Theatre is like a box of chocolates. You never know what youâre gonna get.
If youâre feeling a little nostalgic checking in with that opening line then youâre on the right path.
How you doinâ? Betcha youâll be da bomb after you hit up the current production of Salome with The Rude Mechanicals at Greenbelt Arts Center. Conceptualized and directed by Wes Dennis, this Oscar WildeâŚadaptation doesnât seem like the right word here,
âFear is like a rhubarb enema!â might just be the wildest thing Iâve ever heard come out of the mouth of a player at a Rude Mechanicalâs show. And Iâve seen their King John! My one regret (aside from seeing their King John) is that I couldnât hear the rest of the lineâ delivered in utter brilliance by Marin (Linda âSpencerâ Dye) the fraidy-cat servant to Roselo because both myself and the rest of the audience were laughing so hard it drowned out whatever insanity came next.
It may be the opinion of some that I was born to speak all mirth and no matter, but one doth not know how much an ill word can empoison liking. Letâs hope thatâs enough mangled lines from the Bardâs source material to bait the proverbial bear and get this review of The Rude Mechanicalsâ Much Ado About Nothing underway. Directed by Shirely Long, this Shakespearean comedy aboutâ well, mostly a fuss made over nothing,
Everyone must write what they feel as best they know how. Chekhov said it. Maybe. Probably. Hard to tell whatâs direct source material versus creative licensing with this rather impressive new production of The Seagull being produced by The Rude Mechanicals at The Greenbelt Arts Center. Directed by Melissa Schick, this imaginative reinterpretation and musical adaptation of one of Chekhovâs more depressing works is surprisingly charming, well-parsed and paced, and delivers a refreshing new spin on an old war-horse-staple of the theatrical canon.
âSuch welcome and unwelcome things at once âtis hard to reconcile.â Macduff, ActIVsc.iii
I spent hours trying to find the way I felt about the current Rude Mechanicalâs production of Shakespeareâs Macbeth only to have Billy Bard having already wrapped it up for me more than halfway through the show. This particular production is a balancing act of strong performances, questionable conceptualizations, impressive technological inclusions, mismatched aesthetics, and a barrage of death,
What hempen home-spuns have we swaggering here? Tis a crew of Rude Mechanicals and they indeed find themselves Ill Met By Moonlight. Some six years in the making, TRM finally gets to bring their dream production of Shakespeareâs A Midsummer Nightâs Dream to light. UV light, that is. Playing at the Greenbelt Arts Center through September 9th 2023 and Directed by Joshua Engel, this judiciously rendered production of Midsummer is not your grandfolksâ fairy-tale.
Itâs all trueâ itâs all trueâ hilarity will ensue! Down at The Dew Drop Innâ youâll laugh tooâ itâs all true! Now granted, my lyrical composition isnât nearly as hysterical as Jaki Demarestâs when it comes to scribbling together crackpot-laughable words for the 70âs heehaw hoe-down spin-about that happens pretty darn close to the end of Act I with some of the blokes box-stepping âround one another in sheer nonsense-grade bliss. Waitâ sorryâ TIMEWARP!! Back it upâ all the waaaay back to the 1970s,
Men are all dissemblers, liars, deceivers! Or something like it, so says playwright Hannah Cowley, author of The Belleâs Stratagem. Not to be confused with The Beauxâ Stratagem, by George Farquhar (though if you stick around in a few weeksâ time, you may see exactly that show on The Rude Mechanicalsâ stage!) Belle hit Drury Lane in 1780 whereas Beaux debuted quite a few decades before (and at Theatre Royal) in 1707.
Hello.
My name is Amanda Gunther.
You killed all 37.
Prepare to be reviewed.
Going out with a rather impressive bangâ though by no means are they finished producing or existingâ The Rude Mechanicals, now in full-time residence at The Greenbelt Arts Center, have attained one of their coveted company goals: Produce all 37 of Shakespeareâs plays. Cymbeline, Directed by Erin Nealer, completes the quest of all 37.
For my part, I will have only those glorious, womanly
pleasures of being very verbose and very favorable to The Rude Mechanicalâs
production of William Wycherleyâs The Country Wife. A far cry from very
slovenly, though indeed âtis very drunk, this quirky Restoration comedy
(apparently there was humor in the restoration era) under the direction of Alan
Duda, finds its footing not in its original setting but rather in the posh and
swanky New York City of the 1950âs.
How goes the world? A loaded question if ever there was one to be asked, especially in this day and age. But set yourself back from this day and age, set your dial of existence back to 1978 in order to prepare yourself to digest The Rude Mechanicalsâ latest offering: Timon of Athens. Directed by Joshua Engel, this miscreant play of Williams Shakespeareâs is finding a new lens through which to be viewed in the hands of The Rude Mechanicals.
âMenâs evils manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water.â And we shall now ascribe the virtues of The Rude Mechanicals production of Henry VIII in ink. Well, digital ink. Directed and Choreographed by Liana Olear, this âlost historyâ (the most boring of the boring and banal of banal Shakespearean histories) is revitalized and given a new lease on life. Olearâs strategic placement of the historical recounting of the eighth Henry in the mid 1910âs lends itself to her dancerâs passion,
What fire is in my ears? All of Shakespeareâs women in one show? Can it be so? Well, that might be a bit absurd, even for The Rude Mechanicals, but they do come close, featuring a varied assortment of all of the Bardâs leading ladies in just shy of two hoursâ stage traffic! Conceived and Directed by Leanne G. Stump, this selection of scenes showcases some of the finer moments of Shakespeareâs female characters,
Discomfort guides this servantâs tongue, you see
When first to speak on the venue known as the DCAC
But fear not, playgoers, for I share with you
Good news of The Rude Mechanicals and their show of Richard II
Laboriously titled The Life and Death Of
They present to you from one floor above
A judiciously rendered version that moves quite free
Of this early and poetic tale of history
Directed by Michael F.
Suppose within the girdles of the Greenbelt Arts Centerâs walls are now confined two mighty forcesâ The Rude Mechanicals: a community theatre troupe that delivers judiciously trimmed and readily accessible Shakespearean playsâ and Henry V: Shakespeareâs middle Henry history play. Directed by Rebecca Speas, this muse of fire finds its place among the Bardâs canon in true Rude Mechanicals style and delivers swiftly the plot, the point, and the perfectly pared-down rendition of what is otherwise a lengthy history lesson in the trajectory arc of Prince Hal to King Harry.
Before Luke Skywalker becomes a man, he started out hanging out with an old man and a pack of neâr do wells in a crap bar while his dad and more useful sibling were out there ruling the universe. George Lucas snagged a page from Shakespeare and made it his own into the form we know and love today. Â The Rude Mechanicals have taken this tumultuous two-part history of Henry IV about life,
Girl wants boy. Boy wants different girl. Girl tricks boy into wanting her. And they live happily ever after. Other stuff happens. Thereâs a fool involved somehow. And a king. And a fistula. That the girl magically cures the king of with her magical powers, or her herbs and whatnot. And then they live happily ever after. Also some love letters and a ring. Maybe some secretive identities, a ten-oâclock kidnapping, and a horse?