3 days ago
Polishing Shakespeare
The seasoned actor-playwright-polemicist Brian Dykstra ($elling Out) debuted his latest show at 59E59 last year as part of the complex's East to Edinburgh festival before taking it overseas for a well-received run at the Fringe. Now he and director Margarett Perry bring it back home for an extended run. Dykstra plays a billionnaire arts patron who wants to hire playwrights to "translate" Shakespeare into modern speech; Kate Levy is the head of a theater company he supports, and Kate Siahaan-Rigg is a struggling writer tempted by his offer. As a meta bonus, the play—which is inspired by real events—is written entirely in iambic pentameter.