Shakespeare for the Masses

I went with my friend Dana last night to see Much Ado About Nothing, at the Shakespeare Theatre's Free for All. The Free for All is a summer tradition. The Shakespeare Theatre presents one of their regular season plays outside, in a National Park Service amphitheatre called Carter Barron.

The play starred Sondra from the Cosby Show. At first I was distracted by her voice -- Sondra doesn't do Shakespeare! She does Bill Cosby! -- but by the end, I thought she was pretty good. They had set the play in the 1920s, which was fun. I love it when Shakespeare gets a modern update. I think it makes it more accessible.

Whenever I go to the Free for All, I'm amazed by a couple things. First, how many people bring their children. I'm all for children seeing live theatre, but come on, Shakespeare? How many 3 year olds are going to get that? Last year's play was Hamlet, which is definitely rated PG-13. Just because it's outside and free doesn't mean it's for kids. The other thing is, every time I'm there, I feel like I'm camping. It's in the woods, and the bathrooms have that park service feel, and I expect a ranger to come out and give a talk about hawks.