Shakespeare & Company Remounts its Mash-up of Shakespeare and Rock ‘n’ Roll
LENOX, Mass. – July begins at Shakespeare & Company with Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret, a mash-up of modern music and Shakespeare verse co-created by Artistic Director Allyn Burrows and Jacob Ming-Trent.
Directed by Burrows, Shake It Up premiered in 2024 and returns July 1 through 6 at the Tina Packer Playhouse. It brings actors and musicians together on a stage transformed into the Elephant Lounge– a nod to a pub referenced in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (“In the south suburbs, at the Elephant, is best to lodge… To the Elephant!” Act III, sc. 3).
Burrows noted that the Elephant first materialized in the Berkshires in the 1990s, when Shakespeare & Company was based at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home.
“We opened it as the Elephant Pub at The Mount when we performed Twelfth Night in 1991,” he explained. “For Shake It Up, it has morphed into something more like the great New York City clubs of yesteryear, like CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City: a place for folks to come and hear great live music, and in this case, Shakespeare.”
The show features Ming-Trent, currently appearing in Broadway’s production of Gypsy, as MC; Elliot Norton Award-winner Jennifer Apple; Gregory Boover; Raya Malcolm; Merlin McCormick, and Naire Poole, joined by a live band that includes acclaimed folk-rock musician Johnny Irion, jazz musician Benny ‘Fingers’ Kohn, and others.
Burrows said the format of Shake It Up will mirror last year’s production, but new text and music have been added to create an even more robust show.
“Shakespeare and rock ‘n’ roll have been part of the fabric and lifeblood of popular culture for a long time,” said Burrows. “Mashing them together yielded fun and fascinating results, so we’re eager to keep digging.”
Ming-Trent echoed Burrows’ sentiments.
“People will always listen to rock ‘n’ roll, and people will always read Shakespeare, so why not celebrate them both in one awesome show,” he said.
Tickets range from $19 to $65, including limited cabaret table seating. For more information, visit shakespeare.org or call the Box Office at 413.637.3353.
Cast and Musicians
Allyn Burrows
(Co-creator, Director)
S&Co: Director: The Tempest (2017), As You Like It (2018), Twelfth Night (2019), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2023). Shakespeare & Company performances: A Walk in the Woods, King Lear, God of Carnage, Or, King John, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry IV Part 1, among others. As Artistic Director of Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Allyn directed and acted in numerous productions. Other Boston area performances include Can You Forgive Her (Huntington Theatre), Breaking the Code (Underground Railway Theatre), Shipwrecked (The Lyric Stage), The Seafarer and The Homecoming (Merrimack Repertory Theater), Five by Tenn (Speakeasy Stage). Elliot Norton Award for The Homecoming, King Lear, Five by Tenn; IRNE Award for Breaking the Code. Off-Broadway: Bug, Killer Joe, Louis Slotin Sonata, Closetland. Regionally: Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, American Conservatory Theatre, Long Wharf, Denver Center, Walnut St. Television: “The Broad Squad,” “Law and Order,” “Law and Order: Criminal Intent,” “Against the Law.” Films include The Company Men, Julie & Julia, Manchester by the Sea, and Don’t Look Up.
Jacob Ming-Trent
(Co-Creator / Actor / Vocals)
TV: White Famous, Showtime (series regular), Watchmen, HBO (series regular). Ray Donovan, Showtime (recurring), Feed the Beast, AMC (recurring). Only Murders in the Building, WU-TANG: An American Saga; New Amsterdam, God Friended Me, High Maintenance and more. Film: Superfly, Forty-Year-Old Version, Snakes, R+J, Possession of Hannah Grace, The Bygone, Julie Taymour’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The shallow tale of a writer…starring Steve Buschemi, Friendship, staring Paul Rudd . Broadway: Gypsy revival, (original cast) Shrek the Musical (original cast), Hands on a Hardbody, (original cast). Off-Broadway: Medea Reversed at RedBull theater (Lucille Lortel Nom) The Harder They Come at the Public Theater, (Lucille Lortel Nom, AUDELCO, Nom); Falstaff in Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare in the Park (Drama Desk Nom); Sir Toby Belch, Twelfth Night, Public Theater; Father Comes Home from the Wars, Public Theater, (Lortel Award, AUDELCO Nom); Cymbeline, and The Tempest; Public Theater. Mother Courage, Classic Stage Company; The Alchemist, Mammon at Red Bull Theater, (Lortel Nomination); Merchant of Venice, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Theatre for a New Audience; Widowers’ Houses, Epic Theater Ensemble; On the Levee, Lincoln Center Theater. Regional theaters: Yale Rep, Long wharf, Berkley rep, lojolla playhouse, A.C.T, The Folger theater, The studio Theater, 5th Ave Playhouse, City Theater, Pittsburgh Playhouse, A.R.T, Emerson, Hudson valley Shakespeare festival. England: Birmingham rep, The Barbican. Writing/creator credits: How Shakespeare Saved My Life, the film Mac n Beth and Shake It Up Cabaret.
Jennifer Apple
(Actor / Vocals)
TV: Recurring on Law & Order: SVU, New Amsterdam. Broadway Tour: The Band’s Visit (Original Cast). Regional: The Band’s Visit (Huntington Theater/SpeakEasy Stage, Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Lead Performance); Detroit ‘67, Romeo & Juliet (Chautauqua Theater Company); A Walk on the Moon, A Christmas Carol (American Conservatory Theater); [title of show] (Bridge Production Group); Theory of Relativity (Goodspeed Musicals); Fiddler on the Roof (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival & CFRT). MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater. Jennifer is the host of the Empowered Artist Collective Podcast and an Acting Coach who specializes in MFA/BFA auditions, finding monologues specifically for you, and audition prep.
Gregory Boover
(Actor / Guitar / Vocals)
Gregory Boover S&Co: Claudio (Much Ado), Feste (Twelfth Night), Fenton/Slender (Merry Wives), Silvius/Amiens (As You Like It), Leo (4000 Miles), Iago (Othello ed. tour), Bottom/Demetrius (Midsummer ed. tour), Scaramouch (The Emperor of the Moon), Polonius/Horatio (Hamlet ed. tour), Nurse/Friar (R&J ed. tour), Damis (Tartuffe). Regional: The Majestic Theater, Hanover Theater, Catskill Mountain Shakespeare, Urbanite Theatre, The Theater at Woodshill, The Umbrella Stage Company, WAM Theatre, Emergent Ensemble Theater, The Theatre at Monmouth, Looking Glass Theater (NY), and more. Greg serves on the faculty at Community Access To The Arts, and produces independent music and artwork. His short film Notification is an official selection for the 2025 Berkshire International Film Festival. Training: S&Co January Month-long Intensive (2017); (BA) UMass Amherst.
Johnny Irion
(Guitar / Vocals)
Johnny’s new album Sleeping Soldiers Of Love features exciting collaborations, where I was joined by the staggeringly creative and multi-talented Jeff Bridges, Patrick Sansone of Wilco, The Chatham Rabbits, Mike Mills of REM, and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes.
Rolling Stone Magazine sat down with Mike Mills of REM who provided vocals & Patrick Sansone of Wilco who constructed the string arrangements and discussed how Johnny has produced his best album to date, Sleeping Soldiers of Love. Rem HQ and other musicians are steadily sharing the album. No Depression magazine premiered the video. New ads at Outlaw Country XM interviews with WAMC NPR and The Fabulous 413 New England Public Radio on the iconic brand Blackwing Music.
Jim “Chetz” Keegan
(Bass / Vocals)
Jim is celebrating 51 years of performing music! He has played bass guitar and guitar in many, many groups based in the Berkshires, the Pioneer Valley and the Greater Boston areas. He has toured the U.S. and Canada, performed extensively in Florida and on the East Coast. A native New Englander (and Berkshire boy), he studied music and business at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Ben Kohn
(Piano / Vocals)
Benny Kohn is a Berkshire based pianist/singer/composer. Benny joins forces with many local artists spanning a variety of genres (Jazz, Blues, Funk, R&B, Popular, Rock) including Wanda Houston, Ed Moran, Andy Wrba, Gina Coleman, Glori Wilder, The O-tones, Samirah Evans, Hot Sauce, Chantell McFarland, The Rejuvinators, Rev Tor and many others. Benny can also be found leading his own combos and playing Solo.
Raya Malcolm
(Actor / Vocals)
Raya Malcolm is thrilled to revamp the Cabaret with this firecracker team of artists!
An actor and musician based in the Capital Region, she most recently appeared in Barrington Stage Company’s 10×10 play festival. Other credits include: Capital Repertory Theatre: Hermia (Midsummer Night’s Dream). Great Barrington Public Theatre: Rosie (Things I Know To Be True), Bobby (Breakwater). Central Square Theater: March Girl/Swallow (Matchless & The Happy Prince). Saratoga Shakespeare Company: Juliet (Romeo & Juliet), Poins (Henry IV: Parts I & II). Raya recently performed an original in-process work, Homebody, at the inaugural Capital Region Festival of Theatre. She also makes up one-third of local, award winning, indie-folk trio, Hold On Honeys who are on track to release their first EP early next year.
Merlin McCormick
(Actor)
Merlin is a performer and screenwriter originally from Raleigh, North Carolina and is excited to be in the Berkshires this summer. Merlin made his Shakespeare & Company debut in the Northeast Regional Tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His other favorite credits include: Viola (National Black Theatre Festival), Millie in Trouble in Mind (Clarence Brown Theatre), and Hero and Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing (Starling Shakespeare) Training: MFA from University of Tennessee Knoxville.
Conor Meehan
(Drums)
Conor Meehan is a versatile drummer currently based in western Massachusetts. As an in demand sideman, Conor has appeared on over 50 recordings and has toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Japan and Brazil. Since 2005, he has held the position “Artist Associate of Jazz Drums” at Williams College and has also served as a clinician at numerous summer institutes including Jazz in July at UMass and Interplay Jazz Workshop. Conor’s comfort playing a wide range of styles, from straight ahead jazz, to rock, r’n’b, samba and everything in between, has led to opportunities to work with artists across many genres, including Dr. John, Charles Neville, The Boston Pops, Brian MacNight, Honeyhoney, Ted Rosenthal Trio, John Medeski, David Spinozza, The Midtown Men, Reggie Workman, Albert Cummings, Jeremy Pelt, Heiruspecs, Sonya Kithcell, Samirah Evans, Whiskey Treaty Roadshow, Andy Suzuki & The Method, Norma Miller, Berkshire Symphony among many others.
Naire Poole
(Actor)
Naire Poole is fresh off her performance in Barrington Stage Company’s 10×10 Festival! Her selected credits include: Theater: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet, The Wickams: Christmas at Pemberly, Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare & Company); 10×10 Ten Minute Play Festival (Barrington Stage Company); Way Beyond Water (St. Pete Opera); hang, The Crucible, The Cake (Asolo Rep); Glengarry Glenross, Clybourne Park, Mud, A Chip on Her Shoulder, Oh the Humanity (Virginia Tech Theater); Hamlet #inpieces, Tuk in the Arctic, The Outsider, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (ODU REP). Film and television: Wet Things, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, George. MFA 2021 (FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training). When she isn’t tackling work that explores challenging societal structures, she directs and teaches, eager to transform theaters into inclusive, healing, and transcendent spaces. She’s grounded by family and lifted by friends. salu. blm.
Jaclyn C. Stevenson
(Violin / Vocals)
This is Jaclyn’s second season as a performer with Shakespeare & Company and her fourth as its Director of Marketing & Communications. Recent credits as a performer or speaker include: violin/vocals with Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret (Shakespeare & Company); A Conversation with Best-selling Author Terry Hayes (The Mahaiwe); Poet 13, From Stone to Song (and back again) – A Very Large Poem 2024, featured poet, Walkin’ with WordxWord, and Poet 47, The Very Large Poem 2023 (WordxWord at The Mount); feature violin at Bousquet Mountain Jam and The Iron Horse with Shakedown, and feature violin, PVPA Dance Company. Additional credits include television: Songwriter, singer, and violinist, Undressed Mtv. Albums: feature violin, Piano Planet, Derrick Cummings; singer and violinist, Pass the Sombrero, Singer Bad Dancer; feature violin, Matinee, Rob Cushing, and singer/violinist, the Cape Cod Musicians’ Social album.
