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Wyrd
tales
A steamy production: CityWell spa’s “A Midsummer Night’s Steam” will include sonnet readings,
singing, and a complimentary cocktail. “The Dream Midsummer ‘19” at the House of
Yes will feature dancing, singing, and aerial fairies.
Quirky Shakespeare shows shake things up
COURIER L 24-7 IFE, JULY 5-11, 2019 47
By Rose Adams Something wacky this way comes!
Several unorthodox versions of
Shakespeare’s plays will grace the
stages, parks, clubs, and spas of Brooklyn
this summer! These off-beat productions
use the Bard’s centuries-old plays as inspiration
for new stories.
Brave new girl
Park Slope’s Gallery Players will put on
this season’s most traditional production, a
version of Shakespeare’s final play “The
Tempest.” In telling the story of the wizard
Prospero and his daughter Miranda,
exiles on a distant island, the Players will
use a youth chorus as the spirits who work
Prospero’s magic. And this show has a
romance appropriate for the post-Pride
season, with Miranda falling in love with
a shipwrecked princess.
Gallery Players 199 14th St. between
Fourth and Fifth avenues in Park Slope,
(212) 352–3101, wwww.galleryplayers.
com. July 13–28. Thu, Fri, and Sat; 7:30
p.m.; Sun at 3 p.m. $25 ($20 seniors).
Getting Cage-y
This group takes the Shakespeare out of
“Shakespeare in the Park!” Instead, theatrical
comedy event “Cage in the Park” will
re-enact the 1997 Nicolas Cage film “Face/
Off” — but will do it in iambic pentameter,
with a full band, and the setting moved to
ancient Rome. Created by a writer and a
producer at “The Daily Show,” this Bardadjacent
show is sure to make you laugh.
The Peristyle Grecian Shelter in
Prospect Park Parkside Avenue between
Parade Place and Park Circle in Prospect
Park South. July 14 at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Free.
House of Yea, verily
Bushwick’s famous club House of Yes
will give the Bard of Avon a modern makeover.
On July 17 and 18, the venue will
host “Shakespeare in the Club: The Dream
Midsummer ’19,” an adaptation of “A
Midsummer Night’s Dream,” with a focus
on sexual consent. Loaded with original
songs and choreography, the production
will critique the lack of bodily autonomy in
the shape-shifting, potion-pushing original
play, while delivering raunchy and interactive
performances.
House of Yes 2 Wyckoff Ave. at Jefferson
Street, (646) 838–4973, www.houseofyes.
org. July 17 and 18 at 7 p.m. $15.
Spa, sirrah!
The fairies and star-crossed lovers from
Shakespeare’s summer romp will descend
on a Gowanus spa on July 24 for “A
Midsummer Night’s Steam,” where the allfemale
cast will mingle with the cocktailsipping
audience.
Rather than sticking strictly to the original
script, the actresses will role play their
characters as they relax in hot tubs and
saunas, sing ballads, and read sonnets to
guests. The spa will serve light refreshments,
and attendees can enjoy full access
to its amenities.
CityWell Brooklyn 496 President St.
between Nevins Street and Third Avenue in
Gowanus, (347) 294–0100, www.citywellbrooklyn.
com. July 24 at 6:30 p.m. $65 ($55
in advance).
Too, too solid flesh
A local theater group known for its
nude, outdoor productions of work by
Shakespeare and other Elizabethan playwrights
will offer a “greatest hits” of previous
shows, combining segments of “The
Tempest,” “The Taming of the Shrew,”
and “Hamlet” with new scenes and some
non-Shakespeare plays in “Mere Flesh
and Blood,” opening in August.
The show will use nudity selectively
as a storytelling tool and a body-positive
statement, said the managing director of
the Torn Out Theater company.
“Nudity, along with our gender-conscious
casting, is part of our mission to
promote body positivity by showcasing
a wide range of what human bodies can
and do look like, and how those bodies
are part of the stories that we tell,” said
Diana Levy.
Prospect Park Music Pagoda (enter
at Lincoln Road and Ocean Avenune in
Prospect Lefferts Garden, www.tornouttheater.
org). Aug. 8–9 at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 10–11
at 2 p.m. Free.
/www.tornoutthe-ater.org
/www.citywell-brooklyn.com
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/www.houseofyes
/www.tornoutthe-ater.org
/www.tornoutthe-ater.org
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