I know it was supposed to be a tie-in to NBC’s featured film on Saturday night Shakespeare in Love, but I thought my brain was going to explode when I heard Al Roker say “Shakespeare wrote 43 plays…and that’s about how many we write a week here at NBC. Are they as good as Shakespeare’s?” To which he said YES, and then began to describe the series “Frasier” as a prime example!
AAAAAAAAAGH!
I wonder if, four hundred years from now, people will still be staging performances of their favorite Frasier episodes?
Off the top of my head, didn’t Shakespeare write 37 plays? Perhaps there are some that NBC knows about that the rest of us don’t. This could explain Al Roker’s comparison. Six of Shakespeares last plays took the form of weekly performaces at the Globe. Among the newly discovered plays:
Too Many Merry Wives: Falstaff moves in with the merry wives. King Henry diapproves, so Falstaff must dress as a deer and pretend to be a pet. He gets a job at the local tavern, and must contantly switch between being a deer and a cook. Confusion and hilarity ensues.
Bottoms Up!: The players are hired by Theseus to write and perform a weekly play. But Puck is always on hand to add a dose of hilarity. Luckily, Oberon always steps in just in time to straighten things out and dispense a little fairy wisdom.
Judge Portia: Amazingly, the format of this play was much like some current Television programs, except that if she rules against a party, a pound of flesh is torn from their breast, and if she rule for them a gentle rain falls from the stage balcony.
Titus Andronicus: IT’S A COOKING PROGRAM!!!
The Ghost and Mr. Fortinbras: Hamlets father convinces Fortinbras to let him help rule Denmark. Fortinbras can’t let the rest of the court know that he is listening to a ghost. Confusion and hilarity ensue. Look for guest appearences by Hamlet…and just maybe a vist from Puck!
Gilligan’s Tempest: after being tossed on a remote shore by a mighty storm, the crew and passengers of the Minnow are confronted by a mighty sorcerer, his beautiful daughter, Ariel, and his wretched servant, Caliban. Watch as each week they wrestle with the twin questions of colonization and trying to get home!