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Like mariners shipwrecked in “The Tempest,” tormented by a conspiring God, or Macbeth at Dunsinane, the cast and crew of Shakespeare in the Park’s “Merry Wives” faced promethean odds. As told in the new HBO Max documentary “Reopening Night,” the Public Theater’s endeavor to open “Merry Wives” as the first large-scale theater event in New York City last summer was as Shakespearean as its subject.
“And here I was thinking this was going to be a boring documentary,” playwright Jocelyn Bioh, who reset the comedy among a diasporic African community in Harlem, told Variety last week at an intimate premiere for the new doc.
“Theater was the last thing on my mind,” she said, recounting when director Saheem Ali first asked her to retool the little known comedy into a needed telling of Black joy. “There were big questions for me: Why should we be doing this right now?...
“And here I was thinking this was going to be a boring documentary,” playwright Jocelyn Bioh, who reset the comedy among a diasporic African community in Harlem, told Variety last week at an intimate premiere for the new doc.
“Theater was the last thing on my mind,” she said, recounting when director Saheem Ali first asked her to retool the little known comedy into a needed telling of Black joy. “There were big questions for me: Why should we be doing this right now?...
- 12/22/2021
- by Michael Appler
- Variety Film + TV
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![Reopening Night (2021)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTIzNTM0ZDctOTdkYy00MWFiLWIzNzItOGQ4Yzk3NTU2NjcyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjEwNTM2Mzc@._V1_QL75_UX140_CR0,0,140,207_.jpg)
"We're bringing New York back to the theater!" HBO has released this official trailer for a documentary called Reopening Night, about the return of one of New York City's most beloved theater companies. We missed this trailer when it first dropped, but happy to still feature it anyway. The film follows the cast, crew and staff of the world-famous Public Theater and their obstacles & conversations as they prepare to mount an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Merry Wives" in Central Park this past summer. They face a roller coaster ride of hurdles returning to the stage in the midst of an ongoing pandemic by staging a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's play that celebrates Black joy and artistry. This doc goes hand-in-hand with the other doc from this year about the re-opening of Broadway after the pandemic, called On Broadway. I wish I could've gone to this show! Always love a good behind-the-scenes look.
- 12/20/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
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Shakespeare in the Park, a free summer production produced by New York’s Public Theater, had never skipped a season in its sixty plus year history until Covid-19 shut down the world in 2020. So when the annual signpost of summer, held at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater, returned after a yearlong hiatus earlier this year, New Yorkers rejoiced. The reopening was a milestone not just for the city and the theater community, but for civilization at large, which is in part why filmmaker Rudy Valdez (“The Sentence”) documented the triumphant return.
The result is Valdez’s “Reopening Night” premiering on HBO on Dec. 20. The documentary chronicles The Public’s 12-week journey to navigate an obstacle-filled path to the opening night of Shakespeare in the Park’s “Merry Wives” in August 2021. Set in a South Harlem community of West African immigrants, the play is an adaptation of the Shakespeare comedy “The Merry Wives of Windsor.
The result is Valdez’s “Reopening Night” premiering on HBO on Dec. 20. The documentary chronicles The Public’s 12-week journey to navigate an obstacle-filled path to the opening night of Shakespeare in the Park’s “Merry Wives” in August 2021. Set in a South Harlem community of West African immigrants, the play is an adaptation of the Shakespeare comedy “The Merry Wives of Windsor.
- 12/20/2021
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
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This weekly feature is in addition to TVLine’s daily What to Watch listings and monthly guide to What’s on Streaming.
With nearly 500 scripted shows now airing across broadcast, cable and streaming, it’s easy to forget that a favorite comedy is returning, or that the new “prestige drama” you anticipated is about to debut. So consider this our reminder to set your DVR, order a Season Pass, pop a fresh Memorex into the Vcr… however it is you roll.
More from TVLineEmily in Paris Boss Previews Season 2's 'Complicated' Love Square, Talks Digging Into Mindy and Sylvie's StoriesThe...
With nearly 500 scripted shows now airing across broadcast, cable and streaming, it’s easy to forget that a favorite comedy is returning, or that the new “prestige drama” you anticipated is about to debut. So consider this our reminder to set your DVR, order a Season Pass, pop a fresh Memorex into the Vcr… however it is you roll.
More from TVLineEmily in Paris Boss Previews Season 2's 'Complicated' Love Square, Talks Digging Into Mindy and Sylvie's StoriesThe...
- 12/19/2021
- by Ryan Schwartz
- TVLine.com
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