**** - Really liked this one. The premise is right up my alley (YA + Theater + Shakespeare characters) and the execution was a ton of fun. I was giggling so much!
Beatrice Shakespeare Smith grew up in the theater. And not just any theater, but the Theatre Illuminata - a magical theater that houses every play that was ever written. But Bertie's been a troublemaker for a long time (hanging out with the fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream will do that to you), and finally the Theater Manager has had enough. Unless Bertie can make an invaluable contribution to the theater, she will have to leave for good...
This is definitely a book to make all theater people happy - there's a Green Room that magically delivers food that corresponds to its mood. The scene changes are magical (and wonderful) - hungry? Cue a French bistro complete with warm gooey pastries. There's a giant prop room where the Chorus boys tend to sneak out the Caterpillar's hookah from Alice in Wonderland. It's just quirky, clever and full of theater disasters on a more magical scale. You try dealing with surly Hamlet at rehearsals...
My favorite parts were definitely those that involved the fairies. There's a hilarious bit involving jellybeans. I also liked the more romantic angle - Ariel was interesting, both dangerous and seductive. And Nate was just charming, though I'm growing tired of perpetual love triangles between the 'dangerous' boy and the 'sweet' boy. I enjoyed the trope of figuring things out by staging them as mini-plays, but I was disappointed in Bertie's plays for the most part - too simple or drab or something. They didn't hold the power that was suggested.
Also, I wasn't really impressed by Bertie's plan to re-stage Hamlet in ancient Egypt. It wasn't particularly original, nor were the bits that we were shown different or interesting. It seemed a bit ludicrous to me that such a basic reworking of the play (they weren't even going to change dialogue?) would result in anything even approaching a sold-out house. I mean, essentially all Shakespeare plays I've seen have been re-staged in a different time period...
While I had some quibbles with the plot, I really enjoyed the way Ms. Mantchev brought her characters to life (although I certainly could have done without Bertie's smoking...gross). Ariel, Ophelia, the irascible stage manager, the creepy sea witch. They were all distinctive and incredibly interesting, and the book certainly made me laugh! I would recommend this to Shakespeare aficionados and theater enthusiasts, and I'm excited to read Perchance to Dream!
The Theatre Illuminata website (complete with Behind the Scenes look at the Full Cast Audio production! and an excerpt!)
Interested in other opinions?
Presenting Lenore (with author interview)
1 comments:
Thanks for the link! This was such a delightful read!
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