Reduced Shakespeare Company Brings Political Satire to Kean
Just in time for the 2016 presidential election, Kean Stage presents Reduced Shakespeare Company in their touring production of The Complete History of America (Abridged): Election Edition on Wednesday, October 19, at 7:30 pm in Kean University’s Wilkins Theatre. Tickets are $20-40.
“It is no secret that laughter is the best medicine,” said Steve Cochran, manager of Kean Stage. “Many consider this election cycle to be particularly stressful, so Kean Stage is hosting what the Reduced Shakespeare Company calls its ‘90-minute roller-coaster ride through the glorious quagmire that is American History’ for an evening of side-splitting laughs just ahead of the final presidential debate.”
Comedians Dan Saski, Austin Tichenor and NJ-native Mick Orfe will take audiences on a journey through 600 years of American history with improv and innuendo. These “bad boys of abridgment” will cover historic icons from Christopher Columbus to Neil Armstrong, from George Washington to Barack Obama, yea verily from the Bering Strait to Baghdad, from the New World to New World Order. Audiences can expect appearances by the frontrunners in the 2016 Presidential Election––and maybe even Barack Obama––in this satirical comedy.
According to The New York Times, Reduced Shakespeare Company “is intellectual vaudeville.” The comedians “are smart, cheeky clowns who present themselves as a collective repository for most of American mass culture.”
The Complete History of America (Abridged): Election Edition is written by Adam Long, Reed Martin and Tichenor. Since its origins in 1981, the Reduced Shakespeare Company has toured internationally and performed at the White House, off-Broadway, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, London’s West End, Seattle Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre and Montreal’s famed Just for Laughs Festival. The group won the prestigious Shorty Award in New York City and the Delft Audience Award in Holland.
From the Reduced Shakespeare Company website: “In the spirit of Shakespeare himself, our shows contain some occasional bawdy language and mild innuendo. All children (and parents) are different, so we've chosen to rate our shows PG-13: Pretty Good If You're Thirteen.”
Upcoming Kean Stage events include Turtle Island Quartet (November 20) and Judy Collins (December 18), as well as the holiday classic A Christmas Carol (December 3) and Michael Mao Dance celebrating Chinese New Year (January 28).
To purchase tickets, visit the Kean Stage Box Office, located in Wilkins Theatre, 1000 Morris Avenue, call 908-737-SHOW (7469) or go online to www.keanstage.com.