Sixty-Minute Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet

Sixty-Minute Shakespeare

by Cass Foster

The introduction to SHAKESPEARE is not an easy task. Sometimes the magic can use a little assistance! To make the works of Shakespeare accessible to all ages and levels of education, Cass Foster combines his experience as a professor emeritus of theatre, fight choreographer, and stage director to provide the Sixty-Minute Shakespeare series. Foster’s renditions of the timeless tales are not adaptations or modernizations, but rather judiciously condensed versions of the Bard's classics.

92 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1990

About the author

Cass began his academic career after earning an MFA in Directing from the University of Illinois, moving directly into a position at The Ohio State University. He has directed professionally and academically, taught all aspects of theatre, choreographed stage fights, and created a Shakespeare series to support educators and inspire students across the U.S.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve gone back and forth on whether to teach Shakespeare to my children, the easy answer is not to teach him because I’ve never been able to quite grasp any of his plays beside Romeo and Juliet. However, I also know that a good grasp of his works can be beneficial especially as my oldest loves anything to do with literature and the arts – so I was able to review the abridged version of Romeo and Juliet by Cass Foster and the Sixty-Minute Shakespeare book.

This was perfect for a girl who isn’t quite old enough for the entire story of Romeo and Juliet but could do with a little look into the famous playwright and one of his greatest plays. The book is a short 74 pages and while it’s condensed none of the play is lost in this abridged version, which makes it great for those young ones who want some knowledge, school class rooms to work on scenes, or even short productions.

I like how in the beginning some ideas for scenery, pacing, two recommended websites for more information on Shakespeare and his plays, images and themes to be on the look out for throughout the story. There are even two pages with famous Shakespeare quotes, which is a nice touch. In the footnotes section on each page, as needed, there are words that are defined if they are not familiar to the modern reader.

The whole set (6) sells for $45.89 or you can purchase them individually for $8.99 at Get Shakespeare/Five Star Publications. I mentioned above about producing the play but I must add that Dramatic Publishing owns the production rights and they must be contacted before a production is performed for viewing. I think these are great for anyone’s library and especially for the homeschool family who may want to briefly touch on Shakespeare without going into every facet of his plays.

**This is a MamaBuzz Media review. The product was provided by Five Star Publications for this review, no other compensation was given and a positive review was not expected.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really excited to learn about a new book series called Sixty Minute Shakespeare. The series consists of several Shakespeare titles, condensed into shorter versions that can indeed be read in about thirty minutes. Also included is some background info that make the plays more accessible to kids of this generation, notes on what various words mean, themes to look for, etc.

I was happy to see that the original language is preserved (I had fears of reading, Romeo, yo Romeo — where are ya?) – it’s just shortened. I really enjoyed my hour spent renewing my acquaintance with Romeo and Juliet, and I think this series would be great for homeschoolers, teens/tweens who’d like a less-intimidating introduction to Shakespeare, or for productions of these plays that don’t go on and on forever.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

These abbreviated portions of the Bard's plays are perfect for children. This is our third that we've read together as a family in preparation for our yearly visit to the Utah Shakespeare Festival and I've noticed a great improvement in our children's fluency, cadence and ability to understand Shakespeare's dual meanings.