To Be or … Whatever
Orfeo Group presents a speedy, irreverent Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s tragedy Titus Andronicus as a cooking show? That’s what the Orfeo Group is cooking up for the summer.
The nonprofit theater troupe is performing The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) on the banks of the Charles from Thursday through Sunday nights — bringing a whirlwind version of the Bard to the masses.
According to Orfeo Group coproducer Caleb Magoon (CFA’06), you don’t have to love Shakespeare to love this production.
“It’s almost not about Shakespeare,” he says. The story follows three friends, played by Daniel Berger-Jones (CFA’05), Risher Reddick (CFA’04), and Gabriel Kuttner, “all Shakespeare connoisseurs who attempt to compress all 37 of his shows into one.”
This is the first comedy performed by the two-year-old Orfeo Group (their previous two productions were dramas); the play, written by the Reduced Shakespeare Company and first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1987, has garnered rave reviews from The Today Show and the Miami Herald; the New York Times compares its antics to those of British comedic legends Monty Python.
With a preshow by Improv Boston and Stoneham Theatre’s Kids4Kids, plus barbecue grills available, the night is a complete package. Come early with some burgers and shish kebabs and enjoy an evening of outdoor theater.
The “screwball” Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) runs Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights through August, at “6:45-ish,” at Christian Herter Park (home of the Publick Theatre), 1175A Soldiers Field Rd., Brighton. Orfeo Group is offering a Summer Season Bailout: Thursday nights the show is free for everyone and on Fridays college students with ID get in free.
Devon Maloney can be reached at devon.maloney@gmail.com.
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