There Are Other Dead Playwrights, You Know

Why is it that the world of “classical” theater in the U.S. has been reduced to a single name? William Shakespeare was a brilliant playwright, yes, but he was not the only guy to put quill to paper over the last millenium, and frankly, Michael Kilian is getting a little sick of him, particularly the comedies. “If we are to have classical theater in this country — and certainly we must — why keep dragging out the Bard’s tired old comedies, which seem always to do with mistaken identities and mass marriages? Why not treat audiences to some actual classical fun, with rip-roaring Restoration romps such as Sheridan’s The Rivals?”