"But it's the same guy!"

Can I just say, it makes me so happy that in this show (Shakespeare: The Musical), people hardly realize that the four people in the cast are playing multiple characters and that meeting yourself would be funny and/or impossible?

On at least two separate occasions, there've been instances where, say, Trish and Michael are onstage (to name one), and Trish says, "Father! I do hope one day you will meet the woman I am to marry!" And Michael (the father) says, "Son, I do hope I will." Except the woman is ALSO played by Michael. Reaction from the audience in that moment? None. If he had said something schticky like, "Ah, she must be so beautiful and smart and fantastic," there probably still woulda been no reaction. (cause it happened in another show.)

I mean, even Clay's hilarious marrying of himself wearing two separate hats didn't go over like wildfire the way it would have the last time we did Shakespeare. Hmmm!

Is it that they don't realize that it's him playing both characters until we bump up against it? Or that it doesn't occur to them to laugh because they've suspended their disbelief? Or that . . . something else? I mean, even I forget the same things sometimes, and I'm ONstage.

I'd like to think that for the audience, it's just all about the characters and the story, and we've transcended the stage and put the story directly into their imaginations.

Go us. :o) I love this show!