Editors: Photos, bios and show notes are available on the festival press Web site,
The long tradition of lampooning William Shakespeare continues with "Shakespeare In Briefs!" starting July 6 at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus.
"We're taking a look at some of the rough edges of Shakespeare," said playwright and director John Dennis, a veteran of the festival. "We look at what's really happening in these poetic gems - how Shakespeare might appear on 'Nick at Night' or a reality TV show."
Fans of the many fights found in the Bard's plays will enjoy this show, Dennis said, humorously noting that Shakespeare also used 140 different terms for male and female genitalia in his various works.
The show's humor is universal, so even those who aren't fans of Shakespeare will enjoy it. "This is Shakespeare for someone who's being dragged to the festival, or someone who's been coming for years," Dennis said.
"Briefs!" is demanding on cast members James Esely, Adam Hose, Anthony Marble and Tony Molina because, in addition to being comic actors, they have to play a total of 150 different roles and be able to sing, dance and perform Shakespeare authentically. Since there are no women in the cast - which was the common arrangement during Shakespeare's period - the four men also will frequently perform in drag.
"They don't really look too pretty, but they are in wigs," Dennis said.
The director's vision for "Briefs!" was supplemented by contributions from dramaturg Pamela Stiehl, the show's four actors and Shakespeare himself. The audience participates in improvised portions of the show, as well.
"Briefs!" is Dennis' fourth directing project at the festival. His first was a hilarious 1960s interpretation of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" in 1994. He has directed for other regional theaters in Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. He is currently head of the M.F.A. professional actor-training program and artistic director of Louisiana State University's theater program.
Well versed in Shakespeare, Dennis doesn't seem too concerned with the exhaustive authorship debate. He suggests an interesting alternative source for the legendary works that many scholars contend were ghostwritten by playwrights using the name Shakespeare.Ìý
"Dracula wrote all the plays. Notice how you've never seen him and Shakespeare in the same room at the same time, have you?" Dennis said.
"Shakespeare, with six years of education, used 20,000 words in his works," he said. "Most of our audience, who have 16 years of education, use 4,000 words on their cell phones and in chat rooms."
Some experts believe Shakespeare himself occasionally lampooned theatrical conventions and the works he and his contemporaries produced. In the 1800s, it became popular for playwrights to pen parodies of Shakespeare. Regardless of whether Shakespeare actually wrote the plays, or who comes along to lampoon them, Dennis knows that the Bard's legacy will carry on.
"He's like Schwarzenegger," he said. "He won't go away - you can't kill him."
"Shakespeare in Briefs!" opens up July 6 with a preview show, and runs in full production through Aug. 24 at the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre on the campus of CU-Boulder. The show is part of the annual Colorado Shakespeare Festival, which this year also includes productions of "Macbeth," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and "Richard III." The festival draws about 40,000 audience members each season.
For information, schedules and tickets, visit the Colorado Shakespeare Festival Web site, or call (303) 492-0554.