We are celebrating the legacy of William Shakespeare by recalling the ways that he continues to live on, through his works on our grandest stages, on Broadway.
With new productions of Othello and Romeo & Juliet already on the way for the 2024-2025 Broadway season, we look back at the recent revivals of some of the Bard’s most prominent works.
1. Macbeth
Most Recent Revival: 2022
Theater: Longacre Theatre
Directed by Sam Gold; starred Daniel Craig as Macbeth and Ruth Negga as Lady Macbeth.
This revival was noted for its stark, modern interpretation with minimalistic design. Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga’s performances were highly praised, bringing intense and nuanced interpretations to their roles.
2. King Lear
Most Recent Revival: 2019 at the Cort Theatre
Directed by Sam Gold; starred Glenda Jackson as King Lear.
Glenda Jackson’s portrayal of Lear brought a fresh and poignant perspective to the role, emphasizing the themes of power and loss. The modern setting and innovative stage design highlighted the timeless nature of Shakespeare’s tragedy.
3. Twelfth Night
Most Recent Revival: 2013 at the Belasco Theatre (part of a double feature with Richard III
Directed by Tim Carroll; starred Mark Rylance as Olivia and Stephen Fry as Malvolio.
This production was acclaimed for its authentic Elizabethan staging, complete with all-male casting and period costumes. Mark Rylance’s performance as Olivia was particularly celebrated for its comedic brilliance and depth.
4. Romeo and Juliet
Most Recent Revival: 2013 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
Directed by David Leveaux; starred Orlando Bloom as Romeo and Condola Rashad as Juliet.
This revival featured a modern setting with a racially diverse cast, exploring the play’s themes of love and conflict through a contemporary lens. The chemistry between Bloom and Rashad was notably compelling.
5. The Merchant of Venice
Most Recent Revival: 2010 at the Broadhurst Theatre
Directed by Daniel Sullivan; starred Al Pacino as Shylock.
Al Pacino’s portrayal of Shylock was a highlight, offering a nuanced interpretation of the complex character. The production was well-received for its clarity and the compelling performances of its cast.
6. Hamlet
Most Recent Revival: 2009 at the Broadhurst Theatre
Directed by Michael Grandage; starred Jude Law as Hamlet.
Jude Law’s performance was central to this production’s success, bringing a youthful energy and emotional depth to the role. The minimalist staging focused the audience’s attention on the psychological drama.
In our new series, Unsung Roles of the Theater, Broadway’s Best Shows takes a peek behind the curtain to showcase the work of underappreciated Broadway professionals and their contributions to the theatrical ecosystem.
This week, we will be highlighting the work of Thomas Schall, a veteran fight director with over 100 Broadway credits to his name, including Waitress, Angels in America, and the 2023 revival of Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch. He has won two Drama Desk Awards: one as an actor for Outstanding Ensemble Performance (Stuff Happens, 2005), and another for Outstanding Fight Choreography (A Soldier’s Play, 2020).
Thomas Schall in rehearsal for the Public Theater’s Othello, 2018.
As a fight director, Schall is intimately concerned with violence as a device of narrative storytelling. When building a scene, Schall considers three main narrative elements: the emotional arc of the characters in the show, the physical story of the violence, and the communication between actors during a fight scene. With these elements in mind, Schall must choreograph fight scenes that serve the narrative of the show at large, ensuring that the violence is readable to the audience and safe for the actors to perform every night.
Schall’s passion for fight directing emerged while training to be an actor in college. After enjoying stage combat classes in school, Schall followed his passion, working as both an actor and an in-house fight captain for productions at the Folger Shakespeare Theater in Washington D.C. There, he studied with several choreographers who whetted his interest in the art form and trained with the Society of American Fight Directors. Schall soon began choreographing fights of his own while continuing to work as an actor.
Thomas Schall (right) in Roundabout Theatre Company’s Hamlet, 1992, in which he played Marcellus and served as Fight Captain. Photo by Martha Swope
When Schall moved to New York City in the mid-1980s, he feared his work as a fight director would limit his acting opportunities.
“I was a little bit afraid of being pigeonholed as an actor who was a ‘fight guy,’” Schall said. “And [hearing] ‘there is no role for a fight guy in this show’ and having my resume set aside. So I stopped doing it completely, and was just an actor and did pretty well in New York over the years.”
After putting aside fight work for a few years, Schall put acting on the back burner and began pursuing fight work full-time as gigs became more regular in the late ‘90s.
In the current revival of Purlie Victorious, Schall choreographed a scene where Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee is about to whip protagonist Purlie, considering each character’s emotional arc throughout the show and the history of their relationship to make the scene work onstage. For Schall, bringing this scene to life onstage was challenging as it required finding the comedy in a moment of real violence.
“It’s the game that the entire play plays,” Schall said. “It’s talking about very serious themes, and very serious pieces of history in the country, but at the same time, it’s also a comedy, it’s a farce, and it’s a romp. And playing those two notes against each other is a very tricky, subtle game.”
Schall worked closely with director Kenny Leon and star/producer Leslie Odom Jr. in order to strike the right balance between seriousness and humor. By examining the overstory, or emotional arc of the scene, the trio found that the crack of Ol’ Cap’n’s bullwhip, a charged piece of imagery for the audience and the cast alike, was the perfect catalyst for the scene’s tonal transformation.
The bullwhip is both a prop and symbol in Purlie Victorious, representing the physical and psychological violence inflicted on African Americans during a time of segregation and oppression. Photo by Marc J. Franklin
“That whip crack became like a button, a sort of a switch for when things went from serious to comedic,” Schall said. “And so we shifted a line so that everything happens, sort of all the threatening things happened up to the whip crack. And then we were free to have fun.”
For Schall, it is these moments of collaboration that he values most. In his work as a fight director, Schall seeks to build a room of trust, asking his collaborators to trust him with their safety and have faith that they won’t feel embarrassed or stupid performing fight sequences onstage. While building trust is often challenging, it is also the most rewarding part of Schall’s job, as it allows him to form close relationships with his collaborators. After decades of working as a Broadway fight director, Schall has had several repeat collaborators, many of whom he calls friends.
“Every show and rehearsal on some level is a celebration of community,” Schall said. “And I love being part of a community of people. There comes a point in your career, hopefully, where you come into one of these rehearsal rooms, and you see people you’ve worked with before and they’re friends, and that, for me, is the most gratifying part.”
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch runs at the Music Box Theatre through February 4, 2024.
