Presented by C-Mac the Art Wizard (AKA actor/writer/artist Christopher MacIntyre) and co-directed by C-Mac and Dan Yaiullo, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] {Again} is destined to make The Bard hot again.  After warming up the audience with an appropriate choice of music (Including some numbers from Something Rotten, of course…), the show was introduced by Levi Penley, one of the show’s five players.  That said, with the seemingly dozens of characters in the Shakespeare-verse that we meet during the show’s two-hour runtime, it will seem like there are a LOT more actors on the tiny stage of Brooklyn’s The Rat.  For this writer, this fantastic show already had its work cut out for it: One of the first things Levi did was to show us the paper-and-leather bound BOOK that spurned the idea for this show: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare— as Levi says, “the best book in the history of books”!  (Yes, kids, a physical BOOK. Ooooh!) I’ll take this moment to add that EVERY bookshelf should have this masterpiece in all its hardcover glory. You’re welcome…

As we enter the second half of 2025, anyone who would question the relevance of Mr. William Shakespeare (Sorry, the author did not have a middle name…) in our modern times would be advised to re-hear that delicious quote from As You Like It in Act 2: “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts”.  In a world where multi-tasking is an essential for survival, where someone would stand out for NOT having multiple identities– thanks mostly to digital technology– this line says more than ever even 427 years later. Had Will-I-AM lived to see this age where the need to stay relevant had become a basic human necessity, I’d be curious if he would have amended this phrase to add, “And every wise man should learn when to get OFF the stage!” (I won’t name names…) But not for THIS show! When one of the actors stating it would take SEVEN hours to give The Bard’s work the justice it truly deserves, I was all for it. (I was ready to start a collection…) 

Sadly, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] {Again} at The Rat in Brooklyn this night only had two hours. (Rumor had it that there was an adult puppet show immediately afterward…) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare in a two-hour show?  In one segment, the cast even vowed to take on the challenge of “sixteen plays in five minutes”!  How DARE they…!  So, let’s fast forward a bit and ask the questions: (1) Can they do it? And… (2) Is The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] {Again} as wild and crazy as it promises to be?  The answers are (1) Yes, they can– from the so called “cruder” early works to the more commonly known stuff like Romeo and Juliet— and (2) Yes, the show is funny, fast, and furiously paced.  In the show’s first few moments, player Mackenzie Menter, our “preeminent Shakespeare scholar” (Or are they?…) gave an introductory speech which was the epitome of the mix of reverence and frivolity. While showing immense respect for The Bard, the production is also definitely NOT afraid of having some fun at WIlliam’s expense, whether it’s from the raising the camp level to the nth degree, or indulging in some sight gags (a sign for “BAL-CONEY ISLAND which sells Nathen’s HAWT dogs, flashing a pair of [fake] ass cheeks when mentioning the moon– which Shakespeare frequently references…)  The audience definitely appreciated the humor…especially when the players decide to condense The Bard library.  How about “The Comedy of Two Well-Mannered (Manored?!) Gentlemen Lost in the Merry Wives of Venice on a Midsummer’s Twelfth Night in in Winter”.  Or “Cymbeline Taming Pericles the Merchant in the Tempest of Love as Much as You Like or Nothing”?… Whew!  And yes, we get to see it those mash-ups later on. Even a “problematic” play like Troilus and Cressida gets a far more fun reinterpretation than it deserves! The first of the author’s works for the night, however, was the aforementioned Romeo and Juliet. Even in its abbreviated form, these players’ version was as complete as could be… or as complete as it NEEDED to be, at least insofar as the important messages of the play go! Hearing Christopher MacIntyre and Levi Penley recite their phrases in perfect unison is worth the price of admission alone.  The easy-on-the-eyes actors have great chemistry together.  Their strong personas and unique stage presences, however, don’t allow them to totally melt into their characters.  And in this case, that’s a great thing!  Mackenzie Menter is more of a skillful master of disguise. I was really fooled into thinking there were more than four actors on stage.  Speaking of which… Titus Andronicus (a play with a body count of 14, by the way…) is reimagined, of all things, as a cooking show.   Menter plays the main role as cooking show host as a less transparently psychotic version of Mrs. Lovett.    And then there’s “The Scottish Play”, AKA Macbeth (leading one of the characters to noted “There is NOTHING Scottish about that play!”)  In yet another of many of the show’s over-the-top moments, the team takes on RuPaul’s Drag Race for a “Queens of Her-story” segment.  After all, all of the female roles were played by men in drag anyway, so why not?  There’s even Mackenzie Menter playing Michelle Visage, and that was pretty darn awesome.  But these old-school queens take the competition REALLY seriously!  Even RuPaul’s girls never engaged in an all-out physical fight, complete with wig pulling… (RPDR fans, correct me if I’m wrong.)  

The energy of the cast is seemingly never-ending.  Act 2 goes all out, complete with a puppet show, audience participation, and a seemingly infinite number of transgenerational pop culture references (There’s even a cameo appearance by… JAWS!”)  But by now you may be wondering about … Hamlet (!): the play which is rarely NOT ever being performed in a stage SOMEWHERE in the world, the work which inspired over 50 film adaptions of varying quality (Again, we won’t name names.), etc… Yes, kids, we DO get to see Hamlet, and not just once… But I won’t give too much away.  I WILL say, however, that the encore of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] {Again} must be experienced to be believed!

In what’s a true labour of love, the cast and crew of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] {Again} are all fantastic, and they all are clearly having fun with the show. Like Mackenzie Menter, player Dan Yaiullo really melts into his various roles.  And a special shout-out goes to fifth player, Stage Manager Addi Herndon, who keeps the frenetic pace going.  This couldn’t have been easy with the MANY props, many costume changes, and even many more wigs.  The set design is bold, with blindingly bright color schemes and a distinct affinity for orange and violet.  It’s smart, fun, raucous, and much Moor cool than Othello on Broadway…