Acting Company prepares for ‘Shakespeare (abridged)'

Theaterland peeked in this week on a rehearsal of "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)," which is set to open Jan. 30 at The Acting Company in Yuba City.

Directed by TAC veteran Joe Moye, this tongue-in-cheek parody is a farcical compendium of scenes drawn from all of Shakespeare's 37 dramas and comedies telescoped into less than two hours.

Think of it as theatrical entropy with many gags and punchlines.

Originally written and produced by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, a California troupe formed in 1981, "Abridged" has played around the world from London to Tokyo.

It ran for 10 years in London, reportedly making this roller coaster romp through the Bard's entire body of work London's longest-running comedy ever.

There have been a number of off Broadway productions.

A New York Times critic praised it as "Pithier than Python," while a reviewer for the "Today" show claimed, "If you like Shakespeare, you'll like this show. If you hate Shakespeare, you'll love this show."

A television movie version of "Abridged" was released in 2000. Some 435 reviewers at the Internet Movie Database gave it a nine-star average rating.

Moye said he has done previous productions of "Abridged" and that it was well received by local audiences.

This interpretive rendition of Shakespeare is frequently revised to reflect the times, with some productions encouraging audience participation. Thus, the credit lines vary from production to production.

Adam Long is most often mentioned as the main writer. Moye lists David Singer and Jess Winfield as additional writers in the TAC production.

Starring in this particular show version are Jeff Graham, Anthony Dost and Mark Johnson, all of them veteran TAC regulars.

From what I saw at the rehearsal, Moye and this trio of comics are putting together a good show.

"Abridged" opens Jan. 30 at TAC, 815 B St., Yuba City, and runs through Feb. 22. Tickets are $15 for shows at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and matinees at 2 p.m. Sundays.

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The Foothill Theatre Company is not out of the financial woods yet, but it has released the start date of its first production for its foreshortened 2009 season.

That would be "Sylvia," an Albert Ramsdell Gurney comedy set to open March 5 at the Nevada Theatre on Broad Street, Nevada City.

"Sylvia" is a twist on the ménage-a-trois concept. Greg meets Sylvia, a dog (as in the bark-bark type) he finds in a park, and takes her home to his wife, Kate. The human couple are on the brink of a mid-life crisis break-up.

FTC will follow "Sylvia" with two other shows before the season ends in August, FTC executive director Karen Marinovich reported.

Other shows FTC is planning include "Bad Dates," a one-woman show slated to play at the Off Center Stage in Grass Valley from April 9 to May 16.

Also planned is "The Andrews Brothers," a 1940s-style musical, which will open at the Nevada Theatre in June.

More specific information and tickets can be obtained by calling the FTC box office 265-8587.

Tom Nadeau has written for and acted on stage, screen, radio and television. Write to him at theaterland@gmail.com.