Acclaimed playwright, director, actor and Oakland native Ted Lange is bringing his latest work, \u201cShakespeare Over My Shoulder,\u201d to San Francisco for its May 15 world premiere.<\/p>\n
The play, in collaboration with the African-American Shakespeare Company, explores questions about whether William Shakespeare authored the many plays long attributed to him. Lange, known to many as bartender Isaac Washington on \u201cThe Love Boat\u201d television series from 1977 to 1987 (bit.ly\/3P8SOEj<\/a>), said he wants audiences to not only laugh but also leave the theater more informed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a fun trip down the rabbit hole, and it\u2019s done in such a way that it\u2019s entertaining,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like sitting in a dry class learning about Shakespeare. You\u2019re going to enjoy the ride.\u201d<\/p>\n Lange\u2019s history with Shakespeare dates back to his young adult years, when he was cast as Romeo in a production of \u201cRomeo and Juliet,\u201d an experience that he says stayed with him.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you start getting into Shakespeare, and you\u2019re sitting around other actors, they start telling you stuff,\u201d Lange said.<\/p>\n That \u201cstuff\u201d included anecdotes about Laurence Olivier, Ian McKellen and John Gielgud \u2014 as well as a theory that sparked Lange\u2019s interest.<\/p>\n \u201cOne guy was telling me, \u2018They say Shakespeare didn\u2019t write this.\u2019 That was when I first heard it. So then we\u2019d all sit around and be debating that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In the years that followed, Lange continued appearing in Shakespeare productions, at which debates over authorship persisted. He said some peers suggested philosopher and essayist Francis Bacon was the real author of the plays \u201cOthello,\u201d \u201cMacbeth\u201d and \u201cHamlet\u201d while others argued for Elizabethan writers Christopher Marlowe or Edward de Vere.<\/p>\n In academic settings \u2014 including as a student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and later while presenting a lecture at the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut \u2014 Lange was introduced to nonfiction books advancing those theories, further fueling his curiosity.<\/p>\n \u201cI read the books, and I thought, \u2018Well, what if you could take the elements of this book and the elements of that book and then the book on de Vere and blend them into a play?\u2019 And so that\u2019s how I came to \u2018Shakespeare Over My Shoulder,\u2019\u2009\u201d Lange said.<\/p>\n Lange says he began writing the play during the COVID-19 pandemic, weaving aspects of that experience into the story. It takes place in London\u2019s White Hart tavern in 1593 during a major plague outbreak that closed theaters.<\/p>\n \u201cThe audience gets a little history about Shakespeare and that time frame,\u201d Lange said of his setting selection.<\/p>\n Other historical references in the play include the Marrano Jewish community living secretly in London (the Jewish was officially banned in England from 1290 to the 1650s), playwrights\u2019 discreet homosexuality and the exclusion of women from the stage in 16th century England \u2014 all drawn from Lange\u2019s research into the social and cultural context of the time.<\/p>\n \u201cI got all of this information, and I put it in the play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Humor is interspersed throughout, including moments when characters examine often-misquoted Shakespearean lines and the portrayal of Shakespeare as an actor trying to land roles \u2014 something Lange said he understands firsthand.<\/p>\n \u201cI also have a whole bunch of little Easter eggs, where things slip in from other plays,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The play also carries broader cultural significance. Of the four main characters, Marlowe, Bacon and de Vere are Black, while Shakespeare is White \u2014 a deliberate choice by Lange.<\/p>\n \u201cSymbolically, it\u2019s like rock and roll. It\u2019s like Elvis Presley, and he picked up the stuff from Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Fats Domino. It\u2019s the Rolling Stones bringing back Muddy Waters. It\u2019s Bonnie Raitt, when America was not hip on blues singers and she brought along all these blues singers to reintroduce them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While writing the play was enjoyable, Lange said directing it has been equally rewarding, with actors actively shaping moments in rehearsal.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m opening the jokes up for the actors so they know that, \u2018Oh, well, that line\u2019s a joke \u2014 I see. Oh, this line is about the history. Oh, this is another joke.\u2019 And when I get us all on the same page, which is my job as a director, then they start seeing the jokes and say, \u2018Hey, Ted, can I do this?\u2019 and I say \u2018Oh, yeah, good idea. Go ahead and do that.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n Lange\u2019s extensive knowledge of all things Shakespeare informs the production\u2019s wide-ranging nods, from novellas to fencing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got all these little ins and outs because I\u2019m now 78 years old and I\u2019ve been doing Shakespeare since I was 18. So I picked up all this stuff throughout the years, and I worked it into my play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Through witticisms, historical detail and theory, Lange aims to share his passion for Shakespeare with audiences.<\/p>\n \u201cMy bottom line is, I have a lot of fun with Shakespeare, and I think Shakespeare could be fun if you can find the humor in it. A lot of times, some people are so in awe of him that they make him God-like, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s what he wanted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For Lange, heading back to the Bay Area to premiere his play is special. Even more special is that a handful of his former Oakland Technical High School classmates are expected among the audience.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Class of 1966 \u2014 they saw the birth of my love for theater and acting and being an actor. Those who are still around are coming to see opening night,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cIsn\u2019t that a treat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShakespeare Over My Shoulder\u201d will run May 15 through June 7 in Theater 33 at 533 Sutter St. in San Francisco, with special preview performances May 12-14. Ranging from $16.88 to $48.39, tickets are available online at bit.ly\/shakeshouldersf2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n