Top Gun and Shakespeare Have This in Common

Here’s a shameless plug for you. Trust me, it’s worth it.

My life collaborator Rhett Henckel is the co-creator and actor in a magical show called Jester’s Dead, a Top Gun and Shakespeare mash up parody.  Yes you heard that right, Maverick and Mercutio have more in common than you thought; 1986 might be the new 1597, or something.

The show is ongoing at the People’s Improv Theater (PIT) in Manhattan, check their calendar for upcoming dates. The show is produced by The Outfit, a smart young company of actors Rhett and co-creator Nat McIntyre founded with many of their friends and grad school peers right here in the borough.

They’ve run the show in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, NYU Studio Tisch and now it’s ready for you, the general public. The show stars Tom Cruise doppelganger Dan Hartley as Maverick, Rhett as a mustachioed Goose, Nat as a hard nosed Stinger, a blisteringly cold Vayu O’Donnell as Iceman, and former Passion Play leading lady, Kate Turnbull as Charlie.  Here’s what others have said about Jester’s Dead:

“ …a production of borderline genius…”
– Allison Krumm, phillyist.com

“…the gimmick that keeps on giving…”
– Wendy Rosenfield, Philadelphia Inquirer

“If you’re a Top Gun fan, go see this show…a unique blend of old-school and uber-physical freshness…”
– Carolyn Huckabay, Philadelphia City Paper

There are swordfights, songs, and text from every play in Shakespeare’s canon. Even the New York Times said you should see it.

“This critically acclaimed exercise in action-packed parody has a simple, happy formula: the classic ’80s flick “Top Gun” as it might have been interpreted by William Shakespeare.” – Megan Angelo, The New York Times