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Performances are now underway for the New York premiere of How Shakespeare Saved My Life, Jacob Ming-Trent’s one-man show, directed by Tony Taccone, about the creatives that molded him. Performances will run through Sunday, October 25 at The Public Theater. Read the reviews below!
In the Red Bull Theater production of How Shakespeare Saved My Life, Jacob Ming-Trent dares to rescue himself from the ‘slings and arrows’ of his past. Born with a gift for poetry but rejected as unfit to play the part of the poet, Ming-Trent invites us to take a deep dive into the crevices of his youth. His search for home is relentless, and the results are by turns hilarious and tragic. Calling on the Bard and a host of genius rappers, half-crazed preachers, and soulful poets to throw him a lifeline, he takes us on a propulsive ride that reaffirms the power of language. It all adds up to one man’s attempt to reclaim his life, and through that journey we connect to the deeper parts of ourselves, and, ultimately, to each other. Directed by Tony Taccone.
How Shakespeare Saved My Life features scenic design by Takeshi Kata, costume design by Danielle Preston, lighting design by Alan Edwards, original music and sound design by Jake Rodriguez, projection design by Alexander Nichols, and movement direction by Tiffany Rachelle Stewart. Kara Kaufman is the production stage manager and Mary Kate Baughman is the stage manager.
Thom Geier, Culture Sauce: After hearing all that Ming-Trent had to overcome to earn his moment in the spotlight, he never allows himself the time to actually bask in it. That’s a shame. How Shakespeare Saved My Life details an absorbing, often haunting journey through the darkness — but offers only fleeting glimpses of the light on the other side.
Frank Scheck, New York Stage Review: But despite Ming-Tent’s charisma and vibrancy, the 95-minute piece feels self-indulgent and formless. The performer, who recites several Shakespearean passages, makes clear that the Bard gave meaning to his life. What we never really find out is exactly how or why.
Jonathan Mandell, New York Theater: If the way Shakespeare saved Jacob Ming-Trent’s life seems mostly by giving him a livelihood, and perhaps more amorphously an identity and a purpose, there is at least one tangible life lesson that he attributes to the Bard. It’s what at the end softens the harsh portraits and grim stories in the play: “Shakespeare usually ends his comedies with an act of forgiveness, and my life has been a comedy of errors. I’ve been walking around thinking nobody’s ever been hurt like me.” His ability to understand that others have hurt too – to believe in sweet mercy as nobility’s true badge that is reason (along with Basquiat, james Baldwin, and Biggie Small, and the teacher that made him read Henry the Fifth) that “I’m able to stand in front of you today to tell this story.”
Allison Considine, New York Theatre Guide: Ming-Trent is a high-energy explosion of joy — a striking contrast to the autobiographical material, which begins with his father going to jail when he was a child and includes chapters of homelessness, drug use, and fraught family tension. Under Tony Taccone’s direction, Ming-Trent’s playfulness balances the tough truths of his story, while Shakespeare fits alongside hip-hop to create a cohesive production. Video projections by Alexander V. Nichols add to the show’s kinetic energy, and colorful typefaces, graphics, and illustrations help set the scenes.
Raven Snook, Time Out: Although Alexander V. Nichols’ illustrative projections help ground each section, the journey sometimes feels disjointed. But there’s a moving aspect to watching him work through his issues on a stage at the Public Theater (in a Red Bull Theater production directed by solo show expert Tony Taccone). As a teenager, Ming-Trent started his training at the Public’s now-defunct Shakespeare Lab Jr. Now he’s back, with lessons of his own, to retake the stage as his world.
Sara Holdren, Vulture: Ming-Trent — who found confidence in the verbal and intellectual bravado of Shakespeare — seems to have embraced only half the equation that made those artists great. He’s still fronting: The histrionic flourish, whether rap battle or soliloquy, still attracts him more than what actually powers the poetry, which comes at a higher risk. Even at the spiritual nadir of his story — in which he positions himself, who knows how accurately, underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, having escaped from a mental hospital and howling, Lear-like, against a storm — he’s so determined to out-thunder the thunder that any actual rage and pain dissipate into bluster.
Average Rating: 63.3%
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