shakespeare in the parking lot

for years this event has caught my eye--most of the appeal being the clever name, i guess--so when scoboco was faced with a free saturday night last week we headed down to ludlow and broome for this summer's final performance of "as you like it", courtesy of the drilling company. and, really? despite the uncomfortable seats (thank god, though, we got there early enough to GET a seat... most of the 100 or so people sat on the asphalt for the two-plus hour performance), i haven't enjoyed shakespeare this much in a long time. and bo and co really liked it too: laughing at the right moments and seeming to follow the story pretty well and just soaking in the whole "guerilla" vibe of the setting... this is an active parking lot, after all, with cars pulling in and out and neighborhood kids on bikes letting out the occasional silly scream and just life in the city going on around you.


anyway, the actors were across-the-board talented, attractive, likable. the pacing was quick. the costumes and props simple and effective. and what i think made it seem so fresh and appealing to me was the actor's delivery of the lines: the words and structure were all shakespeare, of course, but the cadance, the facial expressions, the inflections, all were completely contemporary. even the songs--there are four of them in "as you like it"--were given modern rhythms and melodies, and they pretty much brought down the lot each time. we'll definitely check it out again next year.


one more thing: i know i've mentioned the sticky toffee pudding at schiller's liquor bar before, but we wolfed two of them before the show and it definitely remains on my top five best-treats-in-town list.