{"id":268565,"date":"2026-05-12T21:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T21:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/268565\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T21:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T21:39:10","slug":"the-bard-in-bars-blends-shakespeare-and-hip-hop-in-overtown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/268565\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bard in Bars blends Shakespeare and hip-hop in Overtown"},"content":{"rendered":"

For playwright and educator Darius V. Daughtry, the connection between Shakespeare and hip-hop began in the classroom.<\/p>\n

Daughtry, founder of Fort Lauderdale-based Art Prevails Project, was teaching \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d at Northeast High School in Oakland Park when his students made it clear they were not connecting with the material.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were like, \u2018What is this?\u2019\u201d Daughtry recalls.<\/p>\n

He reframed the rivalry between the Capulets and Montagues as the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop feud.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd suddenly they got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Darius Darius V. Daughtry, founder of the Art Prevails Project, brings Shakespeare and hip-hop together in \u201cThe Bard in Bars,\u201d a genre-blending production coming to the Historic Lyric Theater in Overtown on Friday, May 15 and Saturday, May 16. (Photo by Gregory Reed, courtesy of Art Prevails Project) <\/p>\n

That teaching strategy became the foundation for \u201cThe Bard in Bars,\u201d a production that blends Shakespeare with spoken word, rap and live orchestral music. \u201cThe Bard in Bars\u201d is at Overtown\u2019s Historic Lyric Theater on Friday, May 15 and Saturday, May 16.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe genesis of \u2018The Bard in Bars\u2019 came from trying to help my students understand the themes in \u2018Macbeth,\u2019\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Daughtry started developing \u201cThe Bard in Bars\u201d in June 2023, the work was first presented in Pompano Beach in the The Pavilion at the Sample McDougald House, then in Fort Lauderdale in 2025 as part of the Broward Center\u2019s Arts for Action: Black Voices Initiative, and at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) in Fort Lauderdale in early May.<\/p>\n

The performances at the Lyric Theater is the first time the show will be performed in Miami. \u201cIt\u2019s been a dream of mine to do a show at the Lyric Theater,\u201d Daughtry says.<\/p>\n

\"Xaire Xaire Goodridge as Lysander, Yamille Mercedes as Helena and Omari Miles as Demetrius in \u201cThe Bard in Bars,\u201d which reimagines Shakespeare through spoken word, rap and live orchestral music. (Photo by Gregory Reed, courtesy of Art Prevails Project) <\/p>\n

For Daughtry, adapting Shakespeare is less about preservation than connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about the story and the universal themes,\u201d he says. \u201cShakespeare was writing for everybody, using slang, innuendo and the language of everyday people.\u201d<\/p>\n

That philosophy guides the production\u2019s fluid use of text.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are moments where I don\u2019t touch the words at all,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd others where I help translate them so audiences can connect.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result is what Daughtry calls \u201ca theatrical experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are moments you might learn something or laugh, and others where you\u2019re throwing your hands in the air like you\u2019re at a show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Denzel Denzel McCausland and Marlo Vashti Rodri\u0301guez in a previous production of \u201cThe Bard in Bars.\u201d (Photo by Ian Ibbotson. courtesy of Art Prevails Project) <\/p>\n

Another perspective comes from Marlo Vashti Rodr\u00edguez, a Miami actress and jazz vocalist, trained in theater performance at Florida Atlantic University, who plays both Juliet and Lady Macbeth in the production.<\/p>\n

\u201cI access the characters through physicality first,\u201d says Rodr\u00edguez. \u201cLady Macbeth has this elegance, this regal confidence. Juliet is playful, curious and youthful. They\u2019re different colors of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Music helps her move between the characters.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes when a character doesn\u2019t know what else to say, they have to sing it,\u201d she says. \u201cThe music gives us another way to express the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Performing Shakespeare to hip-hop rhythms also gave her a new appreciation for the language.<\/p>\n

\"David David H. Hepburn, who plays Willy Shakes, The Bard in \u201cThe Bard in Bars,\u201d says the production\u2019s physical demands become part of the storytelling. (Photo by Ian Ibbotson. courtesy of Art Prevails Project) <\/p>\n

\u201cRapping Shakespearean language to 50 Cent or J. Cole, it\u2019s very different,\u201d says Rodr\u00edguez. \u201cIt gave me another way to understand the text.\u201d<\/p>\n

This approach allows actors to move beyond the traditional.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not always in iambic pentameter. We\u2019re in the rhythm of the music, in our own flow,\u201d she says. \u201cIt lets us take ownership of the language.\u201d<\/p>\n

That physical dimension extends across the cast, including David H. Hepburn, a member of Miami\u2019s theater improv company troupe Just the Funny, who also often performs with Art Prevails Project The Miami-based actor plays Willy Shakes, the Bard.<\/p>\n

He says the production demands a high level of physicality and it presents challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re moving, you\u2019re breathing, and you still have to deliver the work clearly,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The production brings together nearly 30 South Florida artists, including actors and the New Canon Chamber Collective, a 12-piece Miami ensemble performing live onstage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not just musicians, they\u2019re part of the cast,\u201d says Daughtry. \u201cEverything happening onstage is collaborative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodr\u00edguez sees that collaboration as central to the show<\/p>\n

\u201cYou build a real sense of community and family,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

And the production also engages questions of access and representation.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheater is powerful and healing, but it\u2019s often inaccessible,\u201d Rodr\u00edguez says. \u201cAnd growing up, I didn\u2019t see people who looked like me in those spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, performing Shakespeare within a diverse cast carries added meaning.<\/p>\n

\"Marlo Marlo Vashti Rodr\u00edguez, who plays Juliet and Lady Macbeth in \u201cThe Bard in Bars,\u201d says performing at the Historic Lyric Theater in Overtown carries special meaning because of the neighborhood\u2019s rich Black cultural history. (Photo by Gregory Reed, courtesy of Art Prevails Project) <\/p>\n

\u201cBeing part of a cast of Black and brown artists performing these stories reflects the world we actually live in,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

That sense of place is amplified by the production\u2019s setting in Overtown, which Rodr\u00edguez says has such a rich Black history that is ever present in Overtown.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerforming at the Lyric Theater, where artists like Ella Fitzgerald once performed, is an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, \u201cThe Bard in Bars\u201d aims to create a shared experience that resonates across backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want people to have a good time,\u201d Daughtry says. \u201cYou need moments of joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also hopes audiences leave with something more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you didn\u2019t understand \u2018Macbeth\u2019 before, maybe now you do. If you didn\u2019t connect with hip-hop, maybe now you feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodr\u00edguez sees the production transcend multiple barriers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy uncle only speaks Spanish, and he still understood the show through the music and movement,\u201d she says. \u201cThat meant everything to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you go:<\/p>\n

WHAT: \u201cThe Bard in Bars\u201d<\/p>\n

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, May 15, Saturday, May 16<\/p>\n

WHERE: The Historic Lyric Theater, 819 Northwest 2nd Ave., Miami.<\/p>\n

COST: Free or $20 for VIP includes pre-show art exhibition<\/p>\n

INFORMATION: (954) 652-6545 or artprevailsproject.org<\/p>\n

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don\u2019t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For playwright and educator Darius V. Daughtry, the connection between Shakespeare and hip-hop began in the classroom. Daughtry,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268566,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-268565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}