There is incredible artistry in well recited Shakespeare. His words have stood the test of tune for centuries and when brilliant performers breathe life into them, there is little work in the English language that can rival them in poetry and power.

For his review of Shakespearean monologues and sonnets, Shakespeare Under the Moon, James Jennings at the American Theatre of Actors has assembled a fine team of Shakespearean performers. The team of ten performers consists of Amber Brookes, Jane Culley, Courtney Everette, Sam Hardy, Alan Hasnas, Karolina Larion, Monica Blaze Leavitt, Dustin Pazar, Jeremy Rafal, and Jake Smith. The evening consisted of each actor performing several monologues from Shakespeare’s plays and a sonnet. Most of the monologues came from the tragedies (there were four from Macbeth), but there were a few comedic pieces as well. Each actor got to play a dynamic range over the course of the evening. The incredible ensemble rose to the challenge spectacularly and with full gusto.

The monologues and poems selected for performance were all wonderful pieces from some of Shakespeare’s finest works, some incredibly famous and well known and others a little less. Most were great tragic monologues, often reflecting on or relating to death, but there were notable outliers which occasionally made it feel like an overarching theme for the selection might have been nice. But Shakespeare himself was a master of comedic relief. There were a few times some of the monologues felt like some of the gesturing was overacted, going too big is both hard to do and a common problem when performing Shakespeare. But as a whole, the performances were captivating, dynamic, and engaging. They captured the best of the passion Shakespeare is capable of.

There is no design team credited, but the backdrop for these performances in the Cullum Theater at the ATA was beautifully lit in blues and pinks with fairy lights along the sides of the stage. Fitting given the title.

From a director and a company that has produced so much of Shakespeare’s work, Shakespeare Under the Moon is a fitting tribute to one of history’s greatest playwrights.