For the first time ever, Shakespeare by the Sea is opening Little Fish Theatre’s usually-dark-during-the-summer doors to theatre goers, offering the hilarious comedy The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) written by Adam Long, Jess Winfield and Daniel Singer. Running alongside Shakespeare by the Sea’s (SBTS) free Summer Festival of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Antony & Cleopatra, Abridged presents patrons with a third spectacular reason not to miss seeing Shakespeare this summer.
Abridged tickets are $25 and all proceeds will go towards supporting the 16 free summer festival performances the company does at Point Fermin Park. “Adding a third production to the summer season is exciting,” said Lisa Coffi, producing artistic director for SBTS. “We are fortunate to have the ultra-talented Gia Inferrera directing an exceptional cast in a hysterical show under the stars at Little Fish,” Coffi continued. “Could it get any better?”
Abridged will be directed by returning Little Fish director and producing artistic director of the Torrance Theatre Company Gia Inferrera. A San Pedro native, Inferrera is delighted to be back at the Abridged helm after having directed the show for Little Fish in 2002. “I am honored to be reprising my role as director of this insanely funny romp,” said Inferrera. “You don’t need to be a Shakespeare expert or even a hardcore fan to enjoy Abridged; you just need to be ready to laugh until you cry.”
Fast-paced and irreverent, Abridged is a condensed 97-minute ride through Shakespeare’s 37 plays and 154 sonnets performed by three actors parodying the Bard’s timeless tales— portraying Titus Andronicus as a cooking show, Othello in old-school rap style and all of Shakespeare’s tragedies transformed into a giant football game.
Praised as “the funniest show you are likely to see in your entire lifetime,” by the Montreal Gazette, Abridged holds the record for longest running comedy on London’s West End – running for nine years at the Criterion Theatre.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) runs through July 27 Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. at the Little Fish Theatre (777 Centre Street in San Pedro.) Tickets are $25 and will be available by calling the box office at (310)512-6030 or online at http://www.little fishtheatre.org.
Sticking to Shakespeare by the Sea’s tradition of producing outdoor performances, Abridged will be presented outdoors, under the stars, in the Little Fish Theatre parking lot and stars Rendon Ramsey, Perry Shields and Cary Jordahl.
