ESU theater season closes with ‘Shakespeare in Hollywood’

Photo Illustration by Eric Sonnakolb

The season is about over for Emporia State’s Theater Department and they are ending it with a bang. Ken Ludwig’s award-winning comedy ‘Shakespeare in Hollywood’ mixes old myths with 1930’s Hollywood.

The play revolves around the character of Max Reinhardt who is directing a production of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ Max is played by senior theater major Jaime McCabe.

“Max Reinhardt is an Austrian immigrant to the United States that is directing ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ for the Warner Brothers [studio].” McCabe said. “He has high expectations for the show and a very short fuse when it comes to certain things.”

Things get interesting when the mythical characters magically show up on Reinhardt’s set. Senior theater major Pat Janssen plays one of those characters, Oberon.

“He is the King of the Fairies in the fictional world that Shakespeare created, the Magic Woods outside Athens,” Janssen said. “He is commanding, short-tempered yet charming and can be sensitive.”

Senior art major Emily Young plays another one of the mythical characters, namely Puck, a mischievous fairy.

“Puck is the right hand man to Oberon, who is King of the Fairies,” Young said. “Yes, I did say man. I actually play a boy. Puck is a fun character to play because he is a mischief maker. He gets into a lot of trouble and I have had a lot fun exploring how a mythical character might move and act.”

After appearing in 1930’s Hollywood, the two displaced characters have to deal with a bit of culture shock and cause a lot of trouble along the way.

“Puck is kind of swept away by Hollywood,” Young said. “It’s nothing like the Woods near Athens, so Puck is definitely overwhelmed and excited by it all. He also gets into a little trouble along the way by losing a magical flower that, if you smell it, it makes you fall in love with the next person you see. As you can imagine, it causes all sorts or chaos.”

“My favorite thing about the play is getting to act naive to modern technologies,” Janssen said. “It’s fun to act like I don’t understand telephones and such.”

The play features a number of other characters and is directed by theater professor Jim Ryan.

“The play had so much energy that it seemed to pop off the page,” Young said. “I was really excited to get the role of Puck because how often do you get to play a boy? I have had a lot of fun creating Puck’s personality. I can’t wait to run around the stage every night.”

According to the cast, the humor of the play makes it accessible to everyone.

“I tried out because I felt that the play was a great comedy and that I would hopefully be able to add something to it,” McCabe said. “I think it’s a great script and that everybody should come see it. Some people may see the word ‘Shakespeare’ and be hesitant to come but it’s a comedy that everybody can enjoy.”

“It’s so much fun and you don’t have to be familiar with Shakespeare to enjoy it,” Young said. “I really think that it’s a show that everyone can enjoy. Even if you don’t like theatre.”

‘Shakespeare in Hollywood’ opens at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Bruder Theatre. Tickets are available in the Memorial Union or at the ESU box office at 620-341-6378. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students.