Catch a one-of-a-kind retelling of Shakespeare at the Geyer

Seeing Actors and Artists of Fayette County’s production of “The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged” is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

No, really, it’s a one-time, never-see-it-like-this-again show.

Director Andrew Johnson of Donora said that’s because the play written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield that parodies the plays of William Shakespeare encourages the cast to ad lib, revise the script and improvise.

“So, the really cool thing about this show is that it can’t be replicated,” he said. “That really appealed to the creator in me.”

The comedy also has been adapted by Johnson and company to make it more relevant for today’s audiences.

“There are some cringe-inducing aspects of the script that needed a 2020 facelift,” the director said, “so if you go see our show and then try to see it again somewhere else expecting the same thing, you’ll be greatly disappointed. This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.”

Shakespeare’s works condensed

The premise of the show is that a small cast covers all of the Bard’s 37 comedies, histories and tragedies in less than two hours.

Johnson’s biggest challenge as director was in conveying what Shakespeare’s words meant to the cast.

“They can read the dialogue all day, but unless they know the intention of what was written and the emotion behind the words, it will land flat,” he said. “The cast has done a great job with researching and finding the intentionality of everything Shakespeare wrote. He rarely wasted words.”

One of the cast members, Mandy Eckenrode Duxbury of Pittsburgh, said the show presents its share of challenges.

“My character in particular has a lot of heavy monologuing that is meant to be played with,” she said. “Also, my character only leaves the stage for maybe five minutes, aside from intermission. I have to be ‘on’ the entire time.”

She said she feels audiences will enjoy the show – even those people who dislike the English playwright and poet because of language and time period barriers.

A new appreciation for the Bard

“Our show uses modern contexts and humor to present Shakespeare’s works,” she said. “While it may be portrayed as a spoof, the original ideas are still there. I think the audience will take away a new appreciation for the Bard.”

Her stage credits at the Geyer include “Unconventional,” “Rocky Horror Show” and most recently, “Sweet Charity.”

Another cast member, Michelle McCalmont of Donegal, wasn’t familiar with the show when she auditioned but said “I knew it was a comedy and it looked like fun. So I auditioned and I absolutely am having a blast with this amazing cast and crew.”

Johnson, who is directing his first show at the Geyer, has been involved with other productions at the Scottdale theater for the past three years since moving to the area from West Virginia. There he also was involved in local theater, in Huntington during college and in his hometown of Wellsburg. He was stage manager for “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the Geyer, in addition to “Matilda,” directed by his wife, Mandy Onder.

Creative license

He said the best part of “The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged” is that the actors get to experiment with adding their own original material to the production.

“I tried to make it clear from day one that the rehearsal time was a safe place to try out new things. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But if it does, it gets added to the show,” he said. “It really creates an atmosphere of collaboration and inventiveness you won’t see in any other production.”

The cast also features Catherine Attaway of Uniontown, Tenley Maple of Scottdale, Matt Tracy of Mt. Pleasant and Josh Hanzes of New Salem. Justin Williams of Uniontown is stage manager/tech director.