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18 | May 9, 2019 | the lockport legend life & arts lockportlegend.com Tragedy begets comedy during Limestone Stage’s ‘I Hate Shakespeare’ Laurie Fanelli Freelance Reporter The histories, tragedies and comedies of William Shakespeare have caused countless theater-goers to contemplate the meaning of life and love. Limestone Stage added laughter to that list with its latest production, “I Hate Shakespeare.” The Steph DeFeriepenned play found the works of The Bard reimagined and mined for humor during a series of performances — held at the Lockport Township Building from April 25- 28. A texting Juliet, zombie-hunted Richard III and more had fans in tears — as a result of laughing — from start to finish. First-time Limestone Stage cast member Josh Funneman played Hamlet throughout the night both in the traditional sense and as Shakespeare’s greatest defender against the harsh criticism of an Unhappy Person played by Sabrina Mangan. He served as a narrator of sorts introducing scenes while illustrating the many ways Shakespearean themes are still relevant today. “I ham it up a bit,” said Funneman before the Friday evening show. “The humor that has come from the cast has been really, really fun.” Limestone Stage Artistic Director Kit Lindblom explained that each year the group presents a “spring classic.” Past performances have included “The Taming of the Shrew,” “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “The Seagull.” “This is a newer show, but because it deals with Shakespeare, we are considering it under the classic theme,” Lindblom said. “It very much has a sense of irony because, while it’s titled ‘I Hate Shakespeare,’ it shows the audience that you can still like the guy. It pokes fun at him, but by the time the show is over I think people will think that Shakespeare isn’t too bad.” Alissa Raschke- Janchenko, who played several roles in “I Hate Shakespeare” and serves as Limestone Stage managing director, appreciated the opportunity to share comedy and the classics with the community. “I love so many things about performing with this company,” Raschke- Janchenko said. “For this show specifically, it really is very slapstick. It’s harkening back to vaudevillian days. It’s got a bit of a sketch comedy vibe too, so it’s a first here for us. It’s fun to try something new and we’ve got a great group of people who are really awesome at collaborating.” Madeline Wagner, Zoe Rogers, Erik Lindblom, Gina Burnett, Carol Sutter, Andrew Dicksen, Chris Gryniewicz and Mary Pierson also generated lots of laughs playing several roles in the production. On top of the funny story and comical performances of “I Hate Shakespeare”, additional fun was found through audience participation. Before the show began, Director Wally Roche welcomed fans and encouraged everyone to cheer the heroes and boo the villains just like theater-goers did in Shakespeare’s day. “I wanted to make sure the show was kind of fast and furious,” Roche said. “We did a lot of things to keep the show moving. The scene changes are almost non-existent and one scene flows into the next to catch people unaware. We did a lot to preserve the element of surprise.” Limestone Stage Executive Director Luke Janchenko added, “The beautiful part about it is in one scene one actor may be playing a good guy and in the next scene they may be playing a bad guy.” Limestone Stage was founded in Lockport in 2014 and “I Hate Shakespeare” marked its 15th full-length production as a group. Janchenko, Raschke-Janchenko and Lindblom — all members of the non-profit’s board of directors — expressed the desire to serve the entire community with their theater. They invited writers, actors, carpenters, sound engineers or anyone interested in giving something new a try to join them in their mission to expose people of all ages and abilities to the on-stage and behind-the-scenes aspects of the performing arts. “We are the first nonprofit theater in Lockport’s history,” Janchenko said. “The only reason we can do that is because of our partnership model. We’ve partnered with Lockport Township to use this building, and we really want to thank Ron Alberico and his team for saving that stage.” The Gaylord Building, White Oak Library District and the City of Lockport have also worked with Limestone Stage in its five-year history. This summer, the community can look forward Lockport resident Alissa Raschke-Janchenko transitions between multiple roles April 26 during Limestone Stage’s performance of “I Hate Shakespeare” at the Lockport Township Building. Photos by Laurie Fanelli/22nd Century Media Limestone Stage actors (left to right) Madeline Wagner, Josh Funneman and Sabrina Mangan bring levity to The Bard during the performance. to seeing Limestone Stage at Old Canal Days and Comicopolis as well as yet-to-be-announced improvisation shows. The directors are also planning their first-ever full-length Halloween production later this year. More information about Limestone Stage can be found at www.limestonestage.org or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Lime stoneStage.
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