The Ark will be hosting Shakespeare Unplugg’d at 8 p.m., August 1. This show comes courtesy of the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, a local nonprofit theater troupe based in Canton that brings the Bard’s masterpieces to life with local Midwest talent.
Janice L. Blixt, Producing Artistic Director for the MSF, said ininterview by phone that a big part of her job is to rehabilitate people who were forced to sit through a boring Shakespeare class in ninth grade and see what is timeless and beautiful about the Bard’s work.
“The reason it is so beautiful is that he was talking about the stuff that connected most with people. He was the popular culture of his time, the stuff that everybody wanted to go see because it was the stories that connect with you. His shows were about family, personal honor, feeling lost, lonely. Yes, its about kings and queens most of the time, yes it feels epic in scale – but don’t we go to see Marvel movies not just because of the spectacle but because we like to see the human stories of these superhero characters?” Blixt said. “There’s a reason why we love Peter Parker. Well, those are the same reasons that 400 years ago people loved Hamlet.”
Tickets can be ordered in advance, or you can show up that night.
The free show is a “night of fun and laughter [which] lets the MSF company sing, dance, play music, juggle, improvise, tell great backstage stories and maybe even do a little Shakespeare,” according to the Ark.
“This one-night-only free event has been held for the last six years and is a way for the multi-talented company to show off hidden skills and abilities that are not always showcased in the plays,” The Ark said in its advertisement for the show.
Donations are encouraged to both the MSF and the Ark. There will be a cash bar available for members.
Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up just outside of Ann Arbor. He covers local business developments, embraces his foodie side with reviews restaurants, obsesses over Michigan's environmental state, loves movies, and feels spoiled by the music he gets to review for Ann Arbor!
