It seems like I finished the last Ultimate Blogging Challenge yesterday, but it was actually two months and one day ago. And now, it’s time for the summertime version of the Ultimate Blogging Challenge, which means July, as opposed to all summer. And speaking about summer, what is a better way to start a summer blogging challenge than with Shakespeare in the Park?
Shakespeare in the Park is an annual tradition in Buffalo, New York. It’s been going on for a while. In fact, this year is the 50th anniversary season. It’s a lot of fun and these free productions (there is this request for a free will offering) have encouraged many people who might have never seen a Shakespeare play to come and watch the festivities.
Until the summer of 2020, all productions were offered at Delaware Park, with the stage at the bottom of a small hill, called Shakespeare Hill. It’s a fun place to watch a play. Delaware Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1968, is beautiful. There is a small lake and a rose garden, which, early in the spring, is full of daffodils. Going to the shows is an annual tradition for man people. In the summer of 2020, however, no shows were presented at Delaware Park. But Shakespeare in the Park went on. A socially distanced version was created as a touring production during this ‘intermezzo” season. They proved to be so popular that, even after programming restarted at Delaware Park, the touring production continued. I had the opportunity to see this year’s touring production at the Golden Age Center in Grand Island’s Nike Base, a complex that also houses the town’s recreation department.
This year’s version is called an abridged version of Romeo and Juliet. It’s the play in a somewhat speeded up version. The action is on hyperdrive with romantic kisses and dagger fights. It features a teenaged girl and boy who fall in love, despite the fact that their two families (Montagues and Capulets) have promised to obliterate each other. Oh, and Juliet’s family has already planned her marriage to some dude named Paris, over the objections of Juliet. She doesn’t like Paris, but marriage is all about power and political connections and less about (gasp!) romance. The families enforce their enmity with their trusty daggers. The daggers are almost extensions of the characters’ arms. The members of the warring families spent quite a bit of time pointing the daggers at each other. One fight after the next. It was fast. Really fast. Romance also came fast and furious. Even in the original version, Romeo and Juliet’s romantic entanglement seemed abrupt. In this version, it came at lightning speed (almost).
The abridged Romeo and Juliet was a fantastic production that was complete in one hour. It was presented indoors, fortunately. It was a rainy day, so it was nice to sit inside and watch such a wonderful show. The actors were: Patrick Burke, Karen Harty, Manny Mejia, Maia Pedro, and Tabitha Raithel. Each one played multiple roles merely by changing a few accessories (scarves, hats, etc.). The director is Brendan Dido.
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Sounds like a lot of fun.
It was so much fun!!!!