The first Shakespeare show I ever saw was Wrestle Mania 3 in 1987. You don’t think that’s Shakespeare? I beg to differ. Shakespeare’s stories were the pop culture of his time. It was a reflection and commentary of the values of Elizabethan England. The Globe Theatre was the arena where epic battles like Agincourt and Macbeth’s duel with Macduff shock the theater to its core. The fall of titans like Julius Caesar vs the Senate is not so different from Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, or Macho Man vs Ricky Steamboat. Actors in Elizabethan England handled on-stage sword fights much the same way as professional wrestlers - fights were not “rehearsed” the way they are in modern theatre fight choreography. Most likely, Shakespeare’s actors were trained in blades and would meet up with the actor they were playing opposite and possibly walk or talk through the fight. And on performance night, they did it; the same as wrestlers do today. They meet, talk a bit and perform the most amazing athletic entertainment. Shakespeare would take known characters and stereotypes and play with them, flip them on their head and weave a narrative that would be entertaining to the populace. Wrestling is entertainment for the masses and has its pulse on the populace just as well. Shakespeare would also use these larger-than-life characters and show their flaws and the flaws of stereotyping: how a stereotype is more of a reflection of the culture creating the stereotype than the person itself. This play does the same. This play has been a joy to work on - the 10-year-old kid in me has been yelling “Wooooo” (Rick Flair) during the entire process. The cast and crew and Hippodrome staff have worked very hard to bring you an epic story. So grab your drink, don’t be shy to scream, yell and hold up your sign. I do not think you will be disappointed. “ And that’s the bottom line…”