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OMHS's The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged

Vengeful ghosts. Repulsive wigs. Serving your enemy to your friends…on a platter. It sounds like a rather terrible soap opera or an even worse low-budget film, but Shakespeare? It’s not so far-fetched in Oakland Mills High School’s production of “The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged,” the cast of which aims to make the Bard’s works understandable to a modern audience through rather unconventional—and often deliberately misguided—means.

Working off of the assumption that the modern person has a short attention span and an inability to metabolize anything Shakespeare, the cast condenses the works into a two-hour, “contemporary-friendly” set, featuring a cooking show, a rap, and a football game. The speech is largely modernized (and those that are kept are satirized), and modern cultural references are constantly interjected. Audience interaction is a crucial element, and a conversational tone is often taken between scenes. The fourth wall—the idea of an audience—is effectively abolished, and everyone becomes a potential actor. Several members are chosen at random to appear on stage with the cast.

The original was written for a cast of three, so Oakland Mills’s cast of ten is a feat in itself. The risk of crowding is very present, but OMHS used the additional members as an asset. Scenes were explored more in-depth because more characters could be portrayed, and this, of course, led to more comedy. The lively cast and the ability of every single member to elicit a giggle from the audience kept the show exhilarating even as the script provided intentional “slow down” periods.

The exceptional cast featured Natalie Beach, Julia Celtnieks, Will Eastham, Stephen Fox, Jonathan Hunter, Rebecca Martinez-Griewe, Jenna Pekofsky, Marci Raymond, Cally Roosa, and Katherine Taylor, all of whom attacked their roles with a delightful zeal that brought the show to life. All were lively and animated, combining physical humor with the obvious verbal; and those who had to remain silent while another cast member delivered their lines never ceased to entertain, often through facial expressions or subtle movements. Each actor spoke clearly and projected their lines flawlessly.

The cast also took complete advantage of the set, which was composed of several levels. Where the action of most plays may have been hindered by such, “Shakespeare Abridged” only benefited from its cast’s interaction with it, as they ran, jumped, and otherwise frolicked across the stage. The successful choreography ensured that it never seemed crowded. Lighting was also effective, from the fantastic opening light show to the evocative lighting in individual scenes. The dozens of costumes throughout the play ranged from realistic to outrageous (the disastrous wigs worn by Eastham when portraying female characters), and altogether, lent the play a deliberately ludicrous air.

Oakland Mills combined over-the-top comedy with exceptional delivery for a truly remarkable production of “Shakespeare Abridged.” The satirical humor of this irreverent spin on Shakespeare’s classics can be shocking at times, but remains thoroughly enjoyable. And who knows? One may actually better understand Shakespeare because of it.