EWU musical updates, condenses ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’

“Love’s Labour’s Lost” isn’t one of William Shakespeare’s more frequently performed works. Not only is it notoriously difficult, featuring a scene that most scholars consider the longest in the Bard’s canon, but it’s full of topical references that won’t make much sense to contemporary viewers.

But a recent musical adaptation of the comedy has transported the story into the 21st century and makes the story accessible to modern audiences. Eastern Washington University’s theater department opened this updated version of “Love’s Labour’s Lost” last weekend, and the production continues through Saturday.

“It’s always been one of my favorite comedies,” said Jeff Sanders, the show’s director. “If you love ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ you’ll have a great affinity for ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost.’ ”

This particular adaptation was originally commissioned for Shakespeare in the Park and premiered off-Broadway in 2013. It was written by Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers, whose credits include the Tony Award-nominated rock musical “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.”

“It’s completely irreverent to the original,” Sanders said, “but it retains its essence.”

Shakespeare’s story centers on a king and three of his noblemen who, after years of carousing and womanizing, all take a pledge of celibacy. But as soon as the pact is made, they each meet a woman and fall instantly in love. It’s a madcap farce that boasts many of the hallmarks of Shakespeare’s work – star-crossed lovers, mistaken identities, a play within a play, and oaths of chastity that are bound to be broken.

“They’re trying not to break their vow, but they can’t help themselves because they’re madmen in love,” Sanders said. “The extremes they go to is what makes it so enjoyable.”

Friedman and Timbers’ adaptation condenses Shakespeare’s tale down to a brisk 100 minutes, and it transforms the kings and noblemen of the original story into contemporary 20-somethings at their five-year college reunion in a small resort town.

“They’re at that Dustin Hoffman in ‘The Graduate’ place,” Sanders explained. “They’re not quite ready to be adults yet, and yet they’re coming to that point where they need to start taking their lives seriously and start coming to terms with being an adult.”

The songs in “Love’s Labour’s Lost” take on various styles depending on who’s singing them: The “king” and his pals assume the role of a ’90s boy band, their romantic counterparts are a sort of riot grrrl punk group and the denizens of the resort town (referred to as “rustics” in the original text) perform in a folky, alt-country style. The songs occasionally utilize actual Shakespearean dialogue as lyrics, which Sanders says makes them somewhat more accessible to the Shakespeare averse.

“When they’re set to music, people are really hearing them,” Sanders said. “There’s something about them being sung. You’re getting Shakespeare more deeply than if the actors were just saying the lines.”

“Love’s Labour’s Lost” was the first Shakespeare production Sanders performed as an actor, and he says this particular version of the show should strike a chord with younger audiences.

“I told my students that this play is like a love letter to my college experience,” he said. “There’s a time clock on the invincibility of youth. I guess I’m on the other side of the fence now when I go back to it.”