Romeo and Juliet Sparknotes Edition

This is the play about the star-crossed lovers that this tragedy, set in Verona, Italy, can be no other than this with love and death. First published in 1597, Shakespeare wrote this as original text from 1591 to 1595. Over four hundred years later, the Sparknotes team came and study the play to write down the notes so it's easy-to-understand as modern text. I didn't know what to expect from Shakespeare when I was fifteen. One year later, when I was sixteen, I joined Drama and I became a Thespian by the end of junior year. When I started blogging by the time senior year rolls around, I need to know what to expect as a Thespian - "Act well your part, and there all the honor lies." That's a catchphrase to support Drama and the International Thespian Society. I've seen four plays in high school - The Mouse that Roared (The Tale of Despereaux meets Red October), Anything Goes (Disney version of Titanic), 4AM - Is anybody out there? (Millenials at Night), and Arsenic and Old Laces (the old-timely 1940s Clue short story in 2 hours and 30 minutes), The Nutcracker (the popular late Victorian ballet is loosely based on the book, but indeed, a good adaptation for every Christmas season). Soon, comes down to the play to be performed again on a Thursday afternoon - Romeo and Juliet. The last time it played was last Monday morning - the few hours before the Induction ceremony.

According to the Banned Books Guide by Robert P. Doyle, it appeared two times - the 2011-12 edition and the 2012-13 edition. It says, in May of 2012, "some parents in Liberty, South Carolina are furious about the book their kids are reading in middle school. They say it's too mature for their kids because of the sex. The book in question is an easy-to-read version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet." In my own words, let's say it contains sexual references, mild language, some mild kissing content, brief dual violence and little intensity.

This challenged book is said to be part of No Fear Shakespeare, as I can tell it takes 146 online pages for you to read the whole entire thing from beginning to end. Five acts in one play - a great study for the play to analyze it. It's really free for you to do the new perspective if you studied it in your academic education like once, twice or several times since high school. I studied it once. It's very good that I was feeling a bit pressured to get it on with "this format of studying" in order to watch the play. I know I got more Shakespeare to do from Sparknotes - if any of his plays don't appear on Sparknotes, then I guess we'll have to study the old-fashioned way: notebook and pencil. My sister Lauren read the Folger Shakespearean Library edition of this play last year - she was impressed by the playwright Shakespeare. My mom and dad read Shakespeare literature before and I had never read anything Shakespearean before except maybe a few lines - but as Regionals came, I played Helena from A Midsummer Night's Dream after Antigone from Antigone as a single Monologue audition. Did you know that the 2013 film version of Romeo and Juliet was the worst film adaptation? It lacked the impressiveness of an historical touch for boring, cheesy things; so that's why it's awfully fun to be placed in the Bad Movie Night theme: Worst Adaptation from Books and Plays. It needs to be dragged on forever once when I got the DVD (it's already released).

This has been the Banned Books review. Remember no banned book is without sin except for the right religious text for the right religious people. Next time: we're talking about Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. WARNING: A rabbit hole leads to the real-world ahead of you! Readers, time for your individual reading pick from the Banned Books Guide - it's your choice to read and review. If you read banned books before prior to seeing in shock on the Banned Books list from ALA (American Library Association)/ILA (Illinois Library Association) or world.edu, send me your ideas on the comments section below. If you're interested in this blog, do subscribe and let me know!

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Arsenic and Old Laces The Play Review

        It's like the murder mystery of the early 1940s, even though The Phantom of the Opera has got an update to the time when we the US and Allies had to defeat the Enemy lands in an important statehood of an army (WWII). It's not opera singing, neither the Angel of Music (Eric) and other ghosts exist, nor the fanciness of the Victorian style happen - for it's extremely rare; there's Abby and Martha that kept this type of style in tradition. There's Mortimer who wrote most terrible reviews at the theater, for he's a critic. He got engaged to Elaine. Jonathan is the main villain of the story, with H. Einstein as the sidekick - much of the French-Italian like accent to me. What about Teddy?! He was a Roosevelt-wannabe and said "CHARGE!" when he goes upstairs every single time that it was like a definite slogan of what would be like in the Spanish-American War. There are 11... no, 12... no, 13 people dead in this play! The dead people were located in the cellar and they were all Yellow Fever victims. No wonder why did they all die beforehand?

        I know I've seen three popular live Broadway musicals already in my life: the Cinderella production by Rodgers and Hammsterstein (when I was 11 in 2007 at the JHS Auditorium), Aladdin (it's very near to premeire at Broadway on February 26 that I already saw it at the 5th Avenue theater when I was 15), and Anything Goes (the Disney version of James Cameron's Titanic; it took place in the 1930s, much G-rated like (suitable for 8 and up), has a happy ending (the boat has a reversable travel from America to England and successfully landed there), 11 jazzy songs throughout the whole play (the original version of the movie hit had no songs whatsoever for it's a contemporary serious star-crossed lover's tragedy - Celiene Dion had an original popular blockbuster song (My Heart Will Go On) sang in the end credits), and the last time it played at the JHS Auditorium it was after I already saw Shen Yun - much edible from what the script was originally written). I thought it was a musical of the Ragtimes, but no; for I already read over half a script while in groups but shortly after 4 in the afternoon last Friday, my mom picked me up, and dang, I never got to finish the whole entire thing around but to pick up to where I am at. What a shame that my life would be like if there are full of ups-and-downs in this way. And I never got to finish less the other half once when I watched the whole entire game of when the Seahawks defeat the Broncos - 43-8 Seattle, by the way. I read part of it just so to get my nails decorated by Simone - just in time for the game. Thanks for the time being put off by all of the chill-outs and what-nots, I can read the other half all Monday long...

        I came back with almost done with the whole thing when Monday ends. I think that it was such a very good, but the edible play with the striping edits. I think why did this play became so popular in high schools, community colleges and rarely professional theatres especially when it comes to murder mystery. I finished the script finally this morning... thank goodness. Now comes very important events to come up with: Video Game Night on a Friday and Regionals on a Saturday. It's like vacation weekend the first half. It took five days to progress it through, but man, believe me, I think I had to research the early 1940s.

4 AM (Is anybody out there?) The Play Review

        This story is about a radio DJ named Frankie who goes on a "magic moon hour" broadcasting live at AM 777.7 when the world is asleep and there are a bunch of teenagers who were in the mid-teens (freshmen to sophomore year of high school, probably 2/3 of underclassmen - perhaps 14-16 year olds). Ellie and Jack, having a dream dinner. Romeo and Juliet, teen star-crossed lovers were talking on the smartphones separately in their own bedrooms. Anne and Monica were long-time BFFs since kindergarten - Anne interrupted Monica's sleep in scrutinization. Sleeper girl was very afraid of the nightmares so she can check out to see if there were monsters under the bed. A puppet kid with a puppet is doing the Counting Stars part - one is the poem and the other is the song, remember that from last post. Jim and Sarah were the runner-ups in cutest couple to Preston and Kaylee. And why did Sarah hold that big teddy bear like magic in my mind? Simon and Hale look for some music, but they discussed some veggies. Mazie is that crazy teen who looks so pathetic like me and John showed up. A fire kid gets ready for yet another firefighting business. When the sleeper kid showed up to the police officers, she showed them a monster who's under a bed and the officers got away. When Frankie "retire and wait for that next magic moon", everyone else all appeared.

        What a weird play I read. Perhaps, I shall adapt the play into the movie from Buena Vista Studios. It got me into more thinking about the Rugrats show I grew up with, but now 10 years later, it reminded and inspired me of the millennial generation I am part of. What it's like: Charlie Brown HS 2010s Style. It's really somewhat okay. Plus, at the end of the play, you'll walk off, remembering on what matters the most with Frankie saying, "Sweet fears... and sweet dreams." Well, maybe, in fact, I like the play. It's really short with pages in it but it says 86 minutes which is the full-length of the play. No thumbs, just 4 out of 5 stars.