Shakespeare in the world
“All I Want For Crispin’s:” Mya Gosling’s Shakespearean Holiday Songbook
Combating Shakespearean shrinkage
“I Want It That Way”: Rosaline & Juliet
“In both ‘Rosaline,’ a charming teen romcom streaming on Hulu, and ‘& Juliet,’ a splashy new musical making its Broadway debut this week, Shakespeare’s tragedy becomes a surprising springboard for music, comedy, and investigations into narrative ownership,” writes Austin Tichenor.
“Worthy service": The Tempest-uousness of The White Lotus
HBO’s Emmy-winning “The White Lotus” transforms Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” into a darkly funny satire of the hospitality industry, writes Austin Tichenor.
Adapting Shakespeare's 'Antony and Cleopatra' for opera
Get an insider’s look at adapting a Shakespeare play for opera with this blog post by the dramaturg and libretto consultant for the new John Adams opera of “Antony and Cleopatra.”
“I do fear thy nature”: Kim Wexler and echoes of 'Macbeth' in 'Better Call Saul'
Austin Tichenor draws comparisons between Kim Wexler and Lady Macbeth, unpacking Shakespearean themes in the “Better Call Saul” series.
Sometimes the old tropes are the best tropes: Shakespeare and Our Flag Means Death
Melissa Rohrer explores how “Our Flag Means Death,” a show inspired by the true story of the early 18th-century “Gentleman Pirate” Stede Bonnet, draws on character types and narratives that Shakespeare used frequently across many of his plays, while breathing…
Bothered by madness: 'Hamlet' and 'The Northman'
Robert Eggers’s “The Northman” is not an adaptation of “Hamlet,” but a film in conversation with Shakespeare’s play, Austin Tichenor writes.
Something is rotten in the state of Gotham: Shakespeare and The Batman
Austin Tichenor draws connections between Hamlet and Batman, noting the range of interpretations.
John, Paul, Pyramus, and Thisbe: The Beatles performing Shakespeare
Did you know that the Beatles once performed the “Pyramus and Thisbe” scene from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”? Although they mainly stick to Shakespeare’s script, the moments when they play with the text stand out.
Nathan the Wise: An 18th-century German counterpoint to Shakespeare’s Shylock
“Nathan the Wise” and “The Merchant of Venice” are very different works, though religious tension is a subject in each, as is the potential for love and loss, wealth and poverty, bloodshed and peace. But it is the character of…
Actors taking on tyrants: Ernst Lubitsch’s 'To Be or Not to Be'
A Polish acting troupe outwits the Nazis using Shakespeare codes and theatrical smarts in Ernst Lubitsch’s 1942 film “To Be or Not to Be,” an audacious comedy filmed as Hitler was devastating Europe. Almost the definition of a joke told…