(Almost) All-male Shakespeare in New York City, 2006–7

Abstract

(Almost) All-male Shakespeare in New York City, 2006–7 Jeremy Lopez In the 2006–2007 theater season, three major all-male Shakespearean productions were staged in New York: two of Twelfth Night (one produced by Edward Hall's Propeller company and the other by the Chekhov International Theatre Festival, both at the Brooklyn Academy of Music), and one of As You Like It (Poortom Productions, at the Here Arts Center). These productions dealt in various ways with the unique dramatic possibilities—and difficulties—faced in presenting a modern audience with male actors dressed (by contemporary standards) in drag. As will be seen, the way each production chose to address this issue bore directly on the imaginative engagement of its audience: while both the Twelfth Night shows encouraged spectators to suspend their disbelief, the production of As You Like It deliberately drew attention to its own artifice, sharing its self-awareness with the audience. Interestingly, despite these differences of approach, all three productions felt the need to interpolate moments of humorous pop-culture-informed spectacle. In the pages that follow, we also review a fourth show that ran simultaneously: The Merry Wives of Windsor (Oberon Theatre Ensemble at the Lion Theatre in Theatre Row), which was staged in an explicitly modern idiom heavily colored by elements of broad physical humor. This production was similarly informed by concerns of audience engagement, and addressed this issue by clothing itself in the sort of comedic spectacle that emerged at various moments in the three all-male productions. Copyright © 2008 The Johns Hopkins University Press