web1_TTL031716gamedesigner2.jpg

The Game Chateau in Plains Twp. hosts scavenger hunt and Halloween themed events

web1_TTL102016wyoming-.56.jpg

Wyoming Memorial HS Class of ‘56 celebrates

<p>SWOYERSVILLE &#8212;Sporting a tall peaked hat, a pink robe and, yes, a beard, John Beppler lies quietly in the Capulet tomb, portraying Juliet in her not-really-dead slumber.</p><p>&#8220;Why art thou yet so fair?&#8221; asks Jessica Werbin, who is portraying Romeo.</p><p>&#8220;Maybe it&#8217;s Maybelline,&#8221; comes the answer.</p><p>Just as Romeo is about to commit suicide next to his supposedly dead, yet still lovely wife, Juliet belches loudly.</p><p>&#8220;Right in my face,&#8221; Werbin said later, shaking her head and laughing earlier this week during a rehearsal break.</p><p>Welcome to the Music Box Dinner Playhouse production of &#8220;The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged,&#8221; during which three actors will present an irreverent, rapid-fire parody of 37 of the Bard&#8217;s plays in roughly 90 minutes, starting Oct. 21.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s non-stop, so fast,&#8221; said Chris Laundry, 40, of Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no chance to think,&#8221; said Werbin, 51, of West Pittston.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s controlled chaos,&#8221; said Beppler, 27, of Larksville. &#8220;It&#8217;s the kind of show where a wig may be on backwards, but it works.&#8221;</p><p>The script describes the tragedies as twice as funny as the comedies &#8212; and that seems to be true.</p><p>Consider &#8220;Titus Andronicus,&#8221; Shakespeare&#8217;s story of bloody revenge, which ends with a cannibal meal. Here it&#8217;s a cooking show with Laundry, as Titus, suggesting to the audience that when you and your family have been tortured and maimed &#8220;you don&#8217;t feel like cooking&#8221; &#8212; unless you&#8217;re going to serve human flesh to your enemies.</p><p>&#8220;The (original) play had it like Julia Child,&#8221; said director Amanda Merrill, of Scranton. &#8220;We changed it to Gordon Ramsey, to update it.&#8221;</p><p>Listen closely and you&#8217;ll hear local references, too, as when Beppler&#8217;s character has had enough and runs away &#8220;to the Forty Fort Airport.&#8221;</p><p>But for most of the play, all three players are cooperating. At one point they play football with a crown, to illustrate how some of Shakespeare&#8217;s plays dealt with the exchange of royal power.</p><p>&#8220;Twenty-five, 42, Richard III, Henry V, part I, part II, part III, hup, hup,&#8221; Werbin calls out in her role as quarterback.</p><p>At another point, the trio presents &#8220;Othello&#8221; as a rap song, describing how he had a wife named Desdemona and &#8220;he left her alone-a. He didn&#8217;t write a letter and he didn&#8217;t telephone-a.&#8221;</p><p>The second act of the show is devoted to &#8220;Hamlet,&#8221; and audience members will have a chance to join in the fun, as they help express the confusion going on inside Ophelia&#8217;s head.</p><p>Ophelia is Hamlet&#8217;s girlfriend and Beppler portrays her suicide-by-drowning death by splashing water toward his nose and mouth.</p><p>&#8220;I play all the women,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_musicbox1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">When Hamlet (Chris Laundry) acts crazy, other characters (John Beppler, Jessica Werbin) are dismayed. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_musicbox1.jpg</photo0><caption0>When Hamlet (Chris Laundry) acts crazy, other characters (John Beppler, Jessica Werbin) are dismayed. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_musicbox2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Chris Laundry, of Wilkes-Barre, portrays Hamlet during the second act of &#8216;The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_musicbox2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Chris Laundry, of Wilkes-Barre, portrays Hamlet during the second act of &#8216;The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged.&#8217; </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_musicbox3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Cast members John Beppler, of Larksville, Chris Laundry, of Wilkes-Barre, and Jessica Werbin, of West Pittston, present &#8216;Othello&#8217; as a rap number during &#8216;The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged,&#8217; which opens Oct. 21 at the Music Box Dinner Playhouse in Swoyersville. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_musicbox3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Cast members John Beppler, of Larksville, Chris Laundry, of Wilkes-Barre, and Jessica Werbin, of West Pittston, present &#8216;Othello&#8217; as a rap number during &#8216;The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged,&#8217; which opens Oct. 21 at the Music Box Dinner Playhouse in Swoyersville. </caption2><photoCredit2>Submitted photo </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO</strong></p><p><strong>What:</strong> &#8216;The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged&#8217;</p><p><strong>Where: </strong> Music Box Dinner Playhouse, 196 Hughes St., Swoyersville.</p><p><strong>When:</strong> Oct. 21 through Oct. 30 with performances 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays. Dinner served 90 minutes before show time</p><p><strong>Tickets:</strong> $35, $30 with dinner; $18, $14 show only</p><p><strong>Info:</strong> 570-283-2195.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Music Box Playhouse in Swoyersville presents ‘Complete Works’