Shakespeare's Greatest Hits

Written by William Shakespeare and Barbara Gaines

Narrated by Amy Irving and Full Cast

Shakespeare's Greatest Hits contains some of the most memorable scenes from 13 of the Bard’s greatest plays, including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello and many more. Intertwined with the greatest hits of music, this highly engaging introduction to William Shakespeare is performed by the famous Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Peter Aylward, Johnny Lee Davenport, Henry Godinez, Kevin Gudahl, Susan Hart, Amy Irving, Linda Kimbrough and Ross Lehman.

• Language: English
• Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works
• Release date: Feb 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781580815604

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.

Reviews for Shakespeare's Greatest Hits

[jimmaclachlan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was short, fun, & very well read since many of the scenes were obviously recorded during the actual plays. It was interspersed with music clips that fit in well.

If you're not familiar with Shakespeare, you'll likely be a bit lost, but it might not be a bad introduction. There are a lot of memorable quotes & scenes, but no attempt has been made to explain anything about them or to put them in context. I think they switched plays a couple of times without warning, too. At the end, they did a weird little bit with a woman reading a man's role & vice versa. It was still good. The Bard is meant to be listened to, not just read in cold words.