Shakespeare is responsible for some of the finest drama in the history of the English language. Still, despite the breadth of his work, The Bard never did manage to write the most important story ever told: The tale of an FBI agent and terrorist surgically trading faces and gun-fighting each other, masterfully brought to screen in John Woo’s Face/Off. Eager to bridge the gap between centuries of our most enduring narratives, this Sunday will see a group of visionaries blend Shakespeare and Woo into a new form by performing the Nic Cage/John Travolta classic in the style of an English Renaissance play.
Dreamed up by Sebastian DiNatale and Zachary DiLanzo—a field producer and a writer on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, respectively—this feat will mark the premiere edition of “Cage In The Park.” To inaugurate their Cage-ified remix of a summer theater tradition, DiNatale and DiLanzo have moved a tale originally set in late ‘90s America to ancient Rome, rewritten its dialogue in iambic pentameter, and enlisted a live band to provide the score to their performance.
“There hasn’t been a more appropriate time for this tale of duality,” their press release says. “We are seeing two faces of America. And those faces... are swapping. And then fighting each other. And then swapping back.”
How this version of Face/Off will portray one of Cage’s most famous monologues, a speech that establishes the diabolical Castor Troy as a villain in equal standing with Claudius, Iago, and Richard III, is anyone’s guess, but those interested in seeing for themselves can find out for free at the play’s 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. performances at the Peristyle in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park this Sunday, July 14th.
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