A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Ken Ludwig's Shakespeare in Hollywood

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  4w, 8m

Ken Ludwig

It's 1934, and Shakespeare's most famous fairies, Oberon and Puck, have magically materialized on the Warner Bros. Hollywood set of Max Reinhardt's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Instantly smitten by the glitz and glamour of show biz, the two are ushered onto the silver screen to play (who else?) themselves.

Ken Ludwig's Shakespeare in Hollywood

Request licence
Get the Script
  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 8m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Farce, Adaptation (Shakespeare), Period, Romantic Comedy
  • Suggested Use
    • UIL Approved
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences
Accolades
Accolades

  • Winner! of the 2004 Helen Hayes Award for Best New Play

Ken Ludwig's Shakespeare in Hollywood

Details

Summary

It's 1934, and Shakespeare's most famous fairies, Oberon and Puck, have magically materialized on the Warner Bros. Hollywood set of Max Reinhardt's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Instantly smitten by the glitz and glamour of show biz, the two are ushered onto the silver screen to play (who else?) themselves. With a little help from a feisty flower, blonde bombshells, movie moguls, and arrogant "asses" are tossed into loopy love triangles, with raucous results. The mischievous magic of moviedom sparkles in this hilarious comic romp.

History

Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare in Hollywood made its world premiere in 2003 at Arena Stage, winning the Helen Hayes award for Best New Play of the Year.

Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups

OBERON

PUCK

JACK WARNER

MAX REINHARDT

WILL HAYS

DARYL

OLIVIA DARNELL

LYDIA LANSING

LOUELLA PARSONS

DICK POWELL

JIMMY CAGNEY

JOE E. BROWN

  • Time Period 1930s
  • Features Elaborate/High-Volume Costumes
  • Additional Features Local Celebrity Cameo
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

“A delight!... So deliciously inventive, you'd swear Ludwig and the Bard were in cahoots.” – The Baltimore Sun

“Shakespeare in Hollywood will charm your socks off. It left me smiling in my Amtrak aisle seat all the way home to New York.” – The Wall Street Journal


“Shakespeare in Hollywood is so deliciously inventive, you'd swear Ludwig and the Bard were in cahoots. At once poignant and funny, literary and farcical, sophisticated and silly, political and fanciful, high-brow and low-brow… a delight!” – The Baltimore Sun


“Lights, camera, action - there's plenty of it in Ken Ludwig's fantastical farce … Ludwig has constructed an amazingly dense and layered romp [and] clearly had a ball fusing Shakespearean diction with the wisecracking verbal jousting that characterized pre-World War II comedies.” – The Boston Globe


“A fast, funny, entertaining night.” – NBC 4


“Mischief, mayhem and laughter abound as the Good Theater tackles this farcical notion in Ken Ludwig's devilishly funny play Shakespeare in Hollywood.... There's never a dull moment in this fun-filled piece.” – The Portland Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram


“Wit Makes a Hit!” – The Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA


For more info, visit kenludwig.com.

Videos

  • Meet The Playwright: Ken Ludwig youtube thumbnail

    Meet The Playwright: Ken Ludwig

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size Large

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
Get the Script

Add-Ons

Take a look below at how you can enhance your show!

Authors

Ken Ludwig

Ken Ludwig

Ken Ludwig has had six productions on Broadway and eight in London’s West End. His 34 plays and musicals are staged around the world and throughout the United States every night of the year.

His first play, Lend Me a Tenor, won two Tony Awards and was called “one of the classi ...

View full profile

Now Playing

Related