The Sound of Hamlet, part 1

The Sound of Hamlet
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13

Since nobody rioted over my last Shakespeare/Musical Theater mash-up  so I thought I might try another one. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of The Sound of Music film adaptation, starring Julie Andrews and acclaimed Shakespearean actor Christopher Plummer. To celebrate, I have taken this most-beloved of musicals and unceremoniously mashed it together with that most-beloved of Shakespeare plays... Hamlet.

We start with an abbreviated rendition of the title song:

The next song is based on "An Ordinary Couple", which was cut from the film version and replaced by "Something Good". It's occasionally replaced in stage productions as well, so it's not very well-known. (I don't particularly like it, but it's a great song for Claudius to sing.)

Finally, we have the song that ousted "An Ordinary Couple" - "Something Good".

Tune in again on Thursday for part 2 of The Sound of Hamlet!

Shakespearean Character Spotlight: Richard III

Today's the day!

Yes, today's the day that the poor, mangled skeleton formerly known as King Richard III completes its journey from car park exhumation to cathedral re-interment. To commemorate the event, I thought it might be helpful to take a look at Shakespeare's version of this much-maligned English monarch. 

Shakespeare's Richard III is the villain you love to hate. He's charismatic and seductive, ruthless and manipulative, and a lot of fun to watch in action. He is, in short, a fantastic dramatic creation.

The real Richard III, of course, was a rather more nuanced character whose finer points - such as his strong leadership and introduction of political and judicial reforms - were all but obliterated by the pro-Tudor propaganda that proliferated after his demise. Whether or not he had a direct hand in the mysterious disappearance of his nephews, the Princes in the Tower, cannot be proved one way or another. Please don't send me angry messages, Ricardians. I'm a little bit scared of you.

Anyways... rest in peace, Richard. If it's any consolation, you've had a much more exciting afterlife than most other English monarchs.

Check out my other Shakespearean Character Spotlights! 

Interview with Richard III (Deceased)

On Thursday the remains of King Richard III, discovered underneath a Leicester city car park in 2012, will be re-interred in Leicester Cathedral. Good Tickle Brain sent our best reporter to the scene and secured an exclusive interview with the remains in question. 

Why does everyone have to bring up the princes in the tower? We were having such a nice conversation too!

Shakespearean Vocabulary, part 1

Let's face it... Shakespeare isn't always easy to understand, due in large part to all the archaic Elizabethan words he uses. Fortunately, it's not too hard to decode. Here are some fun words that crop up repeatedly in Shakespeare...

Moooooooooooooooiiiiieeeeeettyyyyyy.....

Shakespearan Character Spotlight: Macmorris

It's St. Patrick's Day! Let's get to know Shakespeare's only Irish character a little better, shall we?

The Irish get short shrift in Shakespeare. There are tons of Welshman floating about, and several valiant Scotsmen, but poor old Macmorris is the only representative of the Irish.

The Ides of Which?

The Ides of March are on Sunday!

Poor old Soothsayer. He never quite manages to get his message across.

Also, the Roman calendar is really confusing.

Castor the Friendly Ghost

This line from Hamlet always makes me smile:

Of course, a "beaver" in this case is actually the hinged visor of a helmet. But that's not nearly as entertaining.

Don't Riddle Me This

Oh Pericles. You're such a wonderfully bizarre play. 

In case you haven't seen Pericles, it starts out with the noble Prince Pericles visiting the kingdom of Antiochus, whose beautiful daughter is up for grabs to whoever can solve a mysterious riddle. Of course, if you get the riddle wrong you die. That's the way these things usually work.

Seriously, Antiochus, that's the best riddle you could come up with? I defy you to write a riddle about an incestuous father-daughter relationship that is more obvious than that.