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To: gao seng who wrote (220419)	1/20/2002 8:51:57 PM
From: gao seng	Respond to of 769670

US theaters wary of Shakespeare plays AP [ SUNDAY, JANUARY 20, 2002 7:59:19 PM ] WASHINGTON: A former manager of a Shakespeare festival said ethnic sensitivities are hindering American theatres' performances of some of the playwright's best-known works. Jim Volz said a corporate sponsor told him that she "just loved Shakespeare but that I had to understand that there were two plays that we simply couldn't do — ever — 'Othello' and 'The Merchant of Venice.'" Volz, a professor of theatre and dance at California State University, Fullerton, formerly managed the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the nation's fifth-largest. He spoke Friday at the annual conference of the Shakespeare Theatre Association of America. It includes more than 70 companies of the 130 to 150 which use the name of Shakespeare in their title. Some blacks have objected to Othello, which portrays a black general murdering a white wife. Some Jewish Americans object to the portrayal of the Jewish merchant Shylock demanding a pound of a Christian's flesh in 'The Merchant of Venice'. Volz urged that theatres not run away from the problem, which he said has arisen in many places, including in London where the play was first produced 400 years ago. "Be clear about the controversy," he said. "Face it." Others reported objections by women to Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew' — the basis for the musical 'Kiss Me Kate'. It tells of a husband dominating an assertive wife. "We just reversed the genders — it was very popular," said one delegate. More than 1.1 million people saw Shakespeare plays at 52 outdoor theaters last summer, the Institute of Outdoor Drama reported on Friday. The figure did not include indoor performances. Scott J Parker, director of the institute at the University of North Carolina, said audiences seem to be getting larger. Many companies that the use the name of Shakespeare also produce work by other writers, including Washington's Shakespeare Theatre, which is hosting this year's conference. Its current production, opening on Tuesday, will be 'The Duchess of Malfi' by Shakespeare's contemporary, John Webster. timesofindia.indiatimes.com