Shakespeare plays by Bob Rose

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You’ve made them for yourself and friends. You’ve been on the receiving end. The picking and choosing, the thematic structuring, the creative rearrangements — there’s something liberating and empowering about the whole mix tape process. These days a mixed cassette tape is more likely to come in the form of a CD-R or computer play list. But the song remains the same: “I am no mere consumer of pop culture … but also a producer of it.” Those words appear in “Mix Tape,” a newly published look at “the art of cassette culture.” We examine the book — and toss in a few bonus tracks — on the Ideas page, F3.

SUNDAY MAY 22 2005

Our take on “American Idol.” F4

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Revenge of the readers Your views on “Star Wars.” F2

STORMY ROMANCE

In “The Tempest,” Shakespeare uses fantasy and magic to tell a tale of treachery and love. Text by JUDITH NEWMARK, Graphic by JOHN D. TELFORD St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“T

he Tempest” — William Shakespeare’s majestic romance exploring love, loyalty, freedom and, above all, the nature of human nature — comes to Forest Park as this year’s production from the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis. Under the direction of Russell Treyz, “The Tempest” opens on Friday, May 27, and runs through Sunday, June 19. Performances start at 8 p.m. in the natural amphitheater just to the east of Art Hill. “The Tempest” plays every night but Tuesdays. Preview performances begin at 8 on Wednesday and Thursday, May 25 and 26. For more details call the festival office at 314-361-0101. This is the festival’s fifth production. During its first four seasons, the festival has drawn over 154,000 theater-goers from all over the area, and beyond. Part of the appeal, of course, is the cost. Whether you already enjoy Shakespeare — the birthright of every English speaker — or want to find out if you do, the festival makes things easy: It’s open to the public, free of charge. The convenient, pleasant setting is another plus. Starting at 6:30, there’s pre-show entertainment every night — music, lectures, children’s activities, a quick “green show” version of the play that makes the story easy to follow. But many people come earlier than that (on a pretty weekend night, 4 p.m. Sebastian isn’t out of the question) to find a good spot Alonso’s for play-viewing. You can rent a chair to sit brother. Plots in, or bring a blanket to spread on the grass. to murder Many people bring picnics, or buy sandwiches Alonso and on the spot. There’s lot’s to do — and then, seize the of course, there’s “The Tempest.” throne. For all the info you need to make the most of your festival experience, check the Get Out section of the Post-Dispatch on Thursday, May 26.

“The Tempest” centers around Prospero, a former duke exiled to a remote island. Prospero creates a storm that shipwrecks his persecutors. Here are the main characters and their relationship to Prospero and each other:

g p stricken because he thinks his son is dead. Regrets conspiring with Antonio against Prospero.

Miranda Beautiful and innocent daughter of Prospero. In love with Ferdinand.

with Miranda anda. da

Antonio Pushed brother Prospero aside and seized dukedom.

Loves

Respects and loves

Respects Covets

Prospero Rightful Duke of Milan, exiled to island by Antonio. Prospero has great magic powers.

Plot to murder

Trinculo Alonso’s jester. Plots with Stefano to murder Prospero.

How it’s written

Agrees to help

Resents

Most of “The Tempest,” like most of Shakespeare’s plays, is written in iambic pentameter.

Stefano Alonso’s butler. Plots with Trinculo to murder Prospero.

Many actors consider that beat their friend. “Iambic pentameter” simply describes a rhythmic pattern. Iambs are two syllables: an unaccented syllable followed by a syllable that is stressed. For example, “aLAS!” is an iambic word. So are “inDEED,” “caRESS” and “aBLAZE.” It’s also easy to build an iambic foot from two words: “oh NO,” “my LORD,” “my LOVE.”

The plot in less than 60 seconds

Prospero’s farewell

1 foot

Some have suggested that many of Prospero’s lines echo the real-life sentiments of Shakespeare as his writing career was drawing to a close. Is Prospero Shakespeare’s stand-in? Today scholars are apt to dismiss that interpretation as too romantic, too reductive. But no one denies the haunting, elegiac tenor of Prospero’s great speech in Act IV, after he has staged a beautiful show to entertain Ferdinand and Miranda. Then Prospero compares the “insubstantial pageant” he created to nothing less than life. He says that we, like actors, are all the stuff of dreams.

da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM than the later works. “The Tempest” focuses on magic — which the Englishmen of Shakespeare’s day often called “art,” the same word that we use now to describe, among other things, the theater on a magician so powerful and gifted that he can shape a world out of nothing at all.

5 feet (pairs) of 10 syllables Shakespeare’s sonnets provide excellent examples: “When, IN disGRACE with FORtune AND men’s EYES, I ALL aLONE beWEEP my OUTcast STATE…” The verse goes on from there, holding to its rhythm. Actors often say that’s no surprise. Many of them believe that iambic pentameter is the underlying rhythm of all English speech. If they are right, then Shakespeare and other playwrights who use the style give actors a built-in boost. Iambic pentameter makes lines easier to learn. Shakespeare, an actor himself, tells us what’s most important in each line; that’s where the stress falls. Shakespeare created some of the deepest stories and most complex characters ever to appear on stage. But he welcomes us to them as a friend, couched in a familiar rhythm we’ve known all our lives. In fact, the plot summary at right is written in iambic pentameter. Read it and see if you can follow the natural rhythm.

Ariel A spirit of the air who agrees to help Prospero if he will set Ariel free.

Caliban Prospero’s island slave. The offspring of a witch, he too conspires to kill P

“Pentameter” combines the Greek form for five (“penta,” as in Pentagon) with an another word, also Greek, for measure (“metron”). Put them together, and you have iambic pentameter: 10 beats to the line, with the stress on the even-numbered syllables. The result sounds something like a heartbeat:

Hates, envies

Loves

His darling child, Miranda, loves her dad; The spirit Ariel serves them with joy, And Caliban, who’s rough and strong, works hard. It’s really not so bad. And furthermore, A life of books suffices for this man. In solitude and study, he’s become A great magician. Prospero can make A storm break out upon the open sea. It sends a fine ship crashing to his shore. And who’s aboard? Alonso, Naples’ king!

Who never saw a man besides her dad. The wizard tests his mettle with hard work, But these young lovers satisfy all doubts. They’re meant to be together, and we know They’ll pledge their troth before the play is don Still, Caliban and others — who are fueled By strong wine and ambition — cook up plans. They plot to kill the wizard! Kill the king! But Ariel, a spirit who can fly, Hears what they say and takes the news back h

He helped the wizard’s brother seize his throne. Antonio – that brother – also sails, And so does handsome Ferdinand, the young And noble-hearted son Alonso loves. Sebastian, King Al’s brother, sails as well, And he talks to Antonio a lot! The king should pay attention; he’s not safe. Some servants also manage to make land And save red wine along with their own lives! The island must be vast, because these men Who all arrive at once, shipwrecked and lost, Can’t find each other once they come to shore.

Then Prospero has lots of work to do! He gives his daughter and her new-found love A party where good fairies sing and dance. He calls up magic dogs to scare the drunks, And he makes sure that King Alonso’s safe. It’s time for him to go back to Milan And Ariel to fly off, wild and free. It’s time to have a wedding for a prince And princess who can scarcely understand How much a shipwreck changed their lives and “O brave new world,” Miranda cries at last, “That has such people in’t.” And she’s right.

“Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air; And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capped tow’rs, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.”

Shakespeare probably didn’t write that speech to say goodbye to us. We only wish he had.

Shakespeare’s plays Shakespeare’s plays follow a general pattern. In those written before 1600, histories or romantic comedies dominate. His plays after 1600 were often more complex. Most of these were tragedies, but he did write a handful of comedies and romances, including “The Tempest.” Specific details as to when Shakespeare composed many of his works are sketchy, but approximate timeframes have been determined. 1590

1595

1600

1605

1610

1590-91

1592

1594

1594-95

1596

1598

1599

1603-04

1606

1607-08

1609-10

Two Gentlemen of Verona

The Taming of the Shrew

Henry VI, Part I

Henry VI, Part 2

King John

The Merchant of Venice

Henry V

Othello

Macbeth

King Lear

Cymbeline

Julius Caesar

1604

1595

Richard II

As You Like It

Measure for Measure

Pericles, Prince of Tyre

1609-11

The Comedy of Errors

Antony and Cleopatra

1592-93 Richard III

Plays that have been performed at the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis

Titus Andronicus

Henry VI, Part III

1597

Henry IV, Part I The Merry Wives of Windsor

1600

Love’s Labour’s Lost

1601

All’s Well that Ends Well

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Henry IV, Part II

Twelfth Night

1605

1601-02

Timon of Athens

Romeo and Juliet

Much Ado About Nothing

Hamlet

Troilus and Cressida

1608

The Winter’s Tale

1614

1611 THE TEMPEST

1613 Henry VIII

1614 The Two Noble Kinsmen

Coriolanus

SOURCES: Oxford Shakespeare, Norton Shakespeare, CliffsNotes, “Essential Shakespeare Handbook,” Leslie Dunton-Downer and Alan Riding, DK Publishing (2004)

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SUNDAY MAY 23 2004

Change is on the air

Fallen “Idol”

Network television continues its “revolution” in scheduling with the fall season. News & Views, F3

Good Samaritan Kevin C. Johnson offers help to a badly stumbling “American Idol.” TV, F10

SECTION

All the world’s a stage in

For a look at the improvements in Forest Park, see the Sunday Everyday section.

AS YOU ” LIKE IT “

Text by JUDITH NEWMARK, graphic by JOHN D. TELFORD / POST-DISPATCH

the play. You can also enjoy plenty of other preshow activities – dancing, juggling, lectures on Shakespeare, you name it – before the show starts at 8. A preshow picnic’s always fun. You can buy food at the festival or bring your own meal. Save time for shopping at the souvenir booth, where this year’s goodies include the “All the World’s a Stage” puzzle with characters from every Shakespeare play and the Will Shakespeare action figure with removable quill pen. The show is free (although donations are welcome). If you’d like more information, call the festival office at 314361-0101. But if you’d like to know what the play’s about, look no further. The accompanying

ow in its fourth season, the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis presents one of the Bard’s most popular romantic comedies, “As You Like It.” Under the direction of Risa Brainin, the show will run from Friday through June 20. (There are no performances on June 1, June 8 and June 17.) “As You Like It” will be performed in the traditional location in Forest Park, just to the east of Art Hill. It’s a good idea to arrive early to find a place for your blanket or lawn chairs and, if you drive, to park your car. Every Sunday night, the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation will offer free valet bike parking – a good incentive to let the night provide exercise for the body as well as the imagination. Starting at 7 p.m, there’s a “Green Show,” a short, easy-to-follow version of

RT COU E H

in Act 2, “all the world

KEY

ACT ONE 1 Rosalind and Celia live at

Character wears a disguise for part of the play

6 They’d probably all like to live in the woods, but they won’t. Duke Frederick talked to a priest who persuaded him to change his ways. Now he’s sorry about everything and returns the crown to his brother, Duke Senior. They’ll all go back to court, a happy place once more. But they’ll remember Arden.

They’re first cousins. Character starts out evil, but becomes good

2 Rosalind’ FREDERICK court. Things were

CELIA TOUCHSTONE

Celia’s father, kicked him out and took over. Court life isn’t what it used to be. It’s hard to enjoy yourself.

Connects two characters who fall in love

5 Who needs a priest! The god of marriage, Hymen, shows up to

THE ROYAL COURT

ROSALIND

3 How about a wrestling match? Charles, a famous wrestler, will fight anybody. Handsome young Orlando can’t wait for his turn. He’s got nothing to lose. His older brother, Oliver, treats him like an animal. Or worse! Oliver tells Charles to break Orlando’

One character loves another, but the feelings aren’t mutual

CHARLES

– and finds out who

’s going to be a big

OLIVER

THE DE BOYS FAMILY

in love they don’

’t hear of it. She’

1 Ganymede promises

give him – er, her! – 24 hours.

ADAM

ACT FIVE ORLANDO

5 – but Celia ’re in

’ll dress like a boy, for a country girl. That will

4 ’s

Arden! s live friend py as s i h TWO and , as hap en – m enior en uke S st of Ard of merr y ng ever D e 1 i d r h n o t a F b no e t’s in th n Hood’s ues. But – tha Robi t for Jaq excep

forest, a wild animal tried to eat him. But Orlando saw what was happening and saved Oliver – even though he recognized him!

ROZ

2 Oliver explains that Frederick blamed him for Celia’s disappearance. That meant that Oliver had to run away. Off to Arden!

1 Rosalind, still pretending to be a boy, keeps running her love school for Orlando. One day Orlando is late to

ACT FOUR

”w

ACT

3 When Oliver fell asleep in the

LANDO

ACT THREE 1

DUKE SENIOR JAQUES

WILLIAM

Pretty soon

ARDEN FOREST EXILES

Arden’

AUDREY

SIMPLE COUNTRY FOLK PHEBE

SILVIUS

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Brotherly love

Season’s greeting

Fans embrace the Isley Brothers’ new CD, which debuted at No. 1. News & Views, F3

Gail Pennington offers a sneak peek at the new fall television schedule. TV, F8

books 9 SUNDAY MAY 25, 2003 SECTION

THE FOREST C OMES TO

MACB ETH BY JUDITH NEWMARK

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Post-Dispatch Theater Critic

ishing, most of us learn to our considerable relief, cannot make anything so. Except in the world of “Macbeth.” Every parent has comforted a child with the reminder that it’s OK to think “bad thoughts,” that things in your head can’t really hurt anyone. But in “Macbeth,” the jump from a wicked thought to dangerous deed is almost instantaneous. Wishing does make it so. No wonder it’s the scariest show in the whole Shakespeare STAGE canon. The DIRECTIONS Scottish play, this year’s proA guide to duction at the essential Shakespeare festival Festival of St. Louis, tells a information, story of ambiincluding a tion run wild. It map and follows the parking tips, bloody career details on food of a nobleman and vendors, who commits and a preview murders, first to raise himself of the “green to a higher posishow” tion and then to See F5 try to secure it, always with the encouragement of his ruthless, passionate wife. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are impossible to admire. And yet they dominate the action almost to the exclusion of everyone else; Shakespeare must have found them irresistible. As do we, their audience. Why? To answer that question, maybe we ought to ask ourselves what we always find irresistible. How about a mirror? In Macbeth, the most suggestible hero in Shakespeare, we find a man who brings our own childhood fears to bloody life: His bad thoughts become his bad deeds. We don’t all do the kinds of things Macbeth does. But if we’re honest, we probably all have thought about them. “I have seen that (invisible) dagger before me,” confesses Rick Sordelet, director of the outdoor production in Forest Park. “Who hasn’t? “Who hasn’t been skipped over for a promotion and dreamed of killing the boss, or lost a house and imagined stabbing the loan officer? “Or how about the Oscars? The losers act gracious, but if looks could kill, you know those winners would have died a thousand horrible deaths. “What separates us from Macbeth is that we pull back. But he never does. He’s us without restraint. So we can’t help but root for him.” In his incisive and immensely helpful book “Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human,” Professor Harold Bloom of Yale makes the point that if “Macbeth” focuses almost entirely on characters who do wrong, it doesn’t make much of a case against wrongdoing; fascinaSee Macbeth, F5

MACBETH

LADY MACBETH

BANQUO

DUNCAN

MALCOLM

MACDUFF

THE WEIRD SISTERS

A Scottish nobleman and warrior of great ambition

His ruthless wife, just as ambitious as he is

Another nobleman, Macbeth’s comrade-in-arms

The king of Scotland

Duncan’s son and heir

A nobleman and comrade, who loves his wife and children

Practitioners of witchcraft who can see into the future

ACT 1

ACT 2

ACT 3

ACT 4

ACT 5

The witches predict Macbeth will be king

Macbeth murders Duncan and ascends to the throne

Macbeth has Banquo killed, then sees his ghost

Macbeth feels better after the witches make another prediction

Macduff skewers Macbeth and Malcolm becomes king

WAR RAVAGES SCOTLAND, under attack from local rebels and outside invaders. A noble warrior — Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis — leads King Duncan to bloody victory. As Macbeth and his friend Banquo head home from the battlefield, they stumble on the Weird Sisters — three witches! — in the dark!

MACBETH IS SO UPSET, he sees an imaginary knife that seems to lead him to the king’s bedroom. Lady Macbeth drugs the guards so her husband can stab the king in his sleep.

BANQUO HAS DOUBTS, too. After all, he also heard the Weird Sisters! Banquo can practically guess what happened — and Macbeth knows that he can. Macbeth hires a couple of thugs to kill Banquo. They stab him over and over, then leave his body in a ditch.

The Weird Sisters give them a mysterious message. They tell Macbeth that he will rule Cawdor, another part of Scotland, plus his own land, Glamis. One day he will be King of Scotland, too! They tell Banquo that he won’t be king, but that his heirs will be. Just moments later, Macbeth finds out that Duncan has already made him Thane of Cawdor, to thank him for the victory. The sisters are right! Are they right about everything?

Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis

WHERE: Forest Park, near the St. Louis Art Museum HOW MUCH: Free

Another thane, Macduff, comes to talk to the king. Macbeth acts as though everything’s fine and lets Macduff find Duncan’s body. Then Macbeth, pretending to go crazy with grief, kills the guards, too.

▲ The king and all the thanes come to Macbeth’s castle to celebrate. Lady Macbeth talks her husband into killing the king that very night!

It’s a scary night, but their promises calm down Macbeth. After all, woods can’t move, and it sounds as if no one can kill him, either. He can do anything he wants!

▲ In the meantime, Lady Macbeth acts as if nothing’s wrong. She even gives a big party! But at the party Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost! Since nobody else can see this terrifying sight, it looks as though Macbeth has lost his mind.

Macbeth sends his wife a letter with the news. Lady Macbeth can’t wait. She’s in a hurry to see her husband crowned.

“Macbeth” WHEN: Preview performances on Thursday and Friday and opening performance on Saturday. Performances continue every night but Tuesdays through June 15. Food service begins at 6 p.m.; green show at 7 p.m.; performance at 8 p.m.

Holding the bloody knives, Macbeth tells his wife it’s all over. He’s very upset, so she tells him to wash up while she calmly takes the daggers and smears blood on the guards. But Macbeth thinks that all the water in the ocean wouldn’t be enough to wash the blood off his hands.

▲ The king’s son Malcolm and his brother figure that whoever killed their father will go after them next. They run away. That makes them look guilty! The thanes choose Macbeth to be their new king. But Macduff has started to wonder what really happened. He goes away alone.

WORN OUT FROM GUILT and lack of sleep, Macbeth goes off to find the Weird Sisters in the dark. They brew a potion that reveals magic visions. They tell Macbeth that he will be safe until the woods come to his castle, that he can’t be killed by any man born of woman and that he should watch out for Macduff.

After she gets rid of the guests, Lady Macbeth tries to comfort her husband. But he’s too upset. Even though he saw a ghost, Macbeth was aware of what was really going on — and he noticed that Macduff didn’t come to the party. That makes him suspicious. He knows that he’s not through with killing.

NOW LADY MACBETH is acting strange, too. She walks and talks in her sleep, and she washes her hands over and over. She sees an imaginary bloodstain on them! Macbeth’s got his own hands full defending the throne. A big army has gathered to attack! Lady Macbeth kills herself as the army arrives. But it doesn’t look like an army — it looks like a moving forest! It’s just camouflage, but Macbeth doesn’t know that. He knows what the Weird Sisters told him about woods that can move, so he puts on his armor. Macbeth finds himself sword to sword with his old friend, Macduff. As they fight, Macduff gives Macbeth a terrible shock: When he was born, he was delivered by Caesarean section! So in a way, Macduff wasn’t born of woman after all! He’s the only one who can kill Macbeth — and he does!

▲ So when he finds out that Macduff is in England with Malcolm, Macbeth sends an attack squad to his castle. They murder Macduff’s wife, his children and his servants, and destroy everything he owns. When Malcolm and Macduff hear the awful news, Malcolm promises his friend Macduff that they’ll get even. The king of England will help them topple Macbeth and bring peace to Scotland.

▲ After the battle, Macduff proudly presents the head of Macbeth to Malcolm. Malcolm will be king now, and he promises to rule better than Macbeth and Lady Macbeth — that “butcher” and his “fiendlike queen” — ever did.

THE CHARACTERS SPEAK “Screw your courage to the sticking place.” – Lady Macbeth

“Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand?” – Macbeth

“It will have blood, they say: blood will have blood.” – Macbeth

“Double, double toil and trouble, / Fire burn and cauldron bubble.”

“Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” – Lady Macbeth

– The Weird Sisters

MORE INFO: 314-361-0101 Text by JUDITH NEWMARK, graphic by JOHN D. TELFORD / POST-DISPATCH

SUNDAY

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MAY 18, 2008

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STLTODAY.COM/ENTERTAINMENT • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

AE &

THE TRAGEDY OF

KING RICHARD III Text by Judith Newmark, graphic by John D. Telford |

wo branches of the royal Plantagenet house, the House of York and the House of Lancaster, spent more than a generation fighting with each other for control of the throne of England. This episodic civil war (1455-1487) is often called the Wars of the Roses because of the family emblems: the red rose of York, the white rose of Lancaster. In another time and place, the Plantagenets might have kept Jerry Springer booked for months. Will Shakespeare certainly appreciated their dramatic potential: the Wars of the Roses inspired eight of his plays. The seething Plantagenets in “Richard III” bring the story to a close. Richard III: Historical figure or dramatic character? Page F4 For a Plantagenet family tree, visit www.stltoday.com/stage

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Cast of characters HOUSE OF YORK

Richard Duke of Gloucester

George Duke of Clarence Richard’s brother

HOUSE OF LANCASTER

The Little Princes Duke of Buckingham Two young brothers Richard’s friend and sons of King Edward IV

King Edward IV Brother of Richard and George

Lady Anne Widow of a prince of Lancaster

Richmond Later King Henry VII

Queen Margaret Aged, crazy widow of King Henry VI

#&@%!

ACT ONE

ichard, duke of Gloucester, and his brothers would seem to be on top of the Globe — well, the world. Their side of the Plantagenet family, the House of York, has won the most recent round in its long war against another branch of the family, the House of Lancaster. One brother rules, King Edward IV. But somebody warned the king to beware of the letter “G.” Could that mean the third brother — George, duke of Clarence — wants the crown for himself? Who would say such a thing? And why won’t somebody tell Edward that “Gloucester” also starts with a “G”?

Clarence is packed off to the Tower of London while Richard — misshapen and unloved, brave and shrewd and charming — has his eye on the throne for himself. A queen would be a good first step. Look, here comes Lady Anne, following the coffin of her father-in-law, King Henry VI.

Richard seems warm to his nephews — so young and vulnerable! They have friends, such as Lord Hastings, but you just can’t be too careful. The boys need someplace safe to stay. How about the Tower of London?

Anne agrees to the marriage proposal! Henry’s widow, crazy old Queen Margaret, is furious, but nothing can surprise her anymore, or shut her up. She unloads on Richard with both barrels.

ACT TWO

ACT THREE

Richard tells Buckingham to get rid of Lord Hastings. He’ll reward him generously later.

Richard killed Anne’s father-in-law. For that matter, he also killed her husband. Richard says he did it all for her — so he could have her for himself! He hands her his sword and bares his bosom. Kill me, he tells her — kill me, or marry me.

Richard suspects that Edward will go easy on Clarence — and he’s right. So Richard takes things into his own hands and hires a couple of killers.

King Edward, already ill, feels so bad about Clarence’s murder that he dies, too. The royal women mourn and curse Richard! Richard’s friend, the Duke of Buckingham, sends for Edward’s young sons.

ACT FOUR

Trouble’s brewing everywhere. Richard kills all who stand in his way, even men who thought they were his friends. Off to die, Hastings thinks of crazy old Margaret. She’s been right about everything!

Buckingham, seeing that Richard is about to kill him, heads off to join Henry, Earl of Richmond, who plans to attack Richard. Richmond belongs to the House of Lancaster.

Now to deal with the young princes. Richard urges Buckingham to spread the word that they are illegitimate and not in line for the throne at all. In the meantime, he’ll be praying and meditating.

Speaking of not around any more, where’s Anne? Why is Richard telling everyone she’s sick? He has his eye on someone who could do more to cement his claim to the throne. Perhaps Edward’s daughter Elizabeth?

Buckingham leads a crowd to Richard, begging him to be king. “No, no, 1,000 times no! … well, if you insist.”

Anyhow, Buckingham can’t stop Richard, who hires thugs to smother the boys in their sleep.

The noblewomen try to visit the princes in the Tower, but no chance. Anne tells them Richard will kill her soon, and mourns her “angel husband” — the one Richard killed.

Richard III is crowned at last! But is he happy? Not while those pesky nephews are alive. Yet Buckingham doesn’t leap at the idea of killing young boys. That’s nice for the princes … not so hot for Buckingham.

ACT FIVE

Richard prepares to meet Richmond on Bosworth Field. When Buckingham is captured, he dies nobly.

The night before battle, Richmond and Richard dream of ghostly visitors: Clarence and Hastings and Buckingham, the little princes and Lady Anne. The ghosts reassure Richmond, promising victory. They aren’t so friendly to Richard.

On Bosworth Field, Richmond and Richard fight boldly. Richard keeps fighting furiously even when his steed is killed beneath him. “A HORSE! A HORSE! MY KINGDOM FOR A HORSE!” At last they meet in battle, man to man and king to king. Richmond slays Richard.

IF YOU GO: SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL ST. LOUIS Where: Fine Arts Drive in Forest Park, northeast of the Art Museum When: Previews Wednesday and Thursday; opening Friday and running through June 15. Performances at 8 p.m., every night but Tuesdays. How much: Free; donations are welcome. More info: 314-531-9800; sfstl.com

FIND ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S ST. LOUIS ARCHITECTURE QUIZ. F3

FESTIVAL TIPS Dress comfortably. The festival performs outdoors. You might need a sweatshirt. Come early. The entertainmentpacked Green Show — offering music, lectures, juggling, children’s activities, even a short version of “Richard III” that explains the plot — starts at 6:30 p.m.

OPERA THEATRE OF ST. LOUIS TELLS ‘TALES OF HOFFMANN.’ F4

Choose a place to sit as soon as you arrive. Lots of people bring blankets or low-backed chairs for comfort. You can rent chairs, too. Bring a picnic, or put one together on the spot. You can buy food and drinks right there. Leave Rover at home. Dogs generally prefer edgy modern drama anyhow.

PONCHO SANCHEZ, NNENNA FREELON TO VISIT JAZZ AT THE BISTRO. F6

THE END

Richmond of Lancaster, soon to be crowned King Henry VII, pledges his troth to Elizabeth of York — Edward’s daughter — at last uniting the Plantagenets in the red-and-white Tudor Rose. Their son will be King Henry VIII — and their granddaughter Shakespeare’s own great monarch, Elizabeth Regina.

ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG REMEMBERED AS A ‘GREAT CITIZEN.’ F7

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• SECTION F

STLTODAY.COM • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

A&E Text by Judith Newmark, graphic by John D. Telford | uch Ado About Nothing,” this summer’s production of the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, comes with a twist. Director Jane Page is staging the romantic comedy in the Old West. With that in mind, here’s a quick recap of the story — as if Zane Grey had written it! The festival will perform it the way that Shakespeare wrote it, of course. The festival is staged in Forest Park in the natural outdoor ampitheater just east of Art Hill. It’s all outdoors, so enjoy the park. You can bring a blanket or chairs to sit on, or rent chairs at the festival.

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Come early to get a good spot! Then relax until showtime with preshow entertainment, souvenir shopping and a picnic; bring your basket of goodies, or choose from the festival menu.

IF YOU GO There will be previews on Wednesday and Thursday; the show opens on Friday and runs through June 17, every night but Tuesday. Things get going at 6:30 p.m.; the play begins at 8. The festival is free but donations are welcome. For more information, visit www.sfstl.com online.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

ACT 1

Leonato Hero Governor Naive daughter of Messina of Leonato

Beatrice Sassy niece of Leonato

Benedick Brash soldier of Don Pedro

Claudio Mercurial soldier of Don Pedro

Don Pedro Swashbuckling Prince of Aragon

Don John Don Pedro’s evil brother

Borachio Mischievous toady of Don John

ACT 2 Don John, that low-down sidewinder, tells Claudio that Don Pedro’s got eyes for Hero. But that’s a dad-burned lie! Don Pedro is helping Claudio and Hero get hitched!

Margaret Maidservant of Hero

eehaw! The boys have been off a-fightin’ for a mighty good man, Don Pedro, but they done come back safe and sound. Leonato invites Don Pedro and all the boys to bed down at his big ranch. They’ll have a ripsnortin’ time!

Dogberry Bungling sheriff of Messina

Leonato‘s sassy niece Beatrice commences a-squabblin’ with her buddy Benedick.

Everything’s swell under the ole buttermilk sky — except for that no-good varmint hangin’ around, Don Pedro’s brother Don John.

Leonato’s daughter Hero, a purty little gal, catches Claudio’s eye.

Beatrice don’t want no handsome caballero herself, nosiree. She and Benedick have a bang-up time a-squawkin’ — as mad at each other as a pair of ole wet hens. But anybody can see they go together just like speckles on a rattlesnake.

Godfrey

on Pedro figgers up a plan to hornswoggle Beatrice and Benedick — with a love trick! A right smart one, too! Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio set a spell. When they know Benedick is close by, they commence a-jawin’, spinnin’ a tale about Beatrice bein’ plumb loco for Benedick. Now Benedick’s just as loony his own self! efore the sun comes up in big sky country, an old coot named Dogberry and his deputies round up two varmints yammerin’ about the plot. The deputies haul them to the hoosegow but Dogberry can’t get a straight story out of them. He’s too busy jawin’ – and not makin’ a lick of sense!

ACT 3

He takes them around back, where they can see a gal and a cowpoke gittin’ mighty cozy. They hear the fella call her “Hero,” too. It’s really just Margaret, a gal who works for Hero. She’s with a four-flusher, Borachio, who belongs to Don John’s gang.

But Don John has a few tricks of his own up his dirty sleeve! The night before Hero and Claudio are supposed to see the preacher, Don John tells Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero’s just a … a … painted lady! The lyin’ dawg claims he can prove it, too.

Hero and the other gals are right glad to do their part. When Beatrice is listening in, they go on and on about Benedick and how he’s just as lovesick as a polecat in the spring! Sure as shootin’, it works!

ACT 4

The preacher says they should pretend Hero’s dead until they know what’s what. Beatrice and Benedick sure do love each other! But Beatrice knows what she’d do if she were a man instead of a gal. She’d be right proud to take care of the scalawag who insulted her cousin. And if Benedick really loved her … Do not forsake him, oh his darlin’. Benedick’s gonna do what a man’s gotta do.

Everybody’s at the chapel, and Hero’s just as purty as a wild rose in her wedding duds. But Claudio says he ain’t a-gonna git tied down with her! Not when he knows that she’s no better than some saloon gal! Poor little Hero! She goes straight down in a swoon!

THE END

Leonato has Claudio write a real sad song about how he done Hero wrong. By the time Claudio croons in the boneyard, the sun’s commenced a-shinin’ and it’s time for someone to get hitched! But who’s the bride? Yeehaw! It’s Hero — in the flesh!

The preacher can marry two couples as easy as one. But Beatrice and Benedick are going at it again — until Claudio and Hero remind them that lovin’ can be way more fun than fussin’. And Benedick finally figures out how to keep them both from yammerin’.

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ACT 5 enedick challenges Claudio to a fight, and tells Don Pedro that his blowhard brother John up and skedaddled out of town. Borachio tells Claudio about Don John’s scheme. With his heart a-breakin’ and his tail between his legs, Claudio begs Leonato’s pardon.

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| SUNDAY | MAY 21, 2006 | SECTION F |

A TALE OF CONSPIRACY, BETRAYAL AND MURDER

JULIUS CAESAR The sixth annual Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis stages one of the Bard’s most popular plays Cast of characters

Text by Judith Newmark, graphic by John D. Telford ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

he Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis hails its 2006 audience with a straightforward, actionpacked tale of politics and honor: “Julius Caesar”

• Preshow entertainment starts at 6:30 nightly; showtime is at 8.

• At Forest Park in the natural outdoor amphitheater, just east of Art Hill.

• Food and drinks are for sale, or pack a picnic.

• Previews Wednesday and Thursday; performances Friday-June 18, except Tuesdays.

• The festival is free — there are no tickets — but donations are welcome.

• Bring a blanket or chairs, or rent a chair ($10 for the first section, $7 farther back.) Come early to get a good spot.

Julius Caesar Roman ruler

• More info: www.sfstl.com

The time: Spring, 44 B.C. The place: Rome, where all roads lead

Brutus A leader of the conspiracy

Portia Brutus’ wife

Mark Antony Loyal friend of Caesar

Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous.

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.

Caesar! … Beware the Ides of March.

Cassius A leader of the conspiracy

Act 2

The Soothsayer A fortuneteller

Let’s kill him boldly, but not wrathfully. Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods, not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds.

Act 1

Calphurnia Caesar’s wife

A holiday! To celebrate, the people of Rome decorate statues of their adored leader, Julius Caesar. Not only is Julius Caesar a brilliant general, he’s a generous victor and a real charmer. Some people want him to be king.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.

But not everyone is so happy. The whispers are everywhere. Caesar should be careful! A soothsayer tries to warn him.

Cassius believes Rome does not belong to any one man! Cassius and his crew will stop Julius Caesar before it’s too late!

The conspirators pay Brutus a midnight visit. There’s only one choice after all — and Brutus knows it. But it must be done right, with Roman dignity. The pledge is made!

Even Caesar is worried. The omens are everywhere.

Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.

Act 3

Cry ‘havoc!,’ and let slip the dogs of war.

Antony assures the Romans that Brutus is an honorable man. Still, he manages to remind the people of everything Julius Caesar achieved.

At the funeral, Brutus speaks first. He explains that Caesar had to die to save Rome from a tyrant. The people cheer! They understand!

Caesar’s friend Mark Antony wants to speak at the funeral. Brutus welcomes Antony honorably and grants him a private moment with the body of his friend. Grief-stricken, Antony foresees terrible times ahead.

Et tu, Brute?

It’s March 15 — the Ides of March. In the Senate, the conspirators trap Caesar, knives in their hands. Brutus strikes the last blow.

Caesar’s wife, Calphurnia, has had terrible nightmares. She begs her husband to stay home — but he leaves for the Capitol.

This was the most unkindest cut of all.

Act 4

He was betrayed by his old comrades — even Brutus! Mark Antony reads Caesar’s will out loud. He loved Rome! He loved Romans! The crowd turns! The conspirators must die!

There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune … On such a full sea are we now afloat.

Roman fights Roman. Mark Antony and Caesar’s nephew Octavius lead one side with the valiant Lepidus; Brutus and Cassius lead the other.

Many people — many innocent people — have been killed. And Brutus faces the worst: His brave, devoted wife has taken her own life. She swallowed fire.

With confrontation looming at Philippi, Cassius and Brutus argue. But they both know that destiny beckons.

Act 5

THE END

This was the noblest Roman of them all.

The future of Rome is secure. Mark Antony, Octavius Caesar and Lepidus will govern it. The triumvirate promises protection against any ambitious tyrant. But Antony, mourning for Brutus, knows how dearly victory costs.

Brutus and his men cannot defeat the combined forces of Octavius and Antony. Brutus makes the honorable choice: He falls on his sword.

The battle is joined and Cassius loses heart. He orders his servant to hold out his sword … and runs on it, killing himself.

Brutus asks for music to help him rest for battle. As a servant plays for him, he drifts into a dream … and sees Great Caesar’s Ghost!

Are you a Latin lover? If “Julius Caesar” whets your taste for Rome — or if you want to get into the right preshow mood — satisfy your cravings on page or screen with:

“I, Claudius,” a dazzling BBC series starring Derek Jacobi, is available on DVD. And the brilliant book behind it, by Robert Graves, never went away.

“Lives of the Caesars” by Gaius Suetonius. From the equus’ mouth. Or consider “History of Rome” by Michael Grant, a scholar who writes for everyone.

“Julius Caesar” (1953), a solid movie version, starring Marlon Brando, John Gielgud and James Mason.

“The Oxford Atlas of World History” — or any good historical atlas — provides vivid evidence of Rome’s strength and scope. Just look at words printed over the Mediterranean: “Mare Nostrum” — “Our Sea.” That’s power for you.

Watch “Spartacus,” a sword-and-sandals video, while eating olives and sipping an Italian wine. It’s cheaper than a ticket on Alitalia.

Lindsey Davis’ sleuth Marcus Didius Falco stars in fun mysteries loaded with details of Roman life. First in the series: “The Silver Pigs.”

Young readers have lots to choose from, too. The Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence are fun to read and rich in atmosphere; the series starts with “The Thieves of Ostia.” Then, keep going with “Julius Caesar: Great Dictator of Rome” by Richard Platt, “Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome” by Lesley and Roy A. Adkins and “The Ancient Romans” by Allison Lassieur.

A high note

The Big One

Heightened awareness

“Dreamgirls” closes the Black Rep season | F3

TV serves up disasters, natural and otherwise | F4

Wole Soyinka writes of chaos and activism | F9

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Get a reprint of our past Shakespeare Festival guides, including “Julius Caesar” and “Richard III” at STLtoday.com/stage.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

According to legend, William Shakespeare wrote “The Merry Wives of Windsor” to please Queen Elizabeth, who wanted to see more of Sir John Falstaff. This homey comedy is very different from the history plays in which “the fat knight” first appeared, but it’s a longtime audience favorite, and this year’s offering at Shakespeare Festival St. Louis (May 20-June 14) in Forest Park. The show is free and starts at 8 p.m. every night but Tuesdays; for more information, visit shakespearefestivalstlouis.org. For a leg up on the story, just keep reading.

MORE SHAKESPEARE

FRANK MISTRESS FORD ALICE FORD

SIR JOHN FALSTAFF

MERRY WIVES

MISTRESS GEORGE MEG PAGE PAGE

MISTRESS QUICKLY

DR. CAIUS

...A GREAT LITTLE TOWN A LOT LIKE YOURS! TEXT BY JUDITH NEWMARK GRAPHIC BY CARA DeMICHELE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

EVERY-

MISTRESS FORD AND MISTRESS PAGE, TWO SMART HOUSEWIVES, KEEP THEIR HUSBANDS’ BOOKS . . .

BODY

SLENDER

o n e

...AND PRETTY ANNE PAGE COMES INTO A FORTUNE ON HER 17TH BIRTHDAY! MISTRESS PAGE AND MISTRESS FORD ARE:

WHILE HER BOSS,

DR. CAIUS, MEANWHILE, THE LADIES SEND FALSTAFF A FAKE LOVE LETTER FROM MISTRESS FORD. IT TELLS HIM TO COME ON OVER AT 10 O’CLOCK. MISTRESS QUICKLY DELIVERS IT . . .

MARRY

ANNE ...

& FENTON.

DR. CAIUS

(MOM WANTS A DOCTOR FOR A SON-IN-LAW)

HE’S A HANDSOME, WELL-BORN BAD BOY WHO USED TO HANG AROUND WITH WILD PRINCE HAL. GUESS WHO ANNE LIKES.

FORD DISGUISES HIMSELF AS “MASTER BROOK” AND TELLS FALSTAFF HE’S CRAZY ABOUT MISTRESS FORD — HIS REAL WIFE! HE GIVES FALSTAFF MONEY TO SOFTEN HER UP — FOR “BROOK.”

S GEORGE PAGE AND FRANK FORD GET WIND OF FALSTAFF’S SCHEME. GEORGE PAGE LAUGHS IT OFF, BUT FRANK FORD SEES RED!

BUT THE HOST AT THE LOCAL BAR GIVES THEM BOTH WRONG DIRECTIONS TO THE DUEL. IT’S CRAZY TO FIGHT!

& SLENDER ARE READY

TO DUEL FOR ANNE.

MEANWHILE, MISTRESS FORD IS PRETENDING THAT SHE’S IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE WHEN MISTRESS PAGE RUSHES IN! THE MEN ARE COMING! THEY HAVE TO HIDE FALSTAFF!

FRANK FORD

WHILE THEIR ELDERS PLAY TRICKS, YOUNG FENTON AND ANNE FIGURE THINGS OUT FOR THEMSELVES.

H AT E S

WITCHES AND BEATS “HER”!

UGGHHHH! FALSTAFF HATED BEING WASHED IN THE RIVER WITH THE CLOTHES! BUT MISTRESS QUICKLY HAS GOOD NEWS: COME BACK TO SEE MISTRESS FORD IN THE MORNING! FALSTAFF TELLS “BROOK.” OF COURSE, THE FOREST IS CROWDED, DARK AND CONFUSING. ALL OF WINDSOR SEEMS TO BE ON HAND TO LAUGH AT FALSTAFF IN HIS SILLY OUTFIT.

(HER DAD’S CHOICE)

WHEN THEY GET IDENTICAL LOVE LETTERS FROM FALSTAFF, THEY DECIDE TO GET EVEN!

END

EVE FOR

intermission

WHILE FALSTAFF DUDES UP TO WOO MISTRESS FORD AND MISTRESS PAGE AND GET THEM TO SUPPORT HIM!

T BES

FRI

FENTON

SIR JOHN FALSTAFF, HOME FROM THE WARS WITH HIS MEN, IS FLAT BROKE. HE NEEDS MONEY. BUT WHO HAS ANY?

WANTS

MISTRESS QUICKLY, WHO WORKS FOR THE DOCTOR, PROMISES TO HELP ALL THREE OF THEM . . .

SLENDER

ACT

WINDSOR

WOMEN DO!!!

ANNE PAGE

DAD’S PLAN: IN THE EXCITEMENT, SLENDER CAN SLIP AWAY WITH ANNE AND MARRY HER!

THE WIVES EXPLAIN EVERYTHING, AND THE COUPLES PLAN ONE MORE TRICK.

SHE’LL BE THE ONE IN WHITE!

A SPIRIT CALLED

HERNE

THE HUNTER IS SUPPOSED TO

HAUNT AN OLD TREE IN THE FOREST. THEY DECIDE TO INVITE FALSTAFF TO DRESS UP AS HERNE FOR A MIDNIGHT RENDEZVOUS WITH MISTRESS FORD. INCREDIBLY, HE’S STILL INTERESTED AND TAKES THE BAIT.

WHOOPS, THE MEN ARE COMING BACK! THIS TIME THE LADIES DRESS UP FALSTAFF AS AN OLD WITCH TO HIDE HIM. MOM’S PLAN: IN THE EXCITEMENT, DR. CAIUS CAN SLIP AWAY WITH ANNE AND MARRY HER!

QUICK! QUICK! STUFF HIM INTO A BASKET OF DIRTY LAUNDRY!

...WHERE

BUT FENTON AND ANNE MADE SOME PLANS OF THEIR OWN, AND SHOW UP TO EXPLAIN.

EVERy-

ONE

SHE’LL BE THE ONE IN GREEN!

LIVES

WELL, IT’S A LOVE MATCH. NOBODY CAN BE MAD AT THAT. NOBODY CAN STAY MAD AT FALSTAFF, EITHER. NOT IN WINDSOR . . .

MERRILY EVER AFTER!

History, personal and unending, unspools in 5 documentary ﬁlms

World-renowned bird-watcher’s ‘wildest dreams’ come to life

Art review • Artist’s long still shots and action pans move ‘through time and space’ in new exhibit at the Contemporary.

Webster Groves woman battled cancer, tragedy on her way to setting a world record for sightings.

BY DAVID BONETTI Post-Dispatch Visual Arts Critic • dbonetti@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8351

BY JANE HENDERSON Post-Dispatch Book Editor • jhenderson@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8107

There is a lot of history in the work of filmmaker Chantal Akerman. It’s right there in the title of this exhibition featuring five of her documentary works made since 1995: “Moving through time and space.” Isn’t that a way to define history? The history Akerman favors doesn’t include kings and presidents, generals, or captains of industry and finance, the actors of history with a big H. She prefers to show us everyday people, those whom

When Phoebe Snetsinger saw a buffspotted ﬂufftail in South Africa, it was an experience beyond her “wildest dreams.” Face time with a plump black bird with polka-dot feathers may not be the average American dream. But there was so much more to the experience than peering through binoculars at a secretive bird. By the time the world-famous Webster Groves birder had logged that ﬂufftail among more than 8,000 species on her

big-H history acts upon.Many of her subjects do demonstrate the ability to act, if often in reaction to historical conditions. But isn’t that what causes revolution? Not that Akerman is exactly a revolutionary. Although she was born in 1950 (in Belgium) and came of age in 1968, that year of dreamers, she is more an observer than an actor. She shares a way of thinking See AKERMAN • Page E3

life list, Snetsinger had survived cancer, malaria, a boat accident and a horrendous gang rape. She’d found one fellow birder dead of altitude sickness. She’d snorkeled near the Galapagos Islands, hiked the Himalayas and bundled up for Antarctica — more than once. In Peru, her birding group had to convince local Indians that the birders See BIRD • Page E5

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A&E THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET

SINGING THE BLUES

“American Idol” approaches the end of one of its weakest seasons, Page D2

Cast of characters

PRINCE OF DENMARK

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis marks its 10th anniversary with the drama that stands at the pinnacle of English literature: “Hamlet.” Here’s what you need to know — including the plot! When • Previews Wednesday and Thursday. Performances Friday-June 20, except Tuesdays. No performance June 5. Preshow entertainment at 6:30 nightly; showtime is at 8. Where • Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park, near the Art Museum. Seating • Bring a blanket or lawn chair or rent a chair ($10 for the ﬁrst section, $7 farther back). Come early to get a good spot. Food • Bring a picnic, order a boxed supper in advance (see website) or buy food and drink at the booths. Cost • The festival is free, but donations are welcome. More info • shakespearefestivalstlouis.org

ACT 1

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is home from college. His father has died and his mother, Queen Gertrude, has married his uncle, King Claudius. Angry, hurt and confused, the prince mourns for his father. “He was a man. Take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again.”

Polonius Counselor to Claudius

Ophelia Polonius’ daughter

Laertes Polonius’ son

Horatio Hamlet’s best friend

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Schoolmates of Hamlet

4 3

But he’s wrong — that very night, he’ll see his father's Ghost!

ACT 2

Gertrude Claudius Ghost of King Hamlet Hamlet’s mother King of Denmark Hamlet’s father

Hamlet Prince of Denmark

TEXT BY JUDITH NEWMARK • Post-Dispatch Theater Critic > jnewmark@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8243 GRAPHIC BY bing! • www.bing.biz

Other noble families are happier. The king’s counselor, Polonius, loves his daughter Ophelia and his son Laertes, who’s on his way to France. Polonius sends him off with lots of good advice: “This above all: to thine own self be true.”

But Hamlet suspects something is rotten in the state of Denmark. The ghost of King Hamlet tells the prince that he didn't simply die. No! His death was murder most foul. He urges his son to take revenge against his brother and killer, Claudius, but not Gertrude. “Leave her to heaven.”

Confiding in his dearest friend, Horatio, Hamlet admits the whole thing is hard to believe. But why does that mean it can't be true? “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

Gertrude and Claudius are worried about Hamlet. He looks like a wreck, says weird things and sometimes won't say a word. They beg his childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to find out what's wrong.

ACT 3

9 10

Hamlet perks up and welcomes the actors warmly, but they just make him feel worse. He thinks that actors, who are only pretending, express more feeling than he has shown for his dead father. “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!”

Hamlet finds Claudius in the chapel and won’t kill him there. Missing his chance, he goes to Gertrude’s room. Something is moving behind a curtain! Claudius? Hamlet drives his sword through the eavesdropper — Polonius! To “protect” Hamlet, Claudius sends him to England with Rosencrantz, Guildenstern — and a letter.

Claudius and Polonius make Ophelia wait where Hamlet will run into her. But when he comes by, he’s not thinking of love. He’s thinking of suicide. “To be or not to be — that is the question ...” At first he seems happy to see Ophelia, but his mood abruptly changes and he insults her. Does he know Claudius and Polonius are listening? Ophelia is very upset!

Claudius asks Hamlet to fence with Laertes. Horatio smells a rat, but Hamlet feels clearheaded at last. “If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all.” Instead of a safe fencing sword, Laertes will use a sharp, poisoned blade. Claudius also has poisoned a cup of wine — just for Hamlet.

GAIL PENNINGTON •

Claudius thinks Hamlet is too dangerous to stay in Denmark. But the prince’s mood certainly improves when he gets together with the actors. He’d like to be an actor himself! He chooses the play they’ll perform and coaches them. Don't overact, he tells them.

ACT 4

As the court gathers for the show, Hamlet flirts with Ophelia. Does he love her after all? Then the play begins. It’s about a murderer who kills a duke and marries his wife. Claudius gets the point! He’s furious and storms off!

ACT 5

Ophelia loses her mind. She wanders around the castle with flowers, singing crazed songs. Laertes, back from France, wants to avenge his father’s murder and his sister’s madness. Claudius is only too glad to help him! But oh no! As the men make their plans, Ophelia drowns herself!

Hamlet, back in Denmark, meets Horatio in a graveyard. Claudius’ letter ordered the English to kill Hamlet, but he escaped. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were killed instead. Hamlet picks up the skull of the old court jester. “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio.” They're interrupted by a funeral — for Ophelia!

The match begins — and Gertrude, watching, sips the poisoned wine! Laertes strikes Hamlet — the scratch is poisoned! As they fence, they switch weapons. Now Hamlet strikes Laertes. The scratch is poisoned!

Post-Dispatch Television Critic > gpennington@post-dispatch.com

‘Lost’ faces the most pressure to produce a satisfying ﬁnale. that it’s case closed for “Law & Order,” canceled just short of a record-breaking 21st season. TV shows never disappear completely, of course, not in the days of Netﬂix, DVD box sets and perpetual cable reruns. But as viewers, we’re bound to get attached to characters who come into our living rooms every week, and we hate to see the relationships we’ve

built stop growing. So it’s hard to let go, and even harder if a series finale lets us down. When the cast of “Seinfeld” reunited on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” all viewers could talk about was how bad the “Seinfeld” ﬁnale had been — 12 years earlier. Some “Battlestar Galactica” fans See PENNINGTON • Page D4

Wild with grief, Laertes jumps into the grave. So does Hamlet, and they fight right there! Who loved Ophelia more? As they are pulled apart, Hamlet swears he has no quarrel with Laertes.

Gertrude dies! Laertes tells Hamlet they are both dying of poison! Hamlet strikes the king and makes him drink the wine, poisoning him! Claudius dies!

3 longtime dramas are signing off Three iconic TV dramas, three series ﬁnales. So many goodbyes, and all in the space of two days this week. “Lost,” which ends its sixseason saga with a Sunday night finale extravaganza on ABC, has been getting most of the buzz. But “24,” exiting Fox after eight seasons, will go out with guns blazing. And now, fans have learned

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern can’t find out anything. Hamlet just tells them how depressed he feels. But Rosencrantz and Guildenstern know that Hamlet loves the theater, so they’ve invited actors to give a show at the castle.

Polonius thinks he’s figured it out: It’s love. Hamlet is crazy in love with Ophelia. Polonius talks to the prince, who sounds deranged. But the old man senses something: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.”

Dying, Hamlet and Laertes forgive each other. Hamlet prophecies that Norway will rule Denmark now. He begs Horatio to live on, mourn for him a little and tell his story. “The rest is silence.” And of course, Horatio will. “Goodnight, sweet prince.”

THE FINALES ‘Lost’ When • 6-8 p.m. Sunday (retrospective); 8-10:30 p.m. (ﬁnal episode); 11:05 p.m.-midnight “Jimmy Kimmel” special. Where • ABC (Channel 30) ‘24’ When • 7-9 p.m. Monday Where • Fox (Channel 2) ‘Law & Order’ When • 9-10 p.m. Monday Where • NBC (Channel 5)

MIDWESTERN SPIN Dance St. Louis director Michael Uthoff hopes Spring to Dance festival will encourage local companies. PAGE D3

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SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL ST. LOUIS PRESENTS

‘OTHELLO’ BY JUDITH NEWMARK • Post-Dispatch Theater Critic > jnewmark@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8243 GRAPHIC BY BUZZMACHINE STUDIOS • jtelford@buzzmachinestudios.com

Cast of characters y in Lad

ing to wait

“Othello,” the towering tragedy of a great man destroyed by jealousy, tells one of William Shakespeare’s most straightforward stories. The 12th annual production that Shakespeare Festival St. Louis has mounted in Forest Park, “Othello” continues a summertime tradition of classics, picnics and starlight that drew a record-breaking audience of 63,000 last year. Here’s everything you need to know for this summer — including the timeless tale. Where • Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park, near the Art Museum When • Previews Wednesday and Thursday; opening Friday-June 17 (except Tuesdays). Preshow entertainment at 6:30 nightly; showtime at 8 p.m. Seating • Bring a blanket or lawn chair, or rent a chair ($7-$10). Food • Bring a picnic or buy food from the vendors. Other vendors sell souvenirs. How much • Free. Donations are welcome. More info • sfstl.com

Wife of

Emilia

Frie nd o f

Iago

Jealous of

h wit ove In l

Father of

Desdemona

th y wi angr d n oa gn t Ensi

Wife of

ACT 1 1

to wn a P

Othello

of ss e r st Mi

Brabantio

2 Roderigo and Iago run to tell Brabantio about

Cassio

the elopement. Roderigo wanted to marry Desdemona, and Iago says he’ll help. Iago hates Othello because he promoted Michael Cassio over him, and also claims Othello carried on with his wife. Maybe Iago doesn't need a reason. Maybe he’s simply evil.

Bianca

Roderigo

Othello, a great general of Venice, and Desdemona, a noblewoman, elope. They know her father won't let them marry because Othello is from Africa.

ACT 2 3 Called before the Duke to

explain themselves, Othello and Desdemona freely admit their love for each other.

5 Storms at sea wipe out the Turkish fleet. Welcome to Cyprus!

X X

4 The Duke allows their marriage to stand, then sends Othello to Cyprus to fight the Turks. Of course he may take his bride with him! Iago, Emilia, Cassio and Roderigo will go, too.

8 Cassio asks

ACT 3

Desdemona to plead his case with Othello. Iago makes sure Othello sees them together.

6 Cassio can't handle his

liquor, so Iago gets him drunk to make it easy for Roderigo to pick a fight with him. He wants Cassio dead!

7 It's a big fight but no one is X

killed. Iago hems and haws, then “admits” Cassio started it. How he wishes he didn't have to say so! Othello fires Cassio and promotes Iago to lieutenant.

9 Iago drops more hints. She lied to her father, didn't she? But don’t jump to conclusions, he tells Othello, oozing sympathy. Beware of “the green-eyed monster,” jealousy.

10 Desdemona accidentally drops a

handkerchief embroidered with strawberries. Othello gave it to her. Emilia picks up the hankie because she knows Iago wants it. She can’t imagine why, though.

ACT 4 11 Iago plants the hankie in Cassio’s room, 12 On Othello’s orders, Iago agrees to kill

Cassio. But, Iago says, DON’T kill Desdemona … and plants the seed of an idea.

telling Othello Cassio has it. Then Cassio gives it to Bianca, a courtesan who loves him.

ACT 5

#$@%!

16 Pretending to break up the fight, Iago murders Roderigo and wounds Cassio!

15 Roderigo tries to kill Othello has his “proof” of infidelity! Iago manipulated everyone.

19 Othello stabs

himself and dies, kissing Desdemona. He begs to be remembered as “one that loved not wisely, but too well.”

THE END

Cassio again, but Cassio wounds him instead.

14 Bianca shows up with the hankie — and

13 Iago gets Cassio to talk about Bianca while Othello’s nearby. Othello thinks he’s talking about Desdemona as if she were a harlot!

17 Othello goes to

Desdemona in her bed and accuses her. Swearing he’s wrong, she pleads for her life. He smothers her with her pillow as Emilia bursts in.

Emilia accuses her husband of masterminding the whole tragedy. Enraged, Iago stabs his wife to death, swearing he will never speak again. But Cassio will punish him.

GAIL PENNINGTON • gpennington@post-dispatch.com

Networks mix new series, old standbys The die is cast, the ax has fallen and the broadcast networks’ fall schedules are set. Now, all that remains is to wait for a first look at the new series, an eclectic mixture of safe and ambitious, forward-looking and backward-thinking. Here, network by network, is a recap of last week’s announcements to advertisers in New York.

ABC ABC has found mixed results in the post-“Lost” era with such high-concept series as “The River.” But even though soapy “Revenge” and “Scandal” have been more successful, ABC isn’t giving up on out-there fare for fall. In the new drama “666 Park

Avenue,” Midwesterners move into a haunted apartment building owned by Terry O’Quinn (“Lost”) and Vanessa Williams. In “Last Resort,” Capt. Andre Braugher pilots a rogue submarine to an exotic island. And in the comedy “The

Cast, director and conductor discuss the challenges of Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ “Sweeney Todd.” Page D6

“Canada” is a welcome return for author Richard Ford. Page D9

See PENNINGTON • Page D4

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.com

William Shakespeare’s

TWELFTH If music be the food

GRAPHICS BY BUZZMACHINE STUDIOS www.buzzmachinestudios.com jtelford@buzzmachinestudios.com

TEXT BY JUDITH NEWMARK Post-Dispatch Theater Critic jnewmark@post-dispatch.com

“T

welfth Night” has all you could want in a Shakespeare comedy: cross-dressing, mixed-up twins, a wise clown and plenty of weddings at the end. Rick Dildine — the executive and artistic director of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis — directs “Twelfth Night,” the festival’s 13th annual show under the stars in Forest Park. Here’s everything you need to know to enjoy yourself — including the story.

on. y a l of love, p

Cast of characters

Viola

Sebastian

A perfectly Viola’s pretty marvelous girl marvelous twin

1 Shipwreck on the

Orsino

Duke of Illyria and hopeless romantic

Sir Toby Belch

Sir Andrew Aguecheek

Olivia’s lusty uncle

5 Once “Cesario” leaves, Olivia hands Malvolio a ring to give him. Run fast and catch up! Olivia pretends “Cesario” gave the ring to her and she’s sending it back. What a lie! She wants to give “Cesario” an excuse to come back to her.

Olivia

Malvolio

Maria

4 Determined to mourn her brother for

seven years, Olivia won’t even listen to the clown, Feste. She won’t marry anybody! But she agrees to hear the page — and falls for “Cesario” AT FIRST SIGHT!

Feste

Olivia’s pompous steward

Illyrian countess, Olivia's clever Toby’s foppish mourning for lady-in-waiting friend her brother

A clown

shores of Illyria! Viola survives but her twin brother, Sebastian, is missing. She hopes he somehow survived as well. It would be a miracle.

Antonio

A seaman

3 Orsino is obsessed with Olivia, who won’t even talk to him. But he likes this charming newcomer at once and makes “him” a page. “Cesario” takes to the Duke, too — AT FIRST SIGHT. But Orsino doesn’t know she’s a girl — and sends her to Olivia with another marriage proposal. What a job!

2 A young woman isn’t safe on her

own in a strange place. Viola disguises herself as a boy, names herself “Cesario,” and goes to find the duke, Orsino.

ILLYRIA

6 Sebastian did survive the

7 Sir Toby and Maria always have fun at Olivia’s house. So

14 Olivia is surprised to see Malvolio,

13 Antonio has powerful

shipwreck. He and Antonio, a seaman who saved his life, made it to Illyria, too. But Sebastian thinks his twin sister, Viola, died at sea.

8 Maria forges a letter that

does Sir Andrew, the man Toby wants Olivia to marry. But Malvolio doesn’t approve of their drinking and singing — Oh, no, he certainly does not! After Malvolio scolds them, Maria tells her pals she knows how to get back at him.

all smiles in yellow stockings and crisscross garters. He doesn’t make any sense, either. Poor Malvolio must have lost his mind!

enemies in Illyria. He gives Sebastian his wallet and they make plans to eat later.

12 Sir Andrew is ready to give

10 Malvolio finds the forged letter.

visits, Olivia doesn’t even try to lie. She admits it — she’s in love!

He’s thrilled! He’ll do everything he thinks Olivia wants him to do — even though she wants him to wear weird clothes and smile all time.

15 Andrew challenges “Cesario,” but they’re both too scared to fight. When Antonio sees what’s happening, he rushes in to help “Sebastian.” He wins but gets arrested, so he asks for his money back. “Cesario” doesn’t know what he means. Who does he think she is. Wait! Could it be?

16 When Olivia finds Sebastian

with Feste, she’s so happy to see “Cesario,” she professes her love! And Sebastian falls AT FIRST SIGHT! Let’s get married!

17 Disguised as a priest, Feste visits

“insane” Malvolio in the cell where Maria and Toby put him “for his own protection.” Even Toby starts to think they went too far.

He storms off by himself. Feste sings a reminder of how life and the theater go: “We’ll strive to please you every day.”

lovesick Orsino, who talks to “Cesario” about his feelings. “Cesario” also has lots to say about love. He learned from his “sister.”

11 The next time “Cesario”

up, but Toby tells him to be a man. Challenge that page to a duel! That’ll impress Olivia.

22 Malvolio doesn’t marry anybody.

9 Meanwhile, Feste sings to comfort

makes it sound as if Olivia secretly loves Malvolio. She and her pals plant it in just the right spot.

21 Sebastian has married Olivia! Toby has married Maria! Orsino will marry Viola as soon as she puts on a dress!

20 As soon as Sebastian rushes in to

apologize to his bride for hurting her kinsman, the twins stare at each other in joy!

18 As “Cesario” tells Orsino how Antonio

helped in the fight, Olivia is relieved to see her new “husband.” She couldn’t find him! “What are you talking about?” “Cesario” asks. We aren’t married!

19 Andrew stumbles in, bleeding. “Cesario” just wounded him and Toby in another fight. Impossible! “Cesario” is standing right there!

IF YOU GO

Where • Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park, near the St. Louis Art Museum When • 8 p.m. Previews are May 22 and 23, runs May 24-June 16, every night but Tuesdays. Preshow entertainment starts at 6:30 p.m. How much • Free More info • sfstl.com Seating • Bring a blanket or lawn chair, or rent a chair ($7-10) Food • Bring your favorite picnic, or buy food from the vendors. Other vendors sell souvenirs. See more Shakespeare pages at stltoday.com/shakespeare.

INSIDE Robin Williams, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Michael J. Fox return to network TV this fall. D3

St. Louis native Ryan McAdams comes home to conduct “Pirates of Penzance.” D8

In “The Outsider,” tennis star Jimmy Connors points fingers at former friends and rivals. D9

1 M

STLTODAY.COM/GO • AE@POST-DISPATCH.COM • SUNDAY • 05.19.2013 • D • A&E

.com

William Shakespeare’s

TWELFTH If music be the food

GRAPHICS BY BUZZMACHINE STUDIOS www.buzzmachinestudios.com jtelford@buzzmachinestudios.com

TEXT BY JUDITH NEWMARK Post-Dispatch Theater Critic jnewmark@post-dispatch.com

“T

on. y a l of love, p

Cast of characters

Viola

Sebastian

A perfectly Viola’s pretty marvelous girl marvelous twin

1 Shipwreck on the

Orsino

Duke of Illyria and hopeless romantic

Sir Toby Belch

Sir Andrew Aguecheek

Olivia’s lusty uncle

Olivia

Malvolio

Maria

4 Determined to mourn her brother for

seven years, Olivia won’t even listen to the clown, Feste. She won’t marry anybody! But she agrees to hear the page — and falls for “Cesario” AT FIRST SIGHT!

Feste

Olivia’s pompous steward

Illyrian countess, Olivia's clever Toby’s foppish mourning for lady-in-waiting friend her brother

A clown

shores of Illyria! Viola survives but her twin brother, Sebastian, is missing. She hopes he somehow survived as well. It would be a miracle.

Antonio

A seaman

2 A young woman isn’t safe on her

own in a strange place. Viola disguises herself as a boy, names herself “Cesario,” and goes to find the duke, Orsino.

ILLYRIA

6 Sebastian did survive the

7 Sir Toby and Maria always have fun at Olivia’s house. So

14 Olivia is surprised to see Malvolio,

13 Antonio has powerful

shipwreck. He and Antonio, a seaman who saved his life, made it to Illyria, too. But Sebastian thinks his twin sister, Viola, died at sea.

8 Maria forges a letter that

all smiles in yellow stockings and crisscross garters. He doesn’t make any sense, either. Poor Malvolio must have lost his mind!

enemies in Illyria. He gives Sebastian his wallet and they make plans to eat later.

12 Sir Andrew is ready to give

10 Malvolio finds the forged letter.

visits, Olivia doesn’t even try to lie. She admits it — she’s in love!

He’s thrilled! He’ll do everything he thinks Olivia wants him to do — even though she wants him to wear weird clothes and smile all time.

16 When Olivia finds Sebastian

with Feste, she’s so happy to see “Cesario,” she professes her love! And Sebastian falls AT FIRST SIGHT! Let’s get married!

17 Disguised as a priest, Feste visits

“insane” Malvolio in the cell where Maria and Toby put him “for his own protection.” Even Toby starts to think they went too far.

He storms off by himself. Feste sings a reminder of how life and the theater go: “We’ll strive to please you every day.”

lovesick Orsino, who talks to “Cesario” about his feelings. “Cesario” also has lots to say about love. He learned from his “sister.”

11 The next time “Cesario”

up, but Toby tells him to be a man. Challenge that page to a duel! That’ll impress Olivia.

22 Malvolio doesn’t marry anybody.

9 Meanwhile, Feste sings to comfort

makes it sound as if Olivia secretly loves Malvolio. She and her pals plant it in just the right spot.

21 Sebastian has married Olivia! Toby has married Maria! Orsino will marry Viola as soon as she puts on a dress!

20 As soon as Sebastian rushes in to

apologize to his bride for hurting her kinsman, the twins stare at each other in joy!

18 As “Cesario” tells Orsino how Antonio

helped in the fight, Olivia is relieved to see her new “husband.” She couldn’t find him! “What are you talking about?” “Cesario” asks. We aren’t married!

19 Andrew stumbles in, bleeding. “Cesario” just wounded him and Toby in another fight. Impossible! “Cesario” is standing right there!

IF YOU GO

INSIDE Robin Williams, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Michael J. Fox return to network TV this fall. D3

St. Louis native Ryan McAdams comes home to conduct “Pirates of Penzance.” D8

In “The Outsider,” tennis star Jimmy Connors points fingers at former friends and rivals. D9

1 M

STLTODAY.COM/GO • AE@POST-DISPATCH.COM • SUNDAY • 05.11.2014 • D

.com

TV critic Gail Pennington looks at which series are safe, which are dead and which are “on the bubble.” PAGE D4 Jo Nesbø breaks away from his detective Harry Hole for “The Son.” PAGE D9

HENRY IV henry IV WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S A reckless son ch

y anges his wa

TEXT BY JUDITH NEWMARK • jnewmark@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8243 GRAPHICS BY BUZZMACHINE STUDIOS • www.buzzmachinestudios.com > jtelford@buzzmachinestudios.com

ry o t c i A ruler leads his banCast of characters d of brot ers to v h

TEXT JUDITH NEWMARK GRAPHICS BYproductions BUZZMACHINE STUDIOS It’s theBY biggest Shakespeare Festival St. Louis yet. Two will be Post-Dispatch Critic that, together, www.buzzmachinestudios.com mounted — twoTheater productions tell the story of England’s King jnewmark@post-dispatch.com jtelford@buzzmachinestudios.com Henry V. Jim Butz, who dazzled festival audience with his portrayals of Marc Antony in “Julius Caesar” and of Hamlet, stars as the protagonist, first playing reckless Prince Hal in “Henry IV” and then the title character in “Henry V.” Michael James Reed plays the title role, Hal’s father, in “Henry IV.” Does this seem confusing? Maybe. For one thing, three of the main characters — two kings and their noble foe Hotspur — are all named Henry. But Shakespeare’s history plays make sense. They may not be the last word in accuracy — but for beautiful language and the flow of history as we have come to recall it, there’s nothing better. These plays speak for themselves. And if cartoon versions help lay out their stories, here they are. See the story of “Henry V,” Page D3.

henry V

1 King Henry IV wants to lead a crusade to Jerusalem. Maybe he feels bad about the way he got rid of the last king, Richard II.

8 Hotspur finds out that many

of his allies aren’t coming — not even his own father. Fine! Fiery Hotspur will defy both the odds and the king!

2 But there’s trouble at the borders. Hotspur, the dashing

hero of the Percy clan, fought for England — but he won’t send the king his prisoners. He wants the king to ransom his wife’s brother, a prisoner of the border wars. The king wishes he had a loyal, valiant son like Hotspur!

7 King Henry and the rebels confront each

9 The king has a much bigger force. Besides

other at Shrewsbury. They all used to be friends when they deposed King Richard. The king can’t sleep. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown!

both his sons and many noblemen, he can also “count on” Falstaff and his friends. War can bring glory and money!

16 The king awakens and sees Hal wearing the crown! Does Hal wish his father were dead?

17 Of course not, Hal says, comforting the

sick king. Henry warns his son that it’s hard to be king. Begging God to forgive him for Richard’s death, Henry dies.

Prince John

King Henry IV

of Lancaster, Hal’s younger brother

around Mistress Quickly’s tavern, drinking with bad companions — especially Sir John Falstaff. They love to kid each other.

11 Hal and Hotspur meet on the

18 It’s an ill wind that blows no good! Now that Hal is king, Falstaff is counting on his old pal to make him rich and powerful. Look, here he comes now!

field, knowing one must die. Hal slays Hotspur.

but the king falls ill. By the time Hal reaches the royal bedchamber, his father is unconscious.

19 But Hal tells Falstaff to leave him alone.

“Dream not that I am the thing I was,” he tells Falstaff and the nobles. His wild days behind him, Hal will strive to rule well.

Mistress Quickly

A fat old rascal

A barkeep

friends in a robbery. Actually, he and a pal hide to turn the tables on Falstaff. They “attack” Falstaff and rob the robbers. Hal can’t wait to hear the lies Falstaff will invent to explain what happened.

matter how she asks, he won’t tell her what he knows: War is near. The Percy clan and their allies want to depose King Henry. Hotspur is trying to protect her, but Kate worries. She knows his bold nature too well.

14 Peace follows the victory at Shrewsbury,

Sir John Falstaff

4 Hal even pretends to join Falstaff and his no-good

6 Kate, Hotspur’s loving wife, senses trouble ahead. No

bravely side by side. Hal saves his father from the sword of a rebel.

thinks about the heavy burden he just inherited. He puts on the crown.

Kate

opposes the king

3 Prince Hal, who IS his son, is hanging

10 Prince Hal and Prince John fight

15 Believing his father is dead, Hal

Hotspur

Prince Hal

Hal and John’s Henry’s reckless of the noble Hotspur’s father wife son and heir Percy family, who

5 Hal knows he’s going too far. But he says the worse he seems now, the better he will look when he cleans up his act. One of these days he’ll fight Hotspur.

12 Falstaff, who’s “playing dead” to avoid battle, sees it all. He picks up Hotspur’s body and claims to have killed him. Nobody buys it.

13 Back in London, Mistress Quickly

wants to have Falstaff arrested. He owes her a lot of money. But the old rogue manages to charm her.

20 As Falstaff and his buddies are hauled off to

prison, Prince John foretells a great reign for his brother. He predicts that King Henry V will lead the English army all the way to France.

‘HENRY IV’ AND ‘HENRY V’ WHERE: FOREST PARK • WHEN: MAY 17 THROUGH JUNE 15 • HOW MUCH: FREE • FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FESTIVAL ON PAGE D3. • See Shakespeare pages from previous years at stltoday.com/shakespeare • Visit the cartoon wall on the grounds of the Shakespeare Festival. • Watch a video of theater critic Judith Newmark and Fox 2’s Angela Hutti talking about this year’s festival at stltoday.com/go.

2014

A&E

SUPERMAN CELEBRATION

JUNE 12-15 METROPOLIS, IL

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A reckless son ch

ys a w anges his

HENRY V

05.11.2014 • SUNDAY • M 1

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH • D3

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S A ruler leads his band of

ry o t c i v brothers to

henry V

TEXT BY JUDITH NEWMARK • jnewmark@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8243 GRAPHICS BY BUZZMACHINE STUDIOS • www.buzzmachinestudios.com > jtelford@buzzmachinestudios.com

As always, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presentsBY its BUZZMACHINE big productions STUDIOS in Forest TEXT BY JUDITH NEWMARK GRAPHICS Post-Dispatch Theater Glen, Critic near the St. Louis www.buzzmachinestudios.com Park’s Shakespeare Art Museum. But this year, with jnewmark@post-dispatch.com two productions to mount, the schedulejtelford@buzzmachinestudios.com is different. “Henry IV” opens May

Cast of characters

17, and “Henry V” opens May 24. After “Henry V” opens, they will play on alternate nights. The shows start at 8 p.m. Or you can enjoy the whole story at once with double features on June 7 and 14. On those days, the show starts at 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit sfstl.com online. To make the most of the experience, think ahead. Bring a blanket or lawn chair, or rent a chair. You can bring a picnic, order a box supper in advance or buy food from vendors. Arrive early to pick a good spot, shop for souvenirs and enjoy the “green show,” eclectic entertainment that starts at 6:30 p.m. (On double-feature days, the green show comes between the two plays.) Then join Henry, his friends and foes in the story of a wild youth who changes his ways and leads a band of brothers to victory.

Henry V

Fluellen

Pistol

Nell Quickly

King of England

A Welsh captain

A lowlife

A barkeep who marries Pistol

Louis the Dauphin Heir to the French throne

Katherine

The Chorus

Louis’ sister

TOUR GUIDE

1 O for a Muse of Fire! Here is the famous story of King Henry V and his band of brothers. The Chorus will be our guide.

2 Henry’s advisers assure him that he should

8 With war at hand, England’s youth are

on fire. Remembering the king’s wild youth, Louis thinks it will be a romp, but Henry has changed a lot since then.

3 The French don’t! Louis sends Henry a

rule France because his grandmother came from French royalty. It’s pretty complicated — and not everyone agrees.

7 Sobbing, Nell tells everybody friends remember him

9 The English cross the channel and besiege

10 Henry leads his forces “once

Harfleur. Not everyone thirsts for battle. Fluellen has to force Pistol and his thieving friends to fight.

more into the breach,” crying “God for Harry, England and St. George!” The game’s afoot!

message to forget it — with a “consolation prize.” Louis sends tennis balls!

6 Henry pretends he doesn’t know

about the plot — but he does and sentences the plotters to death.

doesn’t resist. If it does, he swears to destroy the town. Harfleur surrenders. But this is the Hundred Years War, and no one battle can end it.

they are lucky that so few of them are there — it will make victory mean more! “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers” will always be remembered on St. Crispin’s Day, the anniversary of Agincourt.

behaves like a thief, not a soldier. The English threaten to kill their French prisoners but are interrupted before they can. The French raid the English camp and slaughter the boys who guard the supplies. Both actions defy the laws of chivalry.

now. But the French bribe three English noblemen to kill the king right away.

mad at one another because popular Nell Quickly could marry only one of them: Pistol. But they calm

11 Henry promises not to rob or hurt anyone if Harfleur

15 The battle is at hand. Henry tells the soldiers

16 As the fight rages, Pistol takes a prisoner but

4 What an insult! Henry is sure to attack

14 Henry’s awake, too.

Disguised as an ordinary soldier called “Harry Le Roy,” he moves among his men, cheering them up, and finds solitude to pray.

12 In the French court, Katherine practices speaking English. It could come in handy.

13 As the war goes on, the English are

sick, hungry and outnumbered 6 to 1. The night before the Battle of Agincourt, the dauphin feels confident, exulting in French superiority. Even his horse is heroic!

THE END

17 By the end of the bloody day, the

French have lost 10,000 men. The English have lost fewer than 30. Deo gratias Anglia! After the battle, Henry relaxes and jokes with his men.

18 Fluellen is fed up with Pistol’s loose ways, and

Pistol doesn’t like how things are going. His friends were hanged for theft, and his Nell died in London. He’ll return there and see how he can get by, claiming that his wounds from Fluellen’s cudgel are battle scars. Ordinary lives go on…

19 And so do great ones. Henry

returns to France to unite the two kingdoms and to woo Princess Katherine. Her English is terrible, and so is his French. But a kiss is a kiss in any language!

20 The Chorus returns to tell us

that Henry, “this star of England,” created a kingdom that was “the world’s best garden” as long as it lasted. Alas, it didn’t last for very long.

CELEBRATING MOMS

MOMMY DEAREST TV critic Gail Pennington lists 10 badly behaved moms who will make real moms feel good about themselves. stltoday.com/tv

MAKE MOM DINNER There’s still time to make mom a nice meal. Food writer Daniel Neman provides tips and easy recipes. stltoday.com/food

A QUIZ ON MOMS How well do you know TV moms and their kids? Take our quiz to find out. EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL CONTENT FOR OUR SUBSCRIBERS AT STLTODAY.COM/EXTRA