Happy 400th Shakespeare Day...........

Today we honor the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's birth and/or death with six images of theatrical productions and filmed version of his fabled plays; somehow, we didn't find any room for "Romeo and Juliet."

The six images are of: 1) The Merchant of Venice; 2) Hamlet; 3) Othello; 4) MacBeth; 5) Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" (based on Shakespeare's "King Lear," the Japanese film starred Toshiro Mifune, pict) and 6) "Much Ado About Nothing."

http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/

http://www.folger.edu/

https://www.ncshakes.org/

Happy Valentine's Day (4 of 4): Cute Annoying Young Couples

Special Quote of the Day/Week-William Shakespeare

Since Monday was Talk Like Shakespeare Day, and it was the day in which the Bard died in 1616 (conversely, Willy Shakespeare was born on April 26, 1564).

The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival takes place in High Point every year, and this year, the troupe will bring Shakespeare's most famous play "Romeo and Juliet" (editorial comment: I personally prefer "Othello" and "Macbeth") in a modern setting. That performance will run from Sept. 9-30.

Here is the quote from the beloved playwright:

"Life is as tedious as twice-told tale, vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man."http://www.ncshakes.org

Quoting Romeo and Juliet for V-Day

Yes, I know. I am getting suffocated from Valentine's Day nonsense myself, but of course since I am an American (well my late father came from Turkey) why not be a bit of a contrarian/hypocrite and indulge in this madness/nonsense.

So, here is a quip from "Romeo and Juliet," which will probably be made into a 3-D movie soon:

"But, soft! What light through window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the son."

We learned that the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va., is not performing "Romeo and Juliet" at the moment, but they will be staging the John Marston play "The Malcontent," including a performance on Sat., Feb. 19 at 2:00 p.m.

SIDEBAR: For those American tourists who have the spare time to span the globe and the courage to stay in the Middle East in spite of political upheaval, you can go to Tel Aviv, Israel, to see everyone's favorite Russian emigre punk band Gogol Bordello perform at the Barby Club there from Feb. 28-March 2. The band is actually giving three concerts at the venue!

They later head to Rome, Italy, for a concert on my 41st birthday (March 4th) at the Atlantico Live Club before heading to one of my favorite cities Istanbul, Turkey, for a March 11th concert at the Babylon.

But, for those of you who live in Nebraska and prefer classical music (I actually like everything from heavy metal to classical, but I'm the first to admit that would make for quite a surreal mixed tape!) there will be a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on Fri., March 4 at 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday, March 6 at 2:00 p.m. with conductor Thomas Wilkins at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha. The performance will be from the Omaha Symphony. It should be fun; be sure to wear your Grateful Dead tye-dye t-shirt to the event!

Oscar Quote of the Week- Sally Field

Now that she is nearing my mom's age it is a tad bit unsettling to admit that as a teenage boy I had a huge crush on Sally Field after seeing her opposite Paul Newman in "Absence of Malice."

Field had won a Best Actress Oscar for the first time for "Norma Rae" (1979) based on a story that took place at a now-closed factory in Roanoke Rapids, NC, and then again for "Places in the Heart" (1984).

Here is her quote:

"I think the first thing I did was several scenes from Romeo and Juliet."

Wasn't It Shakespeare Who Said.....

"Eat, Drink and be merry for we may get #@%&*$ snowed in tomorrow."

Yes, it has been a bit tough on those of us who live in Virginia and North Carolina (I divide my time between both states) and other states in the South- though the storm also affected Maryland and Oklahoma, which to my knowledge are not southern states, but perhaps there is someone in Baltimore and Tulsa who would want to argue with me on that.

If you are a William Shakespeare fan, you might want to check out a performance of "Twelth Night" in Staunton, Va., should you be traveling between Roanoke, Va., and Washington, DC. The production is going on right now as we speak (well, not literally as it is two a.m. now).

But, you may want to call their number 1-877-MUCH-ADO or visit their web site (americanshakespearecenter.com) in case the area gets hit with a third major winter storm to see if "Twelth Night" or their other plays will be performed as scheduled.

Snowfall accumulations for most zip codes in Virginia and North Carolina ranged from five inches to just over a foot. I gather that Lexington, NC, and Martinsville, Va., were among the towns with the most snowfall totals in their respective regions.

Many school systems in southwestern Virginia and northwester/north central North Carolina are scheduled to be closed on Monday, so I guess some ninth graders will have an extra day to work on their "Romeo and Juliet" book reports.

For the Bard's B-day-a Quote from Will Shakespeare

Tomorrow is William Shakespeare's birthday, so for the occasion we have two quotes from the Bard on our two respective blogs.

Of course, most Americans are undoubtedly more fascinated by the fact that Lauren Conrad of "The Hills" will not be attending Heidi and Spencer's wedding.

The American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va., is currently performing "Hamlet" (pictured here, but not the ASC production) along with other vintage Shakespeare plays.

They sent out an email with quotes from the Bard regarding Earth Day but none of them seemed as catchy as his standards, like this one:

"Bening born is like being kidnapped. And then sold into slavery."