Review - Shakespeare Is An Idiot

We made it out last night to go see the last performance of "Shakespeare Is An Idiot," a play performed as part of the Rogue Festival in Fresno's Tower District. Was it worth it? Most definitely!
I have to admit, going in, I was a little worried. A part was the small size of the venue combined with the temperature. It wasn't super hot or anything, just considerably warmer than the outside, pretty much should be expected for a small place packed full. This is not a knock on the location or anything. I'm not really claustrophobic, but I occasionally get a little freaked if I'm feeling too confined and the air's a little too warm/stuffy. Anyway, once everyone got settled in, I was fine, there was a fan cooling the place off well. Another bit of worry was that I wasn't really in a pleasant state of mind going into the show, but that just speaks more for the quality of the show, because I was quickly able to shift focus and enjoy the show (this isn't always easy for me).
Anyway, on to the actual show! So it starts out with Mr. Marlowe speaking to his English class (the audience) about how the state requires him to teach Shakespeare, so he's brought in a group who will perform some scenes from various plays. After a little introduction, the group begins to perform a scene from Romeo & Juliet, only to be interrupted by Mr. Marlowe ("Hehe...Butt Love!") a few times. The group performs a couple of scenes, including bringing an audience member on stage to play a huge part (Only line: "Madam"), until they are finally interrupted by Mr. Marlowe complaining that Juliet should just follow Romeo in his banishment!
The show continues in similar fashion with scenes from Macbeth, Othello and Hamlet. All sections end with Mr. Marlowe complaining that Shakespeare's methods are idiotic ("Why doesn't Hamlet just kill his uncle right now?"). Lots of small jokes throughout the play, including pop culture references like "Worst...Hamlet...Ever," female characters being portrayed in the stereotypical "dumb blonde" vein, a character done in William Shatner "spoken word" performance mode and the Wayne's World method of going back in time.
Overall, the show was definitely funny. The jokes were great, the acting was awesome, and the overall atmosphere was a lot of fun. Congrats to the cast, they did a great job, and definitely entertained!