Get ready for Now That’s What I Call Elizabethan Writing. Depending on your age, you may or may not know who Roger Rees is, but his face is doubtlessly familiar. For those of us in the States, he is instantly recognizable for his recurring role as a stuffy romantic foil on Cheers. Rees, however, has an extensive resume in stage, television and film, notably appearing in several adaptations of works by Charles Dickens. Most importantly, Rees has done Shakespeare galore, and his latest venture utilizes the skills he developed in countless Bard-based productions.

Stealing its name from the subtitle of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, What You Will is a Shakespearean actor’s dream. The ninety-minute play is a celebration of Shakespeare on the stage. The one-man show features some of The Bard’s greatest speeches, allowing Rees to show off his range and verbal dexterity. In addition, the piece also contains historical anecdotes about performances of Shakespeare’s plays, some of which were hilariously disastrous. The show also has some pop-culture name-dropping including the seemingly incongruous Stevie Wonder (if Rees impersonates him, what will THAT be like?).

What You Will seems to have a comic bent, but I would be willing to bet money the evening won’t end without a snippet of the Agincourt speech or a few lines of “To be or not to be.” This, after all, an actor’s showcase, so if Rees only plumbed the comic highlights of The Bard, he’d be missing a huge percentage of the writer he’s celebrating.

Posted Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:22:53 and filed under Pop Culture, Actors, Acting, Twelfth Night, Theatre, Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.