Dear Pat....

First, read Pat's review of [that play] here:

http://www.[that website].com/#pat

Next, see her website (for context) here;

http://www.patteproductions.com

Now, read my e-mail to Pat, and tell me if I should send it or not. Probably not, but it felt good to write it. Please tell me I shouldn't send it, because I really want to!!

My e-mail --

hi pat

you totally missed the mark on your review of that production of [that play] at [that theater]. i also saw it on opening night, and enjoyed it just as much as everyone else i encountered in the lobby and at the reception. it seems like the critics got together and decided that anyone who dresses shakespeare in something other than doublet and hose is guilty of "unchecked" and, good heavens, "adolescent" humor!!

the truly avid shakespeare enthusiast will recognize that the bard himself enjoyed the full spectrum of humor, from the potty to the sublime. pampered hobbyists and society-types, however, will inevitably agree with their colleagues, and will spend more time watching and reading each other than they will actually watching and reading the performance.

as for me, i loved [that other production] that these same folks brought us and, though less satisfactory, i thought [this play] was a treat. i think it's great that the works of wm shakespeare can bring different generations together. it seems to me that only an elitist, self-obsessed dilettante could think otherwise. if there wasn't something sexy and bawdy and funny for those "other people," they wouldn't want to come to the theater. shakespeare knew this, and that is why he wrote roles like [the clown]. this whole review just smacked of elitism and privileged boredom to me.

on the theme of generations: i thought that there were a couple of contradictory, if not downright ominous, phrases in your review. here's one: "if a watered-down, dumbed-down shakespeare is meant to appeal to young people, all the references are way beyond their ken." this phrasing seems to suggest that watering- and dumbing-down for young people is ok, as long as the young people get the references.

here's another: "the ‘60s? (young people are) sick of it (sic), and never watched any of those shows (sic?) anyway." this phrase is both a grammar-nightmare, and an insult to young people. it makes one wonder when the author of the review last spoke to a young person to whom they weren't related, or who wasn't a friend of a relation, or who actually lived in a different socio-economic strata -- and wasn't a part of their charity work!

in short, pat, i don't think you actually know much of anything about shakespeare, or productions of shakespeare in the 21st century, or about what people's lives are actually like outside of the narrow confines of your "patte-awards" -- which look something like a menopausal bat-mitzvah (http://www.patteproductions.com), or about much of anything apart from the social up-keep of what seems to be a very boring life. i applaud your use of the internet, but, i'm afraid i must say that i find your contributions to be both unchecked and adolescent. additionally, i wish you well in your future stage appearances. apparently, you've appeared in a community theater production of "the vagina monologues." bet that was good!!

lots of love.


I probably shouldn't send this. Right???