Abbreviating the Bard Abbreviating the Bard (June 11, 2004)

Palo Alto Players conclude their season with the 'Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)'

by Marge Speidel

T oss all 37 of Shakespeare's plays and a few of his sonnets in a blender, add pratfalls, props and costume changes and you have "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)", the final production of Palo Alto Players' 73rd season.

The players often aim to conclude their season with a farce, and this show fits the bill. Fresh and rowdy but never disrespectful, "Complete Works" is a genial and light-hearted deconstruction of the Bard of Avon's canon. Imagine the Marx Brothers, Three Stooges and Monty Python, mixed with "Masterpiece Theatre," and you have the frothy and footloose farce co-written in 1981 by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield.

"It's a huge tongue-in-cheek romp," said Kit Wilder, who is both directing and co-starring in the production. "We're having a ball. I dislike art taking itself too seriously. This is from the work of a genius we can't even begin to fathom, and I think he would love it."

In the fast-paced, two-act comedy, Wilder and fellow actors Tarek Khan and Bill Olson play 75 different characters from all 37 plays. All the comedies are handled in one lump, as are the dramas. "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet" are given rather detailed and highly comedic presentations, while the rest are covered in unusual and surprising ways. One play, Wilder said, is performed as a cooking show. A few are briefly mentioned.

" 'The Complete Works' is a clever way to tell all the stories, which are edited snippets of the plays," Wilder said. "The gimmick is that three guys -- we all play ourselves -- have rented the hall to do this and it all goes haywire. In our earnest attempt at humor we get derailed all the time and everyone wonders what will go wrong next."

It has to be a taut production in order to cover so many plays. Yet Wilder is leaving room for seizing on something the audience likes and going with it.

"We improvise throughout, and there's a chance for the audience to take part," he said. "You can come prepared to go up on the stage."

Wilder likened his free-wheeling directing style to a jazz musician riffing on some phrase that another musician may have just played.

"The show is hugely entertaining for almost anybody. It's the kind of play that sooner or later almost everybody in the audience will recognize a word or phrase or sentence and say, 'Oh, that's where that came from,'" Wilder said.

Though popular worldwide today, "The Complete Works" had a modest start, beginning as a 20-minute pass-the-hat act at Renaissance Fairs in Northern and Southern California. It moved on to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it received high acclaim. Expanded to 99 minutes, it began touring the United States. It has since been staged in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong, Thailand and Ireland. It is currently the longest-running comedy in London, playing at the Criterion Theatre in the West End since 1996. Translations of the script are available in 16 languages.

Shakespeare is a natural for Wilder, both as an actor and director. As a teenager, he played parts in productions at University of Santa Clara, including Puck in "Midsummer's Night Dream." After getting a degree in theater there, he studied acting, directing, choreography and design at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Royal Shakespeare Company in London.

"Shakespeare is my passion," Wilder said. "I've played Hamlet and Richard III, and Petruchio in 'Taming of the Shrew.' I've directed these and other Shakespearean works often.

Wilder regards himself as a "playmaker," someone who has taken part in almost every function of staging a production.

"Other than costuming, I have done it all -- music director, choreographer, fight scene director. But for acting jobs, it's the old-fashioned way -- I audition."

Wilder has also directed eight previous Palo Alto Players' productions, including "A Lion in Winter," "Chorus Line" and "Man of La Mancha." That track record led Palo Alto Players Executive Director Peter M. Bliznick to recruit Wilder a year ago for the director's chair. He also gave Wilder the option of being in it -- no audition required -- provided he found just the right other two actors.

"Tarek, Bill and I have got on from day one, as if we had known each other much longer," Wilder said. "I wanted those who could work with me collaboratively and (those who would) also be able to give an honest opinion. As far as both directing and acting, it's difficult, but it's quite a lark because you live in the play even more," he said.

Wilder's wife, Lisa Mallette, managing director of City Lights Theater Company of San Jose, has sat in on rehearsals and offered ideas.

"There is some intelligent humor, some punning, bad jokes and physical humor," Wilder said. "But just like 'Lion in Winter,' it is about storytelling. That's present in all 37 plays. Theater is a wonderful demonstration of situation ethics. There are obvious technical differences. Where falling down is OK in this play, it would be a mishap in 'Lion in Winter.'"

Wilder's "day job" is director of the Youth Theater Conservatory at Broadway by the Bay in San Mateo. Dedicated to making a living in theater, his work often takes him to other states and other cities.

"You have to," he said. "If you take time off for 10 minutes people forget you existed. You have to be front and center all the time. That means juggling projects, early hours, late hours."

What: "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)," presented by Palo Alto Players

Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto

When: The show will preview tonight at 8 p.m. It will open on Saturday at 8 p.m. Additional performances will take place at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 13 and 27. There will be no performance on June 20.

Cost: Ticket prices are $17 for tonight's preview; $21 for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday performances; $25 for Friday and Saturday evenings; $27 for Saturday's opening-night performance, with a gala to follow. Students and seniors receive a $3 discount for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday performances. For tickets please call (650) 329-0891.

Info: Please visit www.paplayers.org.

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