The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of MERRY WIVES at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, August 25, 2021.
Even if you haven’t read any of Shakespeare’s nearly 40 works, you probably could recognize his sonnets and endlessly quotable declarations of love, hate and everything in between. Even though his work is nearly 400 years old, Shakespeare’s intimate understanding of the human drive for love, power and friendship have kept him relevant even today. These everlasting themes have helped generate many reimagined productions of his classic plays, like Great Performances: Much Ado About Nothing set in contemporary Georgia, and Great Performances: Merry Wives set in today’s South Harlem.
Many of Shakespeare’s works have taken on new interpretations off the stage and on the screen. How familiar are you with film adaptations of his plays? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and these film adaptations of Shakespeare’s work stand on their own as well as the test of time.
Kiss Me Kate (1953)
Inspired by Taming of the Shrew, this classic film follows Lilli Vanessi (Katherine Grayson) and Fred Graham (Howard Keel), two recently divorced actors who get cast alongside each other in Cole Porter’s musical version of Shakespeare’s play. On the opening night of the musical, two loan-sharks come to collect a debt owed by Fred’s friend Bill Calhoun (Tommy Rall). What follows is a tale of mistaken identity and rekindled love.
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Based on The Tempest, this classic sci-fi film follows Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter Altaira “Alta” Morbius (Anne Francis), two explorers who have been stranded on the planet Altair IV, until they are discovered by the crew of United Planets starship C-57D, led by Commander John J. Adams (Leslie Nielson). Although his daughter wishes to leave with Adams, with whom she has fallen in love, Morbius finds himself hard-pressed to leave the planet, and the powers that it has granted him, in order to pursue a new life. The film is considered a pioneer of the sci-fi genre, being the first to take place entirely on a planet other than Earth.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990)
Based on the Tom Stoppard play by the same name and presented on GREAT PERFORMANCES in 1992, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead reimagines Shakespeare’s Hamlet from the perspective of his two childhood friend’s, Rosencrantz (Gary Oldman) and Guildenstern (Tim Roth), as they try, and fail, to find out what has been troubling Hamlet (Iain Glenn) and report their findings back to his paranoid uncle, Claudius (Donald Sumpter). Growing more confused by their task as the film progresses, the two friends soon find themselves increasingly obsessed with the idea that they may always have been destined to be side characters in someone else’s story.
The Lion King (1994)
Loosely based on Hamlet, this film follows a young lion cub Simba (Mathew Broderick), who is the prince of the Pride Lands. After his father is murdered by his uncle, Scar (Jermey Irons), Simba, thinking he was responsible for his father’s death, flees the Pride Lands and makes a new life for himself with this help of his two friends, Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella). After he is visited by his childhood friend, Nala, (Moira Kelly), Simba decides he must return to the Pride Lands and avenge his father.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Based on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, this 1999 film reimagines this comedy in a high school setting, in which Walter Stratford (Larry Miller) will not allow his youngest daughter, Bianca (Larisa Oleynick) to date until her older sister, Kat (Julia Stiles) does, knowing that Kat’s indifference towards boys will put an end to any potential relationships. Cameron (Joseph Gordon Levitt), intent on dating Bianca, takes matters into his own hands, and decides to set Kat up with the school’s bad boy Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger), giving him an advantage by feeding him Kat’s likes and dislikes. This classic story of love, hate and everything in between provided breakout roles to a young Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Julias Stiles.
She’s The Man (2006)
Based on Twelfth Night, this film starring Amanda Bynes follows Viola Hastings as she takes her twin brother’s place at his elite boarding school, Illyria Prep, in order to play on their soccer team after the sports program at her own school is eliminated in budget cuts. What follows is a hilarious comedy of errors as Viola, disguised as Sebastian, begins to fall for her roommate, Chad (Channing Tatum), while attempting to stave off the affections of her former classmates as they fall for the mysterious “Sebastian.”
West Side Story (1961, 2021)
Perhaps the most famous of Shakespearian adaptations, West Side Story reimagines the story of Romeo and Juliet in 1950’s New York City as Maria and Tony find themselves falling in love despite the growing war between two teenage street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. Whether you prefer the 1957 stage musical, the 1961 film or Steven Spielberg’s most recent adaptation, this classic forbidden love story is sure to pull at your heartstrings.
