Three zany actors, headlined by Barrymore Award-winner and Philadelphia favorite Jeff Coon, take off on a 90 minute high-speed adventure through all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in the THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (Abridged). With a hip-hop Othello, the histories performed as a football game, and Titus Andronicus as a cooking program, both those who think they don’t like Shakespeare and those who do, will be rolling in the aisles. This production – London’s longest running comedy – comes to Camden County College’s Dennis Flyer Theatre for two nights of laughter, April 8 and 9. It is presented by Mainstage Center for the Arts.
Perry-Award winning director, Chris Melohn, directs and performs in this fast-paced romp, joining Coon and Curt Foy.
“I’m delighted to bring Shakespeare to life in this uninhibited, entertaining, irreverent production. The show is so brilliantly structured that is makes Shakespeare aficionados laugh at all the insider humor, but has enough quick changes, improvisation, audience participation, and general antics to make even the most novice of Shakespeare fans guffaw!,” said Melohn.
About the comical trio
Jeff Coon has been a member of Philadelphia’s theatre community since 1993. Called by Philadelphia Weekly “one of Philadelphia’s most talented and gifted performers,” Coon has performed in close to 100 professional productions and worked at most of the area’s theatre companies including Walnut Street Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Act 2 Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Prince Music Theatre. Nationally, he has toured with South Pacific and appeared at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre and Houston’s T.U.T.S. He is a 10-time Barrymore Award nominee, winning for his performance as Dominique in The Baker’s Wife at Arden Theatre Company.
Curt Foy was last seen at Mainstage as Lord Capulet in Romeo & Juliet and was recently nominated for ‘Best Actor in a Musical’ by BroadwayWorld.com for his portrayal of Rum Tum Tugger in CATS. Curt is a HUGE Shakespeare fan and cannot be more excited to be a part of this production. He has been in two other productions of ‘Complete Works’ and has played over twenty different characters in sixteen of Shakespeare’s plays, performing in ten national tours, reaching forty-six states.
Chris Melohn, Perry Award winning director, has directed, choreographed, designed and performed in many cities around the country. With Mainstage Center for the Arts, he has directed ROMEO & JULIET, THE MIRACLE WORKER, and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. He recently directed and choreographed BRIGADOON! for the Broadway Theatre of Pitman. When not directing or on stage, Melohn is the Managing, Artistic, and Education Director for MainStage Center for the Arts’ Performing Arts Academy and Manager of Children & Youth Programs at Fleisher Art Memorial.
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (Abridged), runs April 8 and 9, 7:30 p.m., Dennis Flyer Theatre, Camden County College, Blackwood, NJ. It is sponsored by Comegno Law Firm, P.C. Ticket prices are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $12 for students. To purchase, visit www.mainstage.org, or call (855) 936-2467, ext 3.
Theater/Organization Mainstage Center for the Arts
Theater/Organization Website: http://www.mainstage.org
Theater/Organization Address: Dennis Flyer Theater, Camden County College 200 College Drive Blackwood, New Jersey 08012 (Map It)
Theater/Organization Phone: (855) 936-2467
