STAND UP SHAKESPEARE
LA Weekly

Though the banter is all very funny, this is really more a musical revue than a comic riff. With book by Kenneth Welsh and music by Ray Les Lee, Standup Shakespeare sets several scenes from the Bard to music. Some of the most memorable numbers are from the sonnets, allowing Leslee to showcase a wide range of musical genres, including jazz, ragtime and salsa. By emphasizing comedy, Casey Biggs’ staging nearly allows Armin Shimerman to run away with the show as the Fool. Welsh’s book knits together some of Shake speare’s most memorable insults, and Shimerman effectively trades insults with himself - no small feat in a monologue. But the main thrust of the production comes from the songs, which are impeccably delivered by Peyce Byron and Mary Jo Mecca, under David Man ning’s adept musical direction. (Manning offers able musical support on the piano, as does Andrea Gaspar on violin.) Byron and Mecca have visible onstage chemistry that carries over to both the love ballads and the gender revenge songs. As the Heckler, Mark Povinelli gives Shimerman some competition in the Elizabethan one-liner department.

11/14/02 by Sandra Ross