Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), The

It will be difficult to see Kevin Six, Tom Hall, or Tyler Richards Hewes in a serious play without remembering that they crucified the works of The Bard in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), which can be seen Thursday thru Saturday at Swedenborg Hall thru August 29th. The show is produced by Lotus Theater Collective and Talent to aMuse. Writers Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield have reduced the body of The Bard's work to about 80 minutes. The result is often just a mention of a play's name. However, Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus, Othello and Hamlet receive much more than a mention.

The three actors, all marvels of fast costume changes, easily take on Shakespeare's various characters. This includes some hilarious cross-gender situations. Their scripted ad libs are convincing. The script does call for personalizing the performance to the local venue. In Othello, the intrepid trio rap their abridged version. This pretty much raps up Act One. Well, except for the football game carried on by the cast in the audience area.

Act II is devoted primarily to their abbreviated Hamlet. The script calls for the mention of Sir Laurence Olivier; however, they opt to mention a well known local actor with a strong Scottish brogue.

Warning to Shakespeare purist: You will hate "compleat." To the rest of, have a blast, laugh and cry at this brutalization. It is one of the best spoofs on the honored one. I was fortunate, a few years ago, to see the three playwrights do the show. While a slightly different take on the script, Lotus' production is just as funny. In fact, I like their less-than-elegant costumes even more than the tonier garb of the former production.

I truly hope Shakespeare is laughing heartily in his grave. Oh, there is one point of contention: The playwrights spelled it "compleat" -- not as in the program,