Shakespeare... psychedelic!

Last night I went to downtown LA to a beautiful Cathedral I'd never been to before to watch an outdoor performance of Two Gentlemen of Verona set in the 60s against the music of the Beatles... between each scene was a Beatles song that was appropriate to the plot. It was a great way of adding dialogue without actually changing the Shakespearian script, because the songs say so much. For instance (the two gentlemen of Verona, Proteus and Valentine, were members of a recently broken up rock band), Proteus always shows who he's in love with by singing the song Julia, with the name fitting the person he loves. First Julia, then Sylvia. This was the first time I'd been acquainted with the play, and I thought it was brilliantly done. As usual, the first couple scenes were difficult to understand, and then suddenly my ear attuned itself to Shakespearian and I understood the rest of the play clear as crystal.

Labels: entertainment

posted by Holly @ 8:32 AM