HOW TO GO
What: “The Complete History of America (Abridged)”
When: July 24-Aug. 15, 7:30 p.m., Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m., Sundays
Where: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, 719 Race St., Cincinnati
Cost: $22-$39
More Info: (513) 381-BARD or www.cincyshakes.com
It wasn’t long after the Reduced Shakespeare Company started performing “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” in the 1980s — which can now be seen everywhere from local high schools to London’s Piccadilly Circus — that the fledgling comedy troupe released their follow-up, “A Complete History of America (Abridged).”
Like its predecessor, “A Complete History of America (Abridged)” delivers a comedic, comprehensive account of American history in about as much time as it would take you to watch a Hollywood rom-com. As the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (CSC) has performed Shakespeare (both the real thing and the reduced version, naturally) many times, “America” was a natural fit. The CSC will perform “America” July 24 to Aug. 15.
“We always liked to find some lighter fare for the summer,” said Jeremy Dubin, artistic associate for the CSC and director of the show. “We’ve had tremendous fun doing “Shakespeare (Abridged)” but, as we’ve done it a number of times, we wanted to try our hands at something new.
Dubin said that “America” will naturally appeal to people who enjoyed “Shakespeare.”
“The format is very similar,” he said. “Of course, the dynamic is particular to the cast that’s performing it, and ours is a ridiculously fun group.”
According to Dubin, the show opens with Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer who corrected Christopher Columbus in determining that, rather than being the Eastern outskirts of Asia, the Americas were separate landmasses previously completely unknown to Europeans. The show continues on, documenting America’s many “hit and misses,” including the Salem Witch Trials (miss), George Washington (hit), and the Civil War (mixed), right on up to the Obama administration.
“I think the play does a nice job of being an equal opportunity offender,” said Dubin, though he pointed out that the focus is not on controversial irreverence. “We always have to be mindful of satire slipping into cynicism, because 90 minutes of cynicism just isn’t fun to watch. The show celebrates what it lampoons, which was important to capture. Fortunately, our three cast members are infectiously fun-loving people, and that goes a long way.”
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