REVIEW by Jeff Wilber:
Before I proceed, I must make an admission – Due to my past I have an automatic affinity for this work. As a kid I was an intern for Shakespeare in Delaware Park. As an undergrad in U.B.’s theater department, I nearly blew up the stage as prop master one summer. Needless to say, the fond memories abound.
That being said, I really enjoyed the first six chapters of re-pat Buffalonian Shaun McLaughlin’s new graphic novel, “Cheapjack Shakespeare”. In the world of graphic novels I find it refreshing to read one that is not all shoot-em’-up, demonic possession and earth ending conspiracies. While the art leaves something to be desired (see below), the story and characters themselves do make up for it.
“Cheapjack Shakespeare” tells the tale of a company of summer thespians who put on a show in a public park. Sound familiar? They do so with little budget, no time and a lot of bugs – the crawley, flyee, bitey kind as well as those of the two-legged variety. But through the evolution of this novel we get to know and are drawn in by the nature of the characters – their wants, their needs, their desires.
Now, for anyone that has ever worked in, been part of, or attended live theater – especially theater that serves at the pleasure of Mother Nature – anything and everything can, and usually does, happen! Author McLaughlin, an Emmy award winning writer, captures that working-without-a-net feeling, especially in the sequences where a few of the actors rumble with some ‘locals’, the budget is in jeopardy and the artistic director may be losing his job. It also delves into the exceptionally amorous, and hilarious, nature of summer love – the brief and intense relationships that always bloom during Summer Theater and that always go up in the smoke of the footlights as fall arrives. The characters are identifiable and likeable, the situations thoroughly amusing and, honestly, I was engrossed and thoroughly entertained by what I read and can’t wait to read the rest!
Now some might be put off by the art. I was too by its seemingly amateurish, computer-generated nature. Then, after talking to the author, I come to find that they used ‘story-board’ software! The same software used in film and television to plan out shots and angles. And, after a while, I realized that – Yeah! – what a great and innovative way to use this stuff! It really puts the whole of the operation and creation into the hands of the author! It also allows any good storytellers the freedom to create and publish their own works.
Now, if the ‘book’ is not your thing, as of this Thursday and playing through the month of September, “Cheapjack Shakespeare” – adapted to the stage and now dubbed the ‘non-musical’ – will open at the Alt Theater over on Great Arrow. So, here is what I suggest : quickly read the graphic novel and then RUN over to the Alt Theater and see the show. Both will amuse. Both will surprise. And both are works that are homemade – right here in Buffalo – and from the heart.
For more information on both the book and the stage play, go to www.cheapjackshakespeare.com and www.alttheatre.com and www.comics.drivethrustuff.com.