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• Illinois Shakespeare Festival kicks off

Each summer Shakespeare fans from around the state flock to Bloomington-Normal for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. The festival is put on by the Illinois State University School of Theatre and the College of Fine Arts, and performances are held at Ewing Manor’s open-air theater. Now in its 31st season, the troupe of actors is performing three plays this year: The Taming of the Shrew, Titus Andronicus, and the Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged.

While the first two shows may seem intimidating to those unfamiliar with Shakespearean language and culture, The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged is fun for everyone from the Shakespeare aficionados to those who got through the Bard’s plays only by using cliff notes.

The theater grounds alone are worth the trip since they lie on the recently re-landscaped Ewing manor.The courtyard and mansion look like something out of a fairytale, and have the old-fashioned air that sets the mood for a performance of Shakespeare.

The audience is typically composed of everyone from teenagers to senior citizens, and while some people have been season ticket holders for years, many are coming for their very first performance. For those first-timers especially, the Complete Works Abridged is an excellent choice for an amusing introduction to the world of Shakespeare.

The show, advertising 37 plays in 97 minutes, makes even Shakespeare’s tragedies hilarious. It begins when two rednecks looking for a Nascar race crash the show ... literally. However, instead of cancelling the show altogether, they decide to put on their own version of the complete works, with a little help from a resident Shakespeare expert.

Their extremely entertaining performance includes cross-dressing, Scottish accents, and a royal football game. Othello becomes a musical, Titus Andronicus is a cooking show, and the comedies are all combined into one big production called The Love Boat Goes To Verona. Regardless of whether you understand all the references or just a few (“exit pursued by a bear” anyone?) the show will have you roaring with laughter and is definitely worth the money.