Henry VI Parts 1, 2, and 3

Henry VI Part 1, 2, and 3

By William Shakespeare 

★★★★☆

Shakespeare’s histories have always felt less accessible to me than his other work. But I realized the other day that it’s probably because I’m not that familiar with the people involved. What is the musical “Hamilton” if not our version of Shakespeare's histories? It’s a theatrical show based on our own country’s history. Shakespeare's histories are not as easy for us to understand because we they are covering a time period that we don’t always learn about. But during Shakespeare's time everyone knew who those dukes and kings were, just as we know names like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Anyway, all of that to say that these three plays worked much better for me than some of the other histories of his I've tackled and I think it’s because I finally made that connection. It was also incredibly helpful to me to watch the Hollow Crown series before reading the plays. It covers all three of these plays although it's called Henry VI Part one and two, it's really a combination of parts 1, 2 and 3.They are so well done and watching those first helped me picture a face with a name while reading the place, which helped me keep all the characters straight.

These plays are part of the eight plays that make up the War of the Roses. Henry VI Part 1 includes the original scene where the characters pick a white or red rose to declare their allegiance. From there it’s a constant stream of battle and betrayal as they all fight for the thrown. Poor King Henry VI is thrust into his role as monarch when he’s only a baby. The death of his father meant a life time watching others attempt to steal his throne. Almost everyone in the plays comes to a bloody end by the final curtain. 

A few thoughts:

Margaret was such a bad ass. She was conniving, but she was strong where her husband, King Henry VI, was weak. I have to admire her and she certainly has some of the best lines. 

We meet the infamous Richard in these plays. I'd read and seen Richard III before, so reading these gave me a better understanding of his character's background. He’s a delicious villain and one that I loved getting to know.

“Why, I can smile and murder whiles I smile,
And cry 'content' to that which grieves my heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face for all occasions”

BOTTOM LINE: I ended up loving them. I was surprised by how hooked I got on the War of the Roses drama, but it’s like a soap opera. It’s amazing to see how power seems to corrupt all the touch it. Even those who are not driven with a desire for power are often the easiest to steal power from, because they aren’t as vicious as others. I would definitely read part 1, 2, and 3 back-to-back because they work better as one continuous story. I also highly recommend watching the Hollow Crown series first, but just dive into the plays and enjoy them! 

“Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.”

“For where thou art, there is the world itself,
With every several pleasure in the world,
And where thou art not, desolation.”

“Unbidden guests are often welcomest when they are gone.”

Inherit the Wind

Inherit the Wind
by Jerome Lawrence
★★★★☆

This play was a loose retelling of the real Scopes Monkey Trial. Two lawyers pitted themselves against each other to battle religious freedom and the role it plays in our educational system. A young teacher is arrested for teaching evolution in his classroom. His small town is up in arms over the matter and a pious lawyer, Brady, comes into town to rail on behalf of the injustice done to good Christians. The other lawyer, Drummond, is a soft-spoken man who has come to defend the teacher. Throw in the teacher’s girlfriend, who happens to be the town preacher’s daughter and you’ve got quite a mess.

This is definitely a fictionalized version of the real events, but it’s close enough to give us a peak into the fall reach the case had at the time. One of the most important characters, in my opinion, is the cynical reporter E. K. Hornbeck, who acts as the lens through which we see the trial unfold.  His quick wit and sharp barbs provide humor, but he lacks the empathy of characters like Drummond.

The real crux of the play hinges on man’s ability to think for himself and form his own conclusions. That message is beautifully stated.

BOTTOM LINE: The play is excellent, the movie is excellent, and I can’t wait to see this one performed as a live play one day.

“Lady, when you lose your power to laugh, you lose your power to think straight."

“I’m sorry if I offend you. But I don’t swear just for the hell of it. You see, I figure language is a poor enough means of communication as it is. So we ought to use all the words we’ve got. Besides, there are damned few words that everybody understands.” 

Fiddler on the Roof

 

Fiddler on the Roof

(Based on Sholem Aleichem's Stories)

by Joseph Stein

★★★★

 

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of one of the most beloved musicals of all time, a new edition of the original play has been released. Tevye is a kind man, but also one who's used to the world running in a very specific way. He is a Jew living in Russia in the early 1900s with his wife and five daughters. They live a simple life together and he holds the traditions of his people in high regard.

 

Each of his daughters is trying to find their way in the world and to begin to make decisions about their life and fall in love. Tevye's decisions and beliefs are put to the test when he must decide which is more dear to him, his family's happiness or his traditions.

 

I believe the reason this play is still so relevant today is because of the message of the story at its core. Despite the humor and the setting, the real story is about one man trying to understand the world as he watches it change around him. Whether it's Jewish people in 1905 Russia or hippies in the 1970s or millennials and their intrusive technology, children will always challenge and question the world in which they are raised. The author created relatable characters, full of humor and warmth. They all just want to be loved in their own way, despite the world changing around them.

 

BOTTOM LINE: See the musical if you get the chance so you can enjoy the full experience of the songs that have become so famous (Tradition, If I Were a Rich Man, Matchmaker, Matchmaker.) But regardless of whether you have a chance to see the show, the story told in the original play stands on its own as a timeless tales of humanity struggle to adapt to an ever-changing world.

 

**I received a review copy for an honest review.

WordPlay Shakespeare

Anyone who reads this blog probably knows I’m a huge fan of Shakespeare. So when I heard about “Half the Page Is a Stage” I was beyond intrigued. The idea is a great one, take Shakespeare original text and pair it with filmed performances of that play. The result is a new resource that could make Shakespeare’s work more accessible to those who are often intimidated by him.

 

So far Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are the two plays that WordPlay Shakespeare has made available. Using an iPad readers can now watch a complete performance of the play they are reading right alongside the text.

 

The one issue I’ve always had with reading Shakespeare is that it’s meant to be seen and not read. If you only read the text and you aren’t accustomed to the language, it’s sometimes difficult to get the humor and the heart of the work. This new twist breathes new life into the work. I can’t imagine reading Macbeth for the first time while seeing it performed on the same screen. What a fantastic way to introduce people to Shakespeare! I think this would work particularly well for high school students.

If you’re interested in checking out the book/play you can do so here. I love it when technology is used to encourage reading instead of the opposite. 

Photos of text and live performances by moi. 

The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest

by Oscar Wilde

★★★★★

You can’t beat Oscar Wilde when it comes to witty dialogue. The playwright mastered the art form of clever repartee and The Importance of Being Earnest is the best example of that talent.

Two bachelors, Jack and Algernon, both find themselves pretending to be someone they are not in order to get what they want. Their actions cause confusion and cat fights when two ladies, Gwendolen and Cecily find themselves falling for the fictional “Earnest.” Top it off with the indomitable Lady Bracknell, whose matchmaking skills rely heavily on evaluating someone’s social standing and you’ve got a recipe for hilarity.

I’ve always loved this play and rereading it was a treat. I also had the chance to finally see it performed in May and I loved it. That version set the story in the 1990s instead of the 1890s, but the text was exactly the same, which reminded me that romantic comedies really haven’t changed too much.

This play also contains many of Wilde’s most infamous lines. Here’s a few of my favorites:

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”

“To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”

“I'll bet you anything you like that half an hour after they have met, they will be calling each other sister.
Women only do that when they have called each other a lot of other things first.”

BOTTOM LINE: Read it! It’s a quick and delightful play.

I read this as part of the Let’s Read Plays yearlong event hosted by Fanda. From November 2012 to October 2013 participants will read 12 classics plays throughout the year, at least one each month.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

by Tennessee Williams

★★★★★

A southern family gathers to celebrate its patriarch Big Daddy’s birthday. His two sons are as different as can be. The elder, Gooper, is married to a nauseating woman and has five obnoxious kids with another on the way. The younger, Brick, is an alcoholic struggling with a horrible depression. His wife Maggie is beautiful, but is cracking under the strain of trying to hold her marriage together. Their complicated relationship seems irrevocably broken, though we don’t know why at first.

The play won the Pulitzer Prize for its deft portrayal of a family full of secrets. Contempt, greed, adultery, etc. the story is ripe with issues. Williams has a wonderful talented for capturing the fissure in relationships and people’s psyches. Brick is horrible to Maggie, talking to her with utter contempt. His treatment of his wife is a learned behavior. His father, Big Daddy, has treated his own wife with disdain for forty years. In his own words…

“All I ask of that woman is that she leave me alone, but she can’t admit to herself that she makes me sick.”

Maggie the cat’s loneliness is palpable. I’ve never encountered a character so isolated and trapped in her own life. Her husband Brick is so broken, whether it’s because of his feelings for his dead friend Skipper or his guilt over Skipper’s death or both. We know that Skipper loved Brick, but we don’t know whether Brick felt the same, only that he was so bothered by Skipper’s confession that he hung up on him.

BOTTOM LINE: The play is an enthralling portrait of loneliness. You can't look away.

**The edition I read had two versions of the third act. The first was the ending as Williams originally imagined it. The second was a rewrite that Elia Kazan encouraged Williams to do. Both are interesting, the major change is the absence or presence of Big Daddy.

 “Living with someone you love can be lonelier – than living entirely alone! – if the one that y’ love doesn’t love you.”

The 1958 film version makes a few major changes, notably the absence of any reference to homosexuality. It completely leaves out the bits about the former owners of the plantation. It makes Brick and Skipper’s relationship into a dependant friendship, but never touches on the issue of homosexuality. It also leaves us with a much more hopeful ending than the play does. It stars Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor; she is particularly mesmerizing as Maggie.

The Iceman Cometh

The Iceman Cometh

by Eugene O'Neill

★★★★☆

This sad saga chronicles a group of drunks who meet up at a local saloon. They are full of big dreams for the future, but anyone who knows them knows that they are all talk and no action. Each man has glossed over the story of his life in his own mind, leaving out the bad bits and chalk any failures up to someone else’s fault or a tragedy that befell him.

The patrons look up to a salesman named Hickman ("Hickey") who stops in when he can. During the first half of the play everyone gathers at the saloon for a birthday party and just waits for Hickey to arrive. When he finally gets there something is different about him and immediately everyone is concerned. He has lost his happy-go-lucky attitude. Hickey forces each of the individuals to reevaluate their lives and ask themselves whether they are truly trying to improve it.

The owner of the saloon, Harry Hope, watches the drama unfolds in his establishment. He is concerned by the direction in which Hickey’s “ideas” are steering everyone. In this world people embrace only the possibility of a better life, they never intend to take the steps that would actually lead to one, but it's that hope that keeps them going.

It’s hard to explain why this was such a powerful story to me. I think part of it is the context in which it was written. It was published in 1940, and written during the Great Depression, a time of disillusionment in America. It captures that feeling of hopelessness in such a palpable way. I could see each of the characters thinking about their “one day” plans and truly believing that those dreams were attainable.

BOTTOM LINE: This play paints a beautiful picture of the crumbling American dream. It asks the question, do people really want to reach their goals or is the fact that they have those dreams enough for them? There’s something to be said for having a distant hope, especially for those living such desperate lives.

"I know you become such a coward that you'll grab at any lousy excuse to get out of killing your pipe dreams. And yet, as I've told you over and over, it's exactly those damned tomorrow dreams which keep you from making peace with yourself. So you've got to kill them like I did."

I read this as part of the Let’s Read Plays yearlong event hosted by Fanda. From November 2012 to October 2013 participants will read 12 classics plays throughout the year, at least one each month. Here's my master post.