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Report from May 14, 2016 Oberon meeting

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Rosey Hunter at after-meeting dinner at Beau's in Bloomfield Hills, MI May 14, 2016.

 Oberons send hugs to our friend Robin Browne who is recuperating after surgery at Beaumont Hospital May 11. Get well soon, Robin!

On June 18, 2016 several Oberon members will attend author James Shapiro's talk on the topic of "The Scottish Play"at 10:30 a.m. in the Studio Theatre as part of the Festival Forum series of lectures in Stratford, Ontario.

We discussed the Oberon blog, particularly the Mark Twain Project Online (MTPO) article titled “Mark Twain’s Benighted Book”  and the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship's letter of protest to the Bancroft Library at UC/Berkley and the National Endowment for the Arts that is partially funding the MTPO. An article titled "SOF responds to omission of authorship book from Mark Twain Project" appears on the SOF News weblog online

We urged Oberon members to sign up for email notification of Oberon posts on the Oberon blog page to get information and links regarding interesting topics such as the MTPO, the Rylance/Jacobi interview on NPR, etc. Just enter your email address in the box below the words: "Follow Oberon by email:" (see photo below)
Sign up online for email notification of Oberon blog posts.
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Several members: Richard, Pam, Mara, and Sharon plan to attend the "Shakespeare Live" film on Monday, May 23 at the Livonia theater at 7 p.m. Please see more information in Richard Joyrich's report below.

We discussed our "Reasonable Doubt about Shakespeare" event at UM-Flint on April 24, 2016 and agreed Matthew Wyneken and Richard Joyrich’s presentations were masterly. Matt will investigate the possibility of presenting a reprise event at UM-Flint this fall.

 Although chairperson Richard Joyrich was unable to attend the meeting, he sent us information about other Shakespeare events available to us in Southeast MI. Richard Joyrich reported:
DETROIT: Mosaic Youth Theatre’s new production: A Midsummer SOULstice looks interesting. Here is the description from their website (mosaicdetroit.org)
“A mash-up of Soul hits from the 60’s and 70’s and one of the funniest plays ever written, A Midsummer SOULstice is a non-stop, hilarious musical romp through the woods on the longest day of the year.” This will show at the Detroit Film Theatre at:4 PM today (may 15),10 AM May 19,8 PM May 20-21, and4 PM May 22. The Detroit Mosaic Youth Theatre is a wonderful institution. Get more info about them show and this particular show by reading the story from the Play section of today’s Detroit Free Press at: http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/2016/05/11/shakespeare-gets-soul-makeover-new-mosaic-production/84151814/ 
STRATFORD: On Sunday, May 29, at 3 PM there will be a showing of the HD film of last year’s Stratford, Ontario production of The Taming of the Shrew. Unfortunately, the closest theater to us where it is showing is the Celebration Cinema in Lansing. We have already missed the showings of Hamlet and The Adventures of Pericles. Eventually, these will be released on DVD so you will have to wait for them. (I saw all of these productions live in Stratford and they were all great.)
LONDON: Another cinema experience (at many closer theaters) coming up, on Monday, May 23, is The Shakespeare Show. Here is the description from the Royal Shakespeare Company website: Recorded live from the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon on the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, the event known as Shakespeare Live, will be a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of Shakespeare’s plays and their enduring influence on music, dance, opera, musical theatre and comedy. 
As part of a year-long celebration of the Bard, this star-studded show was conceived and directed by Gregory Doran and will be hosted by David Tennant and Catherine Tate and features Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Helen Mirren, John Lithgow, David Suchet, Joseph Fiennes, Rufus Wainwright, Tim Minchin, Al Murray, Meera Syal, Alison Moyet, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Paapa Essiedu, Pippa Nixon, Alexandra Gilbreath, the Royal Ballet, the Orchestra of the Swan and many more. Don’t miss this spectacular cast for a unique tribute to one of the most influential storytellers of all time.
This movie will be shown at 7 PM on Monday, May 23 at the Quality 16 in Ann Arbor, the Livonia 20, and the Commerce Township 14. Tickets are $15. More info available at fathomevents.com/event/the-shakespeare-show/more-info/details

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