“CompleteWorks” abridged, but laughs remain uncut

Doing 37 plays in 97 minutes with three actors—sounds like mission impossible, right?  With the help of a little audience participation, a few wigs and a whole lot of laughter, Tyler Glover '13, Caroline Iosso '12 and Henry Behel '10 are ready to accept the challenge. Directed by Catherine Buxton '12 and Emily MacLeod '12, the three will cross dress, rap, fight and dance their way through "The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged!)." Head over to Rockefeller 200 Thursday April 29 at 10 p.m. or Friday April 30 at 7 and 10 p.m. to see this over-the-top parody of all that is Shakespeare.

When MacLeod asked herself the puzzling question, "What hasn't the Vassar community seen yet?" her mind instantly jumped to "The Complete Works."

"The show was originally written in the early '90s when [Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield] thought it'd be funny to condense ‘Romeo and Juliet' into a half hour using two actors and a narrator," she said. 

Over the last 20 years, "Complete Works (Abridged!)" has been developed, changed and reinvented to accommodate pop culture and to keep every audience laughing. "I saw a video of [another company's] stage production when I was maybe thirteen. I was obsessed with it and grew to love the show," said MacLeod.

Because the original script is packed tight with outdated jokes written for a 1990s audience, Vassar's cast and crew has put their own unique spin on Shakespeare. "The characters are written for really specific people because it was acted by the people who wrote it. We've adapted the parts to our own sense of humor so we can be ourselves on stage," said Henry Behel. "Though we follow the script to some extent, there's a lot of improv. It's very open to our experimentation," added Iosso.

Iosso may be the only girl in the play, but she's definitely not the only one playing with femininity. According to actor Glover, "I play all the female roles. I'm constantly running back stage, putting on a skirt, throwing on a wig, grabbing a sword, spinning around in circles, screaming and probably dancing in provocative ways all the while. It's insanity."
What's perhaps even more insane is the fact that the group plans to pack all of Shakespeare's work into just over an hour and a half. When asked how they do it, Glover responded "Sweatily!"  Some plays get just a mention, some a few minutes, and "Hamlet" gets the whole second act. The cast's tribute to the tale of the Prince of Denmark is fast, ridiculous, and even backwards at times. They duel, jump and fall, yell, throw props, put on puppet shows and improv on the fly.

"People coming into the show should be prepared to laugh until they cry and more importantly, be prepared to be a part of the show," said MacLeod. Obviously, audience participation is a must, and will definitely enhance the experience of "Complete Works (Abridged!)." "We demolish the theatrical fourth wall," Glover said, adding "the audience is just as much a part of the show as we are."

Whether you hated "Hamlet," loved Lucrece, or haven't even heard of Henry , there's no doubt that "Complete Works (Abridged!)" is definitely one comedy that will be served as you like it—fresh, creative, and probably a little inappropriate.