Annual Shakespeare Festival Begins With Play to Aid Homeless
Street-level Shakespeare returned Saturday amid the skyscrapers and traffic of downtown Los Angeles as the third annual Shakespeare Festival/LA began a four-week run under the sun at Citicorp Plaza/Seventh Marketplace to aid the homeless.
“The Comedy of Errors” drew nearly 300 people, who reclined on a grassy knoll or on folding chairs on a brick plaza, which artistic director Ben Donenberg said is the best crowd ever. Admission price was a gift for the homeless, which usually meant canned food.
Donenberg said he expects to raise more than $10,000 worth of food.
Not only was the play set against the modern Los Angeles skyline, but in Depression-era New Orleans rather than in 16th-Century Asia Minor. “It’s kind of anachronistic, but it’s good,” said Heidi Becker, 19, an acting student at New York University. She said she enjoyed the outdoor informality.
Not everyone agreed. “It’s kind of distracting,” said Rachel Siegel, 21, of Los Angeles. “You hear a fire engine going by.”
The play will run at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday until Sept. 4, when it will shift to the John Anson Ford theater.
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