From Artistic Director Ike Schambelan
It has long been my deepest artistic ambition to change the way the world does Shakespeare, by showing how modern and accessible he is if you go back to his rules of much faster running times than we’re used to, audience address at any time not just in soliloquies, and doubling, actors playing more than one role. Here at TBTB we’ve done Hamlet with 6, A Midsummer Night’s Dream with 6 and Romeo and Juliet, an early play when his company had less money, with 4. We’ve just done The Merchant Of Venice with 7. All have been very well received.
REVIEWS OF TBTB’S SHAKESPEARE
HAMLET
May 16-June 11, 2006 – Mint Space
The New York Times – “Actors who show signs of having actually analyzed Shakespeare’s language. The audience can understand the meaning of every word. A cast of six playing multiple roles. An admirable, often intriguing production. The language is Elizabethan but other elements are contemporary. Small but punchy contemporary touches include the gravediggers’ Amstel beer, the gun that Laertes holds on the royal couple and the Actors’ Equity cards that dangle from the tote bags of the traveling theater troupe. During the ‘To be or not to be’ speech, Hamlet considers a prescription-pill bottle.”
nytheatre.com – “A well-acted marvel of economy and energy [by] six passionate, versatile, and committed actors. This production makes the so-familiar work seem brand new. This breathless (but never rushed!) staging keeps us entertained and riveted. The play move[s] swiftly and tautly, with the myriad quick changes and potential overlaps challenging the artists delightfully in a kind of game/test of skill that’s wondrously original and amusing. Fresh and accessible. Melanie Boland is a splendid Gertrude. Pamela Sabaugh is probably the most convincing Ophelia I’ve ever seen. Nicholas Viselli as the Prince [is] enormously appealing. As involving and engaging production as I think it’s possible to have.”
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Jan. 27-Feb. 25, 2007 – Barrow Group Theater
The New York Times – Critics Pick - “A fascinating choice for Theater By The Blind with “the most intriguing thing [being] how the company stages the play with just six actors” and with the use of Ann Marie Morelli, an actress in a wheelchair, adding a “most delightful extra layer of meaning in the production. It’s difficult to tell who in the cast is vision-impaired and who isn’t, which is part of the point.”
ROMEO AND JULIET
March 5-April 6, 2008 - Kirk Theatre, Theatre Row
The New York Times – “This production uses just four actors, but it’s no 15-Minute Shakespeare novelty. The multirole casting is interesting in and of itself. Costumes and accents help keep everything clear, and the approach works surprisingly well. Emily Young’s marvelous Juliet is fresh and vibrant throughout. Mr. Mozgala, who has cerebral palsy, in particular shatters the myth that actors with mobility problems make for static productions, throwing himself around the stage with abandon.”
nytheatre.com – “You owe it to yourself to see this production. The time will melt away as you get pulled into the energy and emotion of the story [in this] thoroughly modern and enlightened production. Entertaining the idea that the play is written as a quartet, [Schambelan] has also found a great rhythm for the action and the characters.”
Play Shakespeare.com – “The text is beautifully delivered by all four performers and Schambelan keeps the action moving as quickly as a classic Marx Brothers movie. This will be a really tough act for future Romeo and Juliet productions to follow.”
MERCHANT OF VENICE
April 14-May 13, 2012 - Clurman Theatre, Theatre Row
The New York Times – “A production that expertly explores its furious side. Mr. Viselli embodies an anguished and vengeful man and that rage stirs the passions of the rest of the cast. An adept group, the seven actors are lively, handling more than two dozen characters.”
The Huffington Post – “The most enjoyable production of this play that I have ever seen, inviting the audience to enjoy the blatant theatricality. The laughs got bigger and bigger. I was completely engrossed.”
