Review: ‘Complete works’ homage to bard

As he scurried past me in pursuit of another cast member, Spencer D. Christensen dropped a hand on my shoulder and inquired, somewhat accusatorily, 'What are you writing?” Between the audience's boisterous laughter and his tight schedule (the man was trying to present 37 plays in 97 minutes, after all), I didn't have a chance to answer. I hope he didn't think me rude, and that this review may serve as a belated response.

The three performers - Christensen, Christopher Peltier and John William Watkins - who make up the cast of the Riverside Theatre in the Park production of 'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Revised)” are gifted comic actors. On the outdoor stage in Lower City Park and under the direction of Ron Clark, the trio kept the audience laughing with zany individual performances and hilarious ensemble work throughout this mad and irreverent dash through the Bard's canon.

The play was created by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield of the Reduced Shakespeare Company and was first performed in 1986. The piece allows for improvisation and also has been updated (or as the title would have it, revised) so that the pop culture references stay fresh. For example, Peltier provides a biography of Shakespeare early on, using his smartphone to access Wikipedia. Along the way, he somehow mixes in the histories of other, less literary, figures. Later, in what may well have been an improvised moment, Christensen suggests that Yorik, the deceased jester from 'Hamlet,” might be the victim of a certain government health care program.

The first act is filled with crazy approaches to presenting the plays, including 'Titus Andronicus” as a cooking show, all the comedies as an amalgamation requiring Peltier and Watkins to rapidly add and subtract costume pieces while Christensen narrates, and all the histories as a football game. While there were a few small missteps - for example, the rap version of 'Othello” was a bit ragged - it was a satisfying hourlong romp.

The second act features 'Hamlet,” the only play not covered in the first act. As a result of the narrower focus, the second act is more textured (or as the actors themselves might put it, it has more layers). The tone ranges from the absurd (the nature of the ghost of Hamlet's father sets up a couple of great one-liners) to the sublime (Peltier, after railing that no one can understand Shakespeare's language, undermines his point with a quietly effective passage).

A complicated audience-participation segment slows things down considerably, but the crowd joined in more or less enthusiastically with plenty of goading from the actors.

Throughout the play, the actors call out to 'Bob” for various sound and light cues. Of course, the technical aspects of the play require more than one guy. David Thayer's lighting design and Josh Christoffersen's set are appropriately spare, but supported the riotous action.

There were a few imperfect sound moments, particularly when the actors were offstage and supposedly unaware that we could hear them. Jenny Nutting Kelchen's costumes, anchored by colorful Converse All Star shoes and wacky switchable separates, were delightfully odd.

A stickler might point out (if he were not afraid that Christensen would yell at him) that the opening night performance ran a bit longer than the promised 97 minutes (even after the intermission is subtracted). Odds are, the show will tighten up during the run, but with luck, it also will maintain its loose, anything-might-happen, feel.

'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Revised)” is a sendup and homage. Watkins, Peltier and Christensen will have you laughing while providing a reminder of the scope of Shakespeare's accomplishment.