To say that the work of William Shakespeare has aged well is kind-of like saying that people in Fayetteville sort of like the Razorbacks.

Here’s another understatement: ole Shakey (that’s what I call him) has done pretty well for himself over the last 400 years.

There have also been some incredible adaptations of his work produced lately, and a really good one will debut in Fayetteville when Theatre Squared kicks off its 2009/2010 season with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) this weekend.

The comedy was created by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Wingfield of the Reduced Shakespeare Company about 15 years ago. It is the story of three actors who look to beef up their resumes by performing all 37 of Shakespeare’s classic works in 90 minutes.

The show has been widely hailed by critics, called “irresistible” by the New York Times, “stupendous, anchorless joy” by The London Times and “the funniest show you are likely to see in your entire lifetime” by the Montreal Gazette.

That’s some high praise.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) is directed by Theatre Squared’s Morgan Hicks, and will feature three local actors: Jim Goza, who starred in T2 Associate Artistic Director Amy Herzberg’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (University Theater); Jordan Haynes, who has performed with Not-A-Penny Productions and studied at The Second City’s school for improvisation in Chicago; and Liam Selvey, a professional juggler as well as actor, who recently appeared in the Boars Head Players production of Bleacher Bums.

The cast of crew of the Fayetteville production of Complete Works has adapted the original work to include about 10% entirely new material that they’ve discovered through improvisation.

Performances are scheduled Friday, September 4 through Sunday, September 20, 2009 in the Studio Theater at Nadine Baum Studios.

Tickets are $22 and can be purchased by calling the TheatreSquared Box Office at 479.571.2728 or by visiting the Theatre’s website.

Theatre Squared is also debuting a program called “30 under 30” this year. For people under 30 years of age, you can get a ticket to the entire season of performances for only $30, with tickets to individual performances for just $10. Not bad.

Photos by M Taylor Long