NYTimes.com: To say I am not an avid outdoorsman is a gross understatement. From my perspective, civilization as we know it dates to the invention of air-conditioning, and the whole point of living in New York City is the opportunity it affords to bypass nature completely and its many discomforts and outright perils.
2 comments:
Shakespeare has taken on connotations of stuffiness and, as the writer of this article suggested, elitism, in our society. Don't ask me why, but when a high schooler is asked if they enjoy Shakespeare, they generally say no. We're not stupid, but most of us have little experience with Shakespeare outside of English class. So, when an engrossing and fun production of the Bard is staged, it makes for a more accessible performance to your average high school student. Which is a good thing since we'll soon be the ones responsible for preserving the classics.
Last year, after waiting on line for six and a half hours, getting tickets and seeing As You Like It, I promised myself that I would start going to Shakespeare in the Park as much as possible. It is an incredible experience and, as the author says and Christy points out, staging these occasionally dense works in a more accessible space can make understanding and enjoying Shakespeare much easier.
In addition, offering free tickets expands the audience to not just constant theatre goers but also people who are interested in seeing one show. It also brings together a group of hard-core Shakespeare lovers who get there at 5am and wait on line all day to get the first tickets handed out at noon. Seeing the show is amazing, but waiting on line is also half the fun. This year while waiting to get tickets to Comedy of Errors I met a really nice man who taught me origami for five hours. Being stuck on line with people and seeing a show with common goals and a common love for theatre and the work that the Public does is an incredible experience that I think everyone who lives near or in NYC should have.
Post a Comment