“Who is it that can tell me who I am?”
It is such sentiment that makes a work such as King Learn transcendental. Wondering about identity is something prevalent in each high school student’s experience, and an adolescent often looks to others to help define identity. Therefore, when students examine William Shakespeare’s work, it is in those students’ best interests to see the Bard’s words as relevant to a modern context.
This year, Ms. Newton’s freshman English class has been studying Romeo and Juliet. Through this work, students have seen examples of relationship dynamics and impulsive nature commonly associated with adolescence. Therefore, the opportunity to see a modern day interpretation of King Lear permitted ninth graders insights regarding the reason for the lasting nature of Shakespeare’s work.
The following are narratives from Ms. Newton and ninth graders who attended the performance.
On April 10th, I took twenty of my 9th graders to see the Broadway production of Shakespeare’s King Lear. The students were very excited about the show, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. For many of them, this was their first Broadway show. During the show, I looked around to see what they were doing. I was pleasantly surprised to see that many of them were awake and focused on the play. I also heard them whispering among themselves as they discussed the show and identified the characters.
Prior to seeing the production, the students prepared by reading a narrative version of the play and participating in small group discussions about what they were reading. This provided them with the background knowledge needed to at least be able to follow the plot line of the play.
However, after seeing the production, my students just came alive. To overhear them discussing the play was such a delightful experience for me. My students’ knowledge of the play increased immensely. They had such rich discussions. As their English teacher, I believe this is going to truly impact their future ideas about English and, moreover, studying Shakespeare. I believe this Broadway show has served to dispel their fears of studying and reading Shakespeare.
Seeing the live production of this Shakespearean play produced positive effects on the students that reading alone could not accomplish. The Broadway production has led to enhanced knowledge of the story and better analysis of the play and the characters. Overall, this was a great experience for the kids.
-Ms. Newton
King Lear, a story of misjudgment, downfall, tragedy, and forgiveness it was a nice story but we’re here to talk about the play, and I have to say it was a nice play. King Lear the play is about a King who is known as King Lear and in his old age, he decides he will split his kingdom among his three daughters. In order for his daughters to gain the land they were set aside, the daughters had to express the love they had for their father. Two of the daughter over exaggerated their love for their father whereas the youngest said what was truly in her heart but only got anger and removal from the split of the will from her father and banned from her home.The play then shows King Lear’s deterioration from his realization that his anger will be the end of his power and his remaining compatriots. After viewing the play I found the play to be funny, relatable, and enjoyable overall. I say these things about the play because some of the characters are a little bit like me, I find many things funny in life and the joker in the play is a lot like me minus all humor, I love telling jokes just like the joker The play shows how the act of misguided trust something which I know well those who I thought I could trust were the last people to trust.
I believe that King Lear Was a good play and I would definitely recommend this play to others.
-Leins Barthe
To be honest, I really did enjoy the play, and it was different than any other place I’ve seen. I say this because King Lear was the first Shakespeare play I’ve seen, and it was really good because of the plot and how serious it was compared to the other plays I’ve seen before.
-Jordan Lewis
Recently, I went on a field trip to watch the Broadway adaptation of the Shakespeare play, King Lear. It was a very interesting experience for me as it was the first Shakespeare play I have seen on Broadway. The theater was a visual masterpiece as it was very fancy but also very comfortable.
The play itself was well acted. It really felt as though the play had come to life, and I was viewing it. The orchestrated music, costumes, and speaking were really like living in Europe during the old ages of monarchs. My favorite character was the Fool, but King Lear also put on a fantastic performance. Even the little things surprised me. The special effects and fake blood made the play even more realistic.
Overall, the play was well executed, with the right amount of comedy and action. I highly recommend people to watch this play. Be warned though, the play contains flashing lights and loud noises.
-Christian Mendoza