and Benedick will be Vanessa Redgrave, 76, and James Earl Jones, 82.

In the Whedon movie, Beatrice in the form of Amy Acker was 40 years younger than Redgrave, while Benedick, played by Alexis Denisof, was a mere 35 years younger than Jones.

The age of this B & B has created some controversy, with The Guardian's Lyn Gardner deciding it was, after all, much ado about nothing, and age simply doesn't matter on stage, while the Evening Standard quoted director Mark Rylance as saying that this take on Beatrice and Benedick was right for the script, which involves "the callousness of youth and the wisdom of age."

Rylance himself has played Benedick -- when he was in his early 30s -- and Doctor Who's David Tennant and Catherine Tate took on the battling lovers in 2011, when both were in their 40s. You can see the Tennant/Tate Much Ado as preserved by Digital Theatre if you want to compare/contrast to Acker and Denisof. Or, of course, you can pop in the DVD from the 1993 movie directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, who played Benedick opposite his then-wife Emma Thompson in a sweeping, lyrical and lovely film set in Tuscany.

If you have a way to get to London between September 7 and November 23, you can try to get a ticket to this new Much Ado at the Old Vic. Based on the poster art shown above, I'm guessing that Rylance's production will set up Beatrice and Benedick's first love affair, the one that didn't end well and contributes to the tension (and the sparks) between them now, as having occurred during World War II. That would also suggest (given Redgrave and Jones' current ages) that when they meet up again, they haven't seen each for quite some time. Maybe 50 years or so. That's a big gap to hold a grudge. And since Jones is American while Redgrave is British, perhaps the back story will be that he was an American GI who simply never returned to his English girlfriend after the war. Of course, shoehorning that interpretation into Shakespeare's existing words which set the action in Messina, Italy, when Benedick (among others) celebrates after a successful battle, might be a bit tough. Surely an 80-year-old Benedick ought to be higher up the ranks by now and not out engaging in combat alongside Spanish princes. Or maybe the poster indicates it is World War II now, when the action commences, and that's an image of Hero and Claudio, the younger lovers in the piece, as they appear right this minute, as opposed to a picture of B & B in the past. It's fun to speculate, but we'll find out for sure what conceit Rylance has constructed when the show opens in September.

Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones in Driving Miss Daisy

Redgrave and Jones have been paired for this project after performing Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy on Broadway and in London in 2010-11, a production that showed off their chemistry as well as their stage chops. If anyone can make a senior citizen Much Ado work, it's those two.

For this Old Vic production, Beth Cooke will play Hero, the sweet young thing whose honor is besmirched by evil Don John, while Lloyd Everitt will be her Claudio. James Garnon has been cast as Don Pedro, the Spanish prince mentioned above, with Danny Lee Wynter as Don John, his half-brother and the villain in the piece, and Michael Elwyn as Leonato, Hero's dad and the host to the extended party at the center of the action.

American actor Kevin Spacey has been the artistic director of the Old Vic since 2004, and he has announced he will stay in that position until 2015. Speculation continues that he will be succeeded by none other than Kenneth Branagh, the famous film Benedick, who recently played Macbeth at the Manchester International Festival opposite Alex Kingston.

Joss Whedon's MUCH ADO Arrives in Style at Champaign's Art Theater

With Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, writer/director/producer Joss Whedon found himself on the receiving end of a major following, with a world of fans attuned to his particular style of storytelling. He parlayed that following into big-screen, big-budget gigs like the comic-book, superhero mega-palooza The Avengers, but even so, left a little time left over to produce a pretty little Much Ado About Nothing in his own back yard.

Let's just say his Much Ado couldn't be less like The Avengers if it tried. Black and white, witty and wise, playful and elegant, this Much Ado shows just what a filmmaker and his friends can do if they chart their own course and play their own games, without a whole lot of Hollywood interference or the pressure of a huge budget. And even though we had to wait a bit longer than most areas of the country to get Much Ado, we've got it now, on the big screen at Champaign's historic Art Theater Co-op. It's scheduled to stick around at least through August 1, which isn't a whole lot of time. But it's enough if you're motivated. And you should be.

Whedon's cast features many of his favorite actors, people who've appeared in previous projects like Buffy and Dollhouse and even The Avengers and Cabin in the Woods, people like Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof, the Beatrice and Benedick of this Much Ado, along with Reed Diamond, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Ashley Johnson, Fran Kranz, Tom Lenk, Sean Maher and Jillian Morgese. They're comfortable with Whedon and with each other, and it shows, as the film unspools with easy charm and a lovely sense of humor.

It may've been shot on a small budget in 12 days spent in Whedon's own house and gardens, but the film looks sensational, especially the big party scene with some aerial work above the pool, a spooky candlelit walk, and the eavesdropping sections when Beatrice and Benedick are tricked by their friends. Acker and Denisof make appealing, attractive romantic foils, and they both do very well with Shakespeare's amusing dialogue, framed against the nooks and crannies of Whedon's home, as designed by his architect-wife Kai Cole.

With the action set as a house party in Southern California, visiting Don Pedro (a wonderful Reed Diamond) becomes a jet-setting bigwig of some unidentified fame, followed by paparazzi, and his evil half-brother Don John (Sean Maher) is a miscreant in handcuffs, allowed freedom (and a girlfriend of sorts, as Conrade is turned into a slinky woman played by Riki Lindhome) for the duration of the visit. There's wine and spirits at every turn, which both shows the lifestyle host Leonato (Clark Gregg) enjoys as well as explains some of the trickier plot turns. Of course everybody believes nonsense -- they're all sloshed!

In this scenario, Dogberry and Verges are the security force keeping an eye on Leonato's estate, tripping over each other and the villains and their nefarious plots almost by accident. With cheap poly suits and sunglasses they don in unison to give them the patina of authority, Castle's Nathan Fillion and Tom Lenk, Ronald the intern from Cabin the Woods, make for a sweet, goofy team of enforcers.

I didn't enjoy Fran Kranz's Claudio all that much, but it's always tough to identify with the young swain who gets so bent out of shape about his beloved's perceived lack of virginity. Jillian Morgese is fine as Hero, the girl in question, and Claudio's horror is a little more understandable considering it's not just that he thinks he saw her having sex with somebody else, but he saw it on the night before their wedding and she was wearing her wedding dress when she did the deed. We know it wasn't really her, and all the talk of virginity is still very misplaced, but the timing and the picture he sees are pretty nasty in this staging of the event. Of course, that doesn't explain why he shows up for the wedding and goes for public shaming (in the ugliest possible terms) instead of a simple buh-bye note or something, but... That's the way Shakespeare wrote it and I suppose we're stuck with it.

The strength of this filmed Much Ado lies in its sophisticated romantic style, which seems very now at the same time it brings to life classic characters of Beatrice and Benedick and their complicated relationship. With Acker and Denisof in the roles, it's easy to fall under their spell of lovers "too wise to woo peaceably."

Joss Whedon's MUCH ADO Opens in Limited Release June 7

It created a brouhaha in the Buffy/Firefly universe when writer/director/producer Joss Whedon announced last year that he had wrapped on a mysterious film project starring several favorites -- including Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof and Nathan Fillion -- who had appeared frequently in Whedon's earlier work. This time, Whedon was talking an updated, black-and-white version of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, the one with witty lovers Beatrice and Benedick sparring over who might be in love with whom. Or not in love. Decidedly not. Except sort of.

Acker and Denisof are the lovers engaging in Shakespeare's most "merry war," with Fillion as the comic relief, a verbally impaired constable named Dogberry; Fran Kranz and Jillian Morgese as Claudio and Hero, the other pair of lovers; Clark Gregg as Leonato, Hero's dad; Reed Diamond as princely Don Pedro; and Sean Maher as bad boy Don John, the one plotting behind the scenes to screw up Claudio and Hero's love affair.

According to the LA Times, Whedon and his wife, Kai Cole, had hosted readings of Shakespeare plays at their Santa Monica home for some time, but for Much Ado, they went beyond just a reading, staging and filming Much Ado right inside the house. Filming in the Whedon/Cole kitchen and bedrooms was complete in a total of twelve days, accomplished while Whedon was on a break from the Avengers movie he directed.

Much Ado About Nothing by Whedon and friends premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last September to mostly good reviews, and it also acquired a distributor. Which meant everyone who was eager to see this most independent of independent features was champing at the bit to get a release date.

A TV spot showing off what it will look like was unveiled in May, with a June 7 date now announced for the film's initial, very limited release, which apparently means New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. When will anybody (or everybody) else get to see Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing? June 21 is the date it's supposed to go wide, but no one is sure yet how wide that will be or how many theaters it will be released to. I'm not banking on Bloomington-Normal, to be perfectly honest, but I'm going to guess there will be a Chicago venue, and maybe even Champaign-Urbana, if we're lucky.

On a personal note, I definitely hope to see it by my birthday in August, because Beatrice's line from the play -- There was a star danced, and under that was I born -- suits my Perseid meteor shower birthdate. In the meantime, a trailer has been released and you can see it at the movie's official site. It definitely looks intriguing. I'm a little worried about the language, which doesn't seem to come trippingly off those tongues, but advance word has been so good... Fingers crossed!

Happy Shakespeare's Birthday!

No, no one is sure which day exactly William Shakespeare was born. But April 23rd is the day that scholars have decided is the most likely, and celebrations happen around the world in honor of the playwright. And so today we mark the 448th anniversary of the birth of Shakespeare.

They've already done the parade and luncheon in Stratford-upon-Avon, and today the World Shakespeare Festival begins. Here's how they're describing the festivities:

"Produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, in an unprecedented collaboration with leading UK and international arts organisations, and with Globe to Globe, a major international programme produced by Shakespeare’s Globe, it’s the biggest celebration of Shakespeare ever staged.

"Almost 60 partners are coming together to bring the Festival alive. Thousands of artists from around the world will take part in almost 70 productions, plus supporting events and exhibitions, right across the UK, including London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Newcastle/Gateshead, Birmingham, Wales and Scotland and online."

 

Closer to home, it's "Talk Like Shakespeare" Day in Chicago, with a proclamation from Mayor Rahm Emmanuel. You should totally click on that last link, if only to see the video of Chicago and Illinois-related folks like George Wendt, Dick Durbin, Renee Fleming, Ora Jones and Harry Groener talk like Shakespeare. There's also audio from the Q Brothers to teach you how to talk like Shakespeare with a hip hop twist.

Performances of lauded British actor Simon Callow's one-man Shakespeare show continue (in conjunction with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, but performed at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place) through April 29, plus Ian McDiarmid opens tomorrow in "Timon of Athens" back at the Courtyard Theatre at Chicago Shakes.

Our very own Illinois Shakespeare Festival is open for ticket sales, if you'd like to celebrate Shakespeare by getting your season tied down or making a donation now. They'll be performing "As You Like It," "Othello" and Sheridan's "The Rivals" this summer, opening with a preview of "Othello" on June 26. Ticket information is here.

If you'd like to celebrate Shakespeare in the cozy confines of your own home, I recommend popping in the "Shakespeare in Love" DVD, trying the Zeffirelli "Romeo and Juliet," the 1999 "Midsummer Night's Dream" with Kevin Kline as the most engaging Bottom ever, or the Kenneth Branagh "Much Ado About Nothing," with a luminous performance from Emma Thompson as Beatrice.

One last choice: Paul Collins' "The Book of William,"which follows the path of the First Folios, those much-coveted collections of 36 Shakespeare plays printed in 1624, after they began to be disseminated into the world. Collins tells a lively and compelling story of printers, collectors, museums, shipwrecks and thieves. Fascinating.