Shakespearean free-for-all will have thou rolling in the aisles

"Free Willy" opens at the Frist Campus Center this weekend. No, this is not the latest presentation by UFO. It refers not to the early 90's movie of a young boy befriending a depressed whale. Instead, this "Willy" refers to Willy Shakespeare . . . as in the Bard.

"Free Willy: Brush Up Your Shakespeare In An Hour" is a Princeton Shakespeare Company production based on "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare — Abridged," a hilarious play by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield.

Originally produced by the Reduced Shakespeare Company at the Edinburgh Festival in 1987, this fast-paced Shakespearean parody resurfaced in London a few years ago, where it remains a huge hit. It has also been performed on the Broadway stage.

PSC had to adopt an alternate title for this wacky play due to a few minor changes in the script. Rest assured, though, it is one of the funniest plays ever to take the stage on the Princeton campus.

In the course of an hour, the five-person cast covers all of Shakespeare's plays, from the histories to the tragedies and, of course, the comedies — 37 plays in all.

To make sure that the cast knows Shakespeare like a ten-year-old knows Harry Potter, actors cast in a role perform it yearly until they graduate.

Ellie Kemper '02, Emily Mitchell '03, and Nathan Freeman '03, old pros at abbreviating Shakespeare, welcome newcomers Mike Ritter '03 and Sujan Trivedi '03 to the cast. All five combine talents to self-direct the production, which adds personal quirks and yearly changes.

This entertaining and experienced cast will have you rolling in the aisles. In the tradition of Marc Rosen '98, the cast wears black high-top Converse, khaki shorts, white T-shirts, and Velcro character-tags. The minimal props can all fit into a single Tupperware container.

Props and costume limits don't keep the identically-clad cast from capturing Shakespeare in all his glory. Kemper plays techno-grooving Juliet like never before imagined. Trivedi's articulate voice and accent manipulation makes even Hamlet funny. Ritter sings N'Sync and Mitchell plays so many parts that your head will spin.

To cap it all off, Freeman gives a wonderful performance as the narrator with witty footnote interjections and public service announcements that will have you in stitches. In fact, audience participation is greatly encouraged, so come prepared to have some fun.

"Shakespeare – Abridged-Abridged" has been performed for the last six years for Princeton alumni in the 25th year reunion tent. In addition to the reunions show, PSC decided to perform it for current students and stage it during the school year.

Now, young and old alike can "brush up on their Shakespeare in an hour" (which will prove especially useful for all those English majors struggling through Shakespeare this term).

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Eric Rosen, president of PSC, is enthusiastic about the performance. "This is a really exciting show for us to be putting on, because we normally only mount two main productions a year," he said. "This fast and funny show gives us a chance to do three plays and to get our name out there as one of the big theater groups on campus by getting the extra exposure and involvement."

He's right. After seeing this play you will not soon forget that Shakespeare is alive and well on the Princeton campus. This may be your only opportunity to see this play, unless you are a member of the class of '77.