by Charlsie-Kern Kruger

There was a moment, about fifteen minutes into the opening night performance of “ShaXspeare Reimagined” that I realized I was excitedly leaning forward in my seat. I glanced around and realized that all the audience members in the nearly full house were doing the same. It was THAT kind of theatre. Magnetic. Riveting. Electrifying.

It was exciting because, in celebration of their 30-year-anniversary, the African-American Shakespeare Company had created a format to explore what they do best: reimagine Shakespeare for contemporary, and particularly (but by no means exclusively) African-American audiences. And they did a remarkable job.

Instead of presenting “scenes from Shakespeare”—which might have been excellent—they took a different approach, both surprising and original. They begin by establishing a specific African-American cultural context for their work, incorporating a hip-hop aesthetic in the music, movement, and visual style. But they did not try to pour Shakespeare’s stories into this new vessel. That would not have been objectionable, but the company had something smarter in mind. They collected “moments and themes from Shakespeare” and created a remix, hip hop style. A given segment might include lines from half a dozen or more plays, thematically linked. So we had segments (each one created by a different director and loosely referencing a particular play) that dealt with such thematic content as “royalty,” “kingly power,” “justice,” “love,” “mortality” and so on. These are Shakespeare’s famously deep and complex themes.

With the lines lifted intact out of Shakespeare’s story lines, their insightful content could be applied to contemporary Black experience. Shakespeare’s thoughts on justice resonate with images of the Jim Crow south and references to Emmett Till. His thoughts on kings take on contemporary force with visual references to Donald Trump. And so on….

It works brilliantly, and this is why the opening audience of s0phisticated appreciators of Shakespeare were leaning forward in our seats. We saw something genuinely new!

I say “sophisticated appreciators of Shakespeare” for a reason. It is possible that audiences who are not on intimate terms with the plays would be confused, at least occasionally. Some of the text was obscure. The actors, though excellent over-all, were uneven in providing the ideal level of  clarity, and had occasional lapses in vocal technique and ease of movement. But overall, this production is very satisfying.

There were many highlights. A straightforward presentation of the “mechanics” scene from “A Midsummer Nights Dream” was, indubitably, comedy gold. It had me laughing to the point of tears. This was more-or-less traditional Shakespeare and if any audience member had any doubt that this company could deliver the traditional goods, such doubts should have been smashed to smithereens. Particularly riotous in this scene was Roosevelt Green (his program credit reads ROOSEVE7T) as Pyramus the lover. His comic death scene was beyond hilarious.  (Director: Victoria Evans Erville.)

ROOSEV7T also astounds in a rendition of the climactic battle between Macbeth and McDuff in the sequence lifted from the Scottish Play. His dealdly betrayal of a mad King is spine tingling. Also, I should mention that he is well-matched by Brandon DiPaola (8RANDON) as McDuff. And their hand to hand combat (choreographed by 8RANDON) is, hands down (so to speak) the best stage fight I have ever seen. Terrifying and convincing, it required no suspension of disbelief. It looked like the real thing. Bravo! (Director: James Mercer II).

Ashley Raggs (ASHL3Y), an astonishingly accomplished graduate of the San Francisco (High) School of the Arts, might as well have been trained at the Yale School of Drama. She is a consummate professional who thrills in every sequence.

The uncredited minimal design elements featured wooden blocks decorated with what appeared to be drawings of electronic devices that served the production well and were used skillfully by the directors to create interesting stage pictures. Lighting by Kevin Myrick and Sound and Projection by James Mercer were excellent, as was Dallas Thomas’s choreography.

“ShaXspeare Reimagined” continues at the Taube Atrium Theatre through March 30. For further information, click here.
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Rating: ***** (For an explanation of TheatreStorm’s rating system, click here.)
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“ShaXspeare Reimagined,”  a creative remix of scenes and lines from the works of William Shakespeare, by the African American Shakespeare Company. Directors: Rebecca Clark, Victoria Evans-Erville, Aejay Antonis Marquis, James Mercer II, Dawn Monique Williams, William Thomas Hodgeson. Lighting Design: Kevin Myrick. Sound and Projection Design: James Mercer II. Choreographer: Dallas Thomas. Fight Choreographer: Brandon DiPaola. 

Cast:

Thomas Akins, Jr. Cathryn Cooper. Brandon DiPaola. Gabriel Garrett. Roosevelt Green. Mya Harris. Awele Makeba. Ashley Raggs. Ije Success.