The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [Revised]
at Meridian High School

Reviewed on April 1, 2022

Alayna Steele
West Springfield High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News

Meridian High School's The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [Revised] was charming, hilarious, and perfectly bizarre. For a show attempting to capture all of William Shakespeare's plays in just over 90 minutes, this play was expectedly chaotic in the most engaging way. With a non-existent fourth wall, the cast was able to interact with the audience hilariously and organically, and it was all pulled off by a troupe of 30 actors performing a play meant for three.

Particularly impressive was the performance of Phi Oeschger, who was able to not only shine as a comedic actor but as a dramatic one as well, in the role of Ophelia. Whether they were running across the stage screaming, recruiting the audience to play their superego, or repeatedly dying as a result of splashing water in their own face, the audience was roaring. However, during their heartfelt monologue, one could have heard a pin drop in the theater. Very few characters had the opportunity to portray this range of emotion, and Oeschger did so perfectly. Drew Miller's performance was equally impressive. Spending the first half of the play on rollerblades and the second half portraying an emotionally unstable Hamlet, Miller showed an impressive level of dedication to his roles. His incredible comedic timing, dancing ability, and stage presence only enhanced his outstanding performance.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [Revised] was riddled with slapstick humor, which the entire cast perfectly performed, especially standout Emma Hart. Through her exaggerated physicality and big character choices, Hart embodied each character she played, especially Romeo in his attempts to court Juliet (Katie Rice).

While the acting and commitment from everyone on stage were phenomenal, the show would not have been possible without the lighting design of Drew Miller and the stage management of Bella Villano. In a show with so many full ensemble scenes, which included many chaotic entrances and exits, organized stage management was key. In Meridian High School's production, each scene was executed perfectly with smooth transitions and masterful blocking. The organization of the show was further aided by the lighting, which included frequently turning on the house lights during audience interaction scenes and the effective use of moving lights.

In conclusion, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [Revised] was hilarious, chaotic, brilliantly acted, and an incredible feat to pull off in an hour and a half.

Atticus Gregory
Heritage High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News 2

Beware Shakespearean scholars and Elizabethan era fanatics, Meridian High School's performance of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [Revised] is bound to poke (viciously stab) at Shakespeare's life's work.

Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield, and first debuting at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in the early 80's, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [Revised] parodies and pokes fun at all 37 plays written by William Shakespeare in 97 hilarious minutes. Meridian High School performed a revised version of the original play in order to keep up with modern pop culture references.

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, a love-stricken Romeo, played by Emma Hart, and an underaged maiden, played by Katie Rice, fall madly in love and die tragically young. Both Hart and Rice alike had audience members screaming with laughter throughout their brief retelling of the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet. But this was a story of all 37 works of Shakespeare, so it would be a crime not to mention the commitment of the entire cast throughout the show. From dragging bodies off stage and getting "naked", to puking on audience members and dumping water on themselves, the cast did it all. When Drew Miller said, "Screw time I'm having fun!" It finally gave words to the theme of the show.

"Breaking the fourth wall" is a term often used when the audience is acknowledged by the script or cast in some way, shape, or form. There was no fourth wall in Meridian High School's performance of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [Revised]. Cast members freely entered the audience, most notably during the second act, in which Hamlet was performed. Audience members were brought on stage as well as asked to participate in Phi Oeschger's discovery of the layers of Ophelia's character.

With so much chaos going on onstage and throughout the house, it would be shameful to not applaud stage manager Bella Villano and assistant stage manager Colleen Carpenter for their ability to keep up with all the chaos. The lighting, designed by Drew Miller, was incredible. Miller utilized the lights to set the mood and scenes and enable smooth transitions between scenes.

Many of the actors played several different roles and had to go through costumes at near light speed. Costume designers Adin Smith, Gayle Lobaton, Rachel Margarella, and Sophia Koo made the ingenious costumes. All the costumes created distinct characters while also only being top pieces to allow for quick changes.

At the end of the jam-packed 97 minutes the audience was left with the kind of buzz that only comes from hours of laughter. Meridian High School's modernized retelling of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (Revised) could not have been funnier and is a must see for all.

Mia Chetelat
West Springfield High School
Submitted for publication to Patch (Fairfax/Alexandria)

If you like Shakespeare, you'll love this show. If you hate Shakespeare, you'll love this show! Meridian High School Theater took on the 1980s play The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [Revised] written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield, which follows a merry troupe of actors hoping to speedrun the entirety of the works of William Shakespeare with the help of the audience. Meridian High School did a wonderful job with this satirical reimagining of the well-known works of William Shakespeare.

From rapping to interpretive dance, to puppet theater, to Star Wars references, this show really had it all. Including some amazing acting! Many of the actors played multiple parts which really showed off the cast's versatility. One person who really stole the show was Drew Miller, who portrayed Hamlet as well as many other well-known roles. He gripped the audience with his phenomenal charisma and physicality and nailed the slapstick comedy. Drew even went so far as to do half the show on rollerblades.

There was no denying the chemistry between Drew's Hamlet and Phi Oeschger's Ophelia. Despite the comedic retelling of this tragedy the raw emotion shown by Phi was palpable. Phi was able to involve the audience immensely and quickly became an audience favorite by effectively using all of the space in the theater. Phi was extremely proficient with the Shakespearean language and their transitioning between modern and Elizabethan language was by far the smoothest of the cast. The real surprise standout, however, was Matthew Bloss-Baum. Matthew was the first person on stage and really set the tone for the show. His facilitation between the troupe and audience participants was very well done. He also kept his high energy throughout the entire show and this clearly rubbed off on his fellow actors.

One thing that clearly stood out with this show was its incorporation of a number of different tech elements. Without a real physical set, the show's the atmosphere was created by lighting and projections. The projections were designed and programmed by Adin Smith. These elements captured the mood and setting perfectly with their choice of the right slides, color grading and resolution of the projections. The lack of a physical set was embraced by the cast when they chose to make a human balcony for the Romeo and Juliet Balcony scene.

The lighting designed by Drew Miller was well balanced with the projections and helped to fill the void created by the lack of a set. There was incredible attention to detail when it came to the lighting design. For example, the lighting colors would change slowly as the scenes changed from day to night. Strobe lights and flashing colored lights were also used in the poison drinking scene in Romeo and Juliet giving it a psychedelic feel.

Finally, what really helped provide the right atmosphere and distract from the lack of set was the sound design by Wenndy Sejas. The sound design was very precise and hit all the cues seamlessly. For example, when characters had a tennis match on stage the sounds of a ball hitting the court was synchronized well with the actors' movements. Overall, the combination of lighting, sound, and projections helped to match the energy of the show as well as fully immerse the audience into the setting.

Overall, this show was creatively imagined and elicited many laughs from the audience members. The energy and tone were maintained throughout the whole performance and the sound design, lighting, and projections fit together harmoniously. Meridian High School Theater did a wonderful job making us laugh while simultaneously performing 37 different comedies, tragedies, and histories by William Shakespeare.

Aeryn Dahm
South County High School
Submitted for publication to Falls Church News Press

The thought of attending a show featuring every play by William Shakespeare is a questionable prospect, to say the least. However, Meridian High School's performance of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [Revised] is anything but. It ran for nine years on the West End, performed by only three actors. The show takes the audience through all the chaos imaginable when an acting troupe attempts to perform all 37 of Shakespeare's plays in the span of 97 minutes. In order to fit all the plays in such a short amount of time it performs every comedy Shakespeare wrote at the same time, performs Othello as a rap, depicts the histories as a football game, and so much more.

Given that Meridian High School divided the original intended three-person cast into a thirty-person ensemble, it was difficult to pinpoint the leading and supporting actors. That being said, several performances clearly stood out. Drew Miller took on the role of Hamlet, who appeared on stage for most of Act II. His dynamic physicality kept the audience captivated through four performances of the same "Hamlet" scene (including one rendition done backwards), never losing energy even when leaping off the stage and running through the auditorium. It should also be noted that Miller spent much of Act I on rollerblades and did not waver once.

In addition, Emma Hart put on an unforgettable performance as Romeo, sauntering across the stage with a flirty, confident air that conveyed exactly who the character was and exactly what he wanted with Juliet. Matthew Bloss-Baum, a third actor deserving of praise, carried an undeniable charisma as the first narrator and set the scene for all the hilarity to come. All the actors handled the play's complete lack of a fourth wall remarkably well, speaking directly to the audience with the expertise of professionals.

An element that elevated this show to its true success were the technical features. As opposed to a set, Meridian utilized delightfully campy projections to build the scenes of Shakespeare's various works, a decision which perfectly lent itself to the fast-changing nature of the show. Costumes were simplistic but very effective, and the choice to mainly have the actors in costume tops paired with leggings and Converse shoes helped to add to the show's more casual, intimate, black box theatre feeling. Sound design, led by Wenndy Sejas, was intricate and deliberate, using cleverly timed sound effects to amplify the cartoony, larger than life aspects.

All in all, the crown jewel of Meridian's "Complete Works" lay in the commitment from everyone involved. Between the audience participation, intricate blocking, and lightning-fast pace, this is a show that wouldn't function without every cast and crew member being 100% devoted to the absurdity of the play. Each actor was wholly immersed in their part, not even hesitating to roll off the stage, lift someone up onto their shoulders, or participate in an interpretive dance version of "Troilus and Cressida." From these factors and more, it's certainly safe to say that anybody, whether they be a dedicated patron of The Bard or simply someone looking for a romp of a good time, would find their perfect show in Meridian High School's The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [Revised].