Who better to bust some rhymes than Shakespeare?
That’s what drives “The Bard in Bars,” a new theatrical production created right here in South Florida and playing at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts with two evening performances and a matinee on Friday and Saturday, July 25-26.
So named because of the musical bars inherent in the work, “The Bard in Bars” was also designed to be staged in bars, breweries and other nontraditional spaces for theater, according to director/creator Darius V. Daughtry.
“This show is about making timeless stories accessible and alive,” says Daughtry, who is a poet, playwright and hip-hop enthusiast. “We’re bridging centuries of storytelling to show that the themes Shakespeare explored — power, love, betrayal, identity — still pulse through our culture today.
“It’s a show that if you don’t, at some point, tap your foot or nod your head, something’s wrong with you.”
Daughtry is producing the show through his cultural arts organization, Art Prevails Project, in collaboration with New Canon Chamber Collective, a culturally diverse chamber and orchestral ensemble. Counting the music, costumes and stagecraft, nearly 30 South Floridian artists, technicians and musicians are involved.
“Darius’s hip-hop take on Shakespeare’s classics offers a fresh perspective, blending timeless works with the energy of modern music performed by the talented New Canon Chamber Collective,” says Jan Goodheart, vice president of external affairs at the Broward Center. “It’s no surprise that Darius and his team at Art Prevails Project consistently deliver innovative and engaging performances. We’re excited for our patrons to experience this unique production and the incredible talent of many of South Florida’s talented artists.”
Here is more about “The Bard in Bars” from a Q&A session (edited for clarity and length) with Daughtry, who lives in Lauderhill.
Q: For the uninitiated, how would you describe this show?
A: So I would describe “The Bard in Bars” as an exciting new-age interpretation of some of Shakespeare’s most brilliant works, utilizing the 50-year-old method of music called hip-hop. It is a beautiful balance of this Elizabethan language and the storytelling of Shakespeare and the poetry and rhythm of rap music.
Q: What was your introduction to Shakespeare like?
A: What’s interesting is when I was growing up, I was almost simultaneously introduced to Shakespeare and hip-hop. So hip-hop started influencing me. It was something cool, like, maybe I’ll be a rapper. And then I remember the first sonnet by Shakespeare that I’d read, and it was Sonnet 18, the most famous: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” So I read that, and I’m like, oh, you know, this is very similar to the hip-hop music, the rhythm, the cadence. I found familiarity in it. And around that same time, I was getting into child acting, and then I went to a performing arts middle school (Parkway Middle School in Fort Lauderdale). So the growth of my connection to both of these art forms kind of happened simultaneously.
Q: What made you create this show in the first place?
A: Fast-forward about 10 years ago, I was teaching English to high school students and we have to teach Shakespeare. And the last thing they wanted to do was read Shakespeare. They’re like, “What is this? What is he saying? What are they talking about? Why are we doing this?” I charged myself to try to get them to have an appreciation for the work. So I made sure I was drawing connections to things that were relevant in their lives, stories that they were listening to or seeing play out. The first thing I did was write a poem in the voice of Macbeth. And they’re like, “Oh, OK, that’s what it’s about. That’s what he’s talking about. OK, I get it.” [And I thought]: I would love to explore how to really make this accessible for anybody. What can we do to make sure that anybody can read this or see this or listen to this and get an understanding about the beauty and the power that exists in these works? Over the years, I’ve been playing around [with it] … until a few years ago, I’m like: You know what? I’m gonna go sit down and really just put it all together. About three years ago was when I put the period on the first iteration of “The Bard in Bars.”
Q: How is South Florida in the DNA of this project — in other words: What might locals recognize?
A: I think it’s South Florida because it’s me, and I’m very South Florida, right? Born and raised here most of my life. But I also think the music that is prevalent here are things that South Floridians will recognize, like some connection to what a lot of us may have grown up listening to, or may have heard on the radio or whatever. The music that is present will make people go: This is South Florida. And this is one of our own doing this thing.
Q: Can you describe the look of the show?
A: I like to call it a perfect balance of Elizabethan and Harlem fare. It feels like you both walked into a pub in, you know, in the 1500s and a club in the 2000s. It looks like both of those things. You’ll see it in tributes to some of our hip-hop icons. But also you’ll see tributes to the fashion that Shakespeare himself was probably wearing during that time.
Q: What’s next for “The Bard in Bars”?
A: Because this show originated in a classroom, my dream is for this to tour schools across South Florida and then potentially across the country. Because I think as long as teachers are required to teach Shakespeare in their classes, there are going to be students who were like my students asking, “What is this? What is he talking about? Why are we reading this?” And so, to be able to give them this vehicle to make this material more attainable and accessible, that is my hope and goal and dream.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: “The Bard in Bars”
WHEN:
- 7 p.m. Friday, July 25
- 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, July 26
WHERE: Amaturo Theater at Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
COST: $35.40-$59
INFORMATION: browardcenter.org and artprevailsproject.org
