Lumping in Fargo, book/lyrics by Bryan Reynolds, music by Michael Hooker

Authors

Kent R. Lehnhof Chapman University

Abstract

Collaging King Lear, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, and several other Shakespeare plays, Lumping in Fargo tells the story of a wealthy misanthrope who falls in love with a singing furniture mover. Just as romance is beginning to blossom, accusations of incest jeopardize the couple's happiness. Drawing upon Shakespearean dialogue (approximately 75% of the script is taken in patchwork form from Shakespeare) as well as Shakespearean devices (ghosts, handkerchiefs, ring plots, and ill-fated, interest-free bonds), Reynolds creates an intense and irreverent musical that is rewarding on a number of levels.

Author Biography

Kent R. Lehnhof, Chapman University

Kent R. Lehnhof is Wang-Fradkin Associate Professor of English at Chapman University in southern California. He has published articles on Sidney, Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton in such journals at ELH, ELR, SEL, Milton Quarterly, and Milton Studies. His current research explores the interrelation of antifeminism and antitheatricalism in early modern England.