Polishing Shakespeare

Click Here for Production Photos

Click Here for an Article by Bob Goepfert in The Saratogian

Click Here for an Article by Jeff Borak in the Berkshire Eagle

“How does a wildly ambitious yet intimate theatre company in the sleepy town of Catskill produce new, great, innovative plays using classic themes and characters while luring audiences away from their Netflix and balance the books with small casts and design in house? Bridge Street Theatre does the work. … BST opens another season with a gem of a show, ‘Polishing Shakespeare’, an intellectual vaudeville with an immediately identifiable yet absurd premise and an execution that tickles, provokes and infuriates. When you’re not barking with laughter you could be shaking in your seat with fury or shaking your head in dismay … Dykstra’s play is bold, brash and funny as hell. It is also written in iambic pentameter. The surprise of the rhymes startle and astonish as you watch these poor souls twist themselves in knots, grappling to reconcile their purpose in life and the value of their labor. Watching the cruelty of capitalism trample these artists shouldn’t be this much fun but this is one audacious playwright … ‘Polishing Shakespeare’ is a fun celebration of the miracle of theatre and Bridge Street in particular.” Patrick White, Metroland Now More….

“Director John Sowle has delivered a fast-paced production performed by a first-rate cast whose members handle Dykstra’s verse with dexterity, conviction and conversational ease. Perry invests Branch with the self-assured conviction of someone who has just drunk the Kool-Aid created by a powerful charismatic figure who wields his authority with an Iago-like serpentine skill. Patterson’s Grant is a shrewd, wily, at times threatening individual who, as it turns out, is after something far more insidious than his project would suggest. Archer is sublime as Janet — smart, vulnerable, assertive; more than adept at having her cake and eating it too.” Jeff Borak, Berkshire Eagle More…

“The rhyme and rhythm of this play, along with the actors’ incredible memorization and speed of delivery reminds me of the delight of watching Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, without the music. Dykstra does a masterful job with the dialog … Sowle directs a top-notch cast. The actors perform with energy, chemistry, and ease. All three master the swift poetic dialog, going back and forth in argument and humor. Patterson exudes southern wealth and entitlement. Perry demonstrates both self-assurance and desperation as the artistic director. Archer shows a playwright with integrity, who eventually can be bought.”  Paula Kaplan-Reiss, Berkshire On Stage More…

“So special that it is unforgettable … As intriguing as it gets. This is likely to be the strangest play you will see anywhere this whole year … John Sowle has given the show a rhythm that is irresistible. It grabs you and holds you.” J. Peter Bergman, Berkshire Bright Focus More…

POLISHING SHAKESPEARE Facebook Comments

“Wonderful preview night of an original play. The timing of this presentation could not
have been more perfect…Bridge Street Theatre always delivers.” Branden Marlowe
“Saw the play last night. You gotta see it! … Will see it again tonight. Loved it!” Flo
Hayle

“Saw this last night. Excellent performance. Interesting, challenging script.” Barbara
Wild

“Bravo, Yvonne and Bridge Street!” Lora Lee Ecobelli

“Kudos to Director John Sowle and his actors, including Steven Patterson and Yvonne
Perry, for impressive feats of verbal dexterity and emotional playfulness in Bridge Street
Theater’s production of POLISHING SHAKESPEARE. I so delighted in their work!”
Brenny Campbell

“We so enjoyed POLISHING SHAKESPEARE last night! What an achievement for all of
you. The script was so smart and funny, and poignant for what is happening in the world
today. We brought a young friend with us , who had not been to Bridge Street before,
and he was so impressed … It was such a provocative evening, we couldn’t stop talking
about it the entire ride home. Kudos to all involved. Made a mental note to get my ass
over to Catskill more frequently.” Kevin Weldon

“Funny, sharp, beautifully written and so well acted. Catch it if you can, here in Catskill.”
Anne Forbes Cooper

“Congrats to the whole team!! Last night’s show was THRILLING, and my husband and
friends can’t stop talking about it!!! Like…to the point where I’m like ‘ENOUGH
ALREADY!!!!’ THE AUDIENCE WAS SCREAM-LAUGHING LAST NIGHT, YOU
GUYS!!!!!! … TREMENDOUS JOB!!!!!! Keep up the exceptional work!!!!!!” Timothy
Dunn

“Catch this before it closes next weekend. Fast paced, witty dialogue hilariously
performed by a top notch cast. Right in our own backyard.” Judy Willinger

Cast
Steven Patterson as Grant
Yvonne Perry* as Ms. Branch
Angelique Archer as Janet

Director: John Sowle
Assistant Director: Tim Dakin-Dunn
Sets and Sound: Carmen Borgia
Lights: Eric Leary
Costumes: Michelle Rogers
Stage Manager: Hannarose Manning

A dotcom billionaire with an agenda offers a cash-strapped regional theatre a huge chunk o’ change to ‘translate’ all of Shakespeare’s plays into ‘friendlier’ English. In Brian Dykstra’s coruscating, timely, and word-drunk new satire (written entirely in iambic pentameter), it’s a rapid-fire, high-stakes, three-way tug-of-war between the billionaire (Steven Patterson), an Artistic Director (Yvonne Perry), and a struggling ‘playwright of color’ drowning in student debt (Angelique Archer). Ask anybody in the arts – we don’t do it for the money, but we can’t do it without the money. Can scrappy little ‘theatre’, perpetually on the ropes even in the best of times, manage to stay alive without big infusions of corporate cash in these lean post-COVID days? What gets lost when the bottom-line starts dictating creative content and affecting artistic choices? Can our playwright hang on to her integrity, can the artistic director find some kind of acceptable middle ground, or will the wealthy executive wind up on top yet again? All this couched in a torrent of Elizabethan word-play, dizzying alliteration, Dr. Seuss-style rhyme, and horrifying puns that’ll leave you gasping for breath and howling with laughter.

Bios

Yvonne Perry* (Ms. Branch) Bridge St. Theatre debut.  Yvonne is a professional actress who splits her time between the Capital Region and NYC.  TV credits include Rosanna Cabot on the CBS soap As The World Turns (Soap Opera Award).  Other TV credits include Law & Order (CI and SVU); Silk Stalkings, Candid Camera, Guiding Light, All My Children and the sit-com pilot Dads for ABC.  Yvonne also does commercials, corporate training videos, narration work, and independent shorts. She has appeared onstage at nearly every area theatre, including Oldcastle Theatre Company, Saratoga Shakespeare, Hubbard Hall, Stageworks Hudson, River Valley Rep, NYSTI, Hudson Stage and multiple roles at Capital Rep. – where she serves as an Artistic Associate. Recent credits at The Rep include Blithe Spirit, Midsummer Nights’ Dream and A Sherlock Carol.  NYC credits include Halfway, Nebraska and Ted Bundy’s Volkswagon.  She has taught and directed shows at area colleges for 25 years. She is a certified Consent Forward Artist with IDC and often choreographs intimacy at theaters throughout the region. BFA in Acting from Adelphi University, MA in Theatre History from UAlbany.  She is a proud member AEA and SAG-AFTRA, and serves on committee for the Greater Albany Area Liaison of Actors’ Equity. www.yvonneperry.com  For Maggie.

Steven Patterson (Grant) has performed in NYC both Off- and Off-Off-Broadway, as well as with theaters such as South Coast Repertory, Capital Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks/Silicon Valley, freeFall Theatre, Kaliyuga Arts, Lexington Conservatory Theatre, Chenango River Theatre, Centenary Stage Company, and the Orlando, Oregon, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Utah, Tennessee, Richmond, and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festivals. Some of his favorite non-BST roles have included Austin Wiggin in The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World, Lear in King Lear, David in Poor Super Man, Judi Boswell in How to Pray, Zach in A Chorus Line, and Rob in King of the Crystal Palace. He also created, performed, and toured internationally for four years with Beauty, a one-man play inspired by the life and works of Jean Genet. He currently resides in Catskill, NY, where he is the co-founder (with John Sowle) of Bridge Street Theatre, where he has appeared in The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Killing & The Love Death, Grinder’s Stand, Lucky Lindy, Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus, Holiday Memories, How to Pray, Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune, The Revenge of the Space Pandas, Shylock, There Is A Happiness That Morning Is, Miss Gulch Returns! (2021 “Berkie” Award for Best Solo Performance), Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Shelley’s Shadow, The Lion in Winter, Rude Mechanics (in which he played William Shakespeare), Sympathetic Magic, and Uncle Vanya, and has directed The Tavern, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, The Revenge of the Space Pandas, and The Glass Menagerie.

Angelique Archer (Janet) is thrilled to be making her Bridge Street Theatre debut by combining her love of poetry with her passion for contemporary work in Polishing Shakespeare! She is an actor, intimacy director, and teaching artist who recently moved to New York City. Angelique has worked nationwide, including at leading regional theatres like Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Clarence Brown Theatre, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival, and Texas Shakespeare Festival. Some of her favorite roles have included the Narrator in the one-person show, Every Brilliant Thing, which she toured throughout the West Coast, Jessica in the world-premiere of Zina Camblin’s newest play The Guest, and Jane Bennet/Miss Anne de Bourgh in Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice. She has also performed professionally in 12 of Shakespeare’s 38 plays with the aspiration to complete the canon (and will gladly debate whether there are 38 plays in the canon anytime). In Film, Angelique appeared in Andrea Pallaoro’s Monica. You can view some of her work on her website, angeliquearcher.com, or Instagram, @angelique.i.archer.