Letter: This Isn’t Shakespeare

We recently took our family to the Coeur d’Alene High School production of “Romeo and Juliet.” I grew up reading Shakespeare and enjoying his plays with my family. I have often pondered why certain directors try to improve on Shakespeare, but this was my first experience with a director who actually sought to degrade this great work. The explicit sexual gestures were more in line with a second rate burlesque comic than with a great work of art. Shakespeare, of course, did not deny the sexual experience yet neither did he demean it the way this production did. The director, Mr. Helm, added crude hand gestures, inappropriate crotch grabbing and various other “dramatic licenses” that made this play unprofessional and inappropriate for the families that support and attend these productions/ Kevin & Linda Ratigan , of Hayden, Coeur d’Alene Press letter to the editor. More here.

Question: If some actor grabbed his crotch and made crude hand gestures during a local high school play, my wife and I would have walked out. How about you?