Commentary: Cory Franklin - For Shakespeare, to disrupt or not to disrupt the question
Cory Franklin
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In an old joke, a repertory company prepares to stage “Hamlet” when the lead actor dies just before the first performance. The company frantically appeals to the packed audience for someone who knows Hamlet’s part. A volunteer steps forward, an egotistical fourth-rate actor, and it is immediately clear he is terrible: So bad that when he reaches the famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy, the audience begins booing and throwing things at him. Finally, he breaks character, walks toward the audience, and amid a volley of overripe turnips, says, “Don’t blame me. I didn’t write this junk.”