Let’s Talk: Favorite Shakespeare Adaptations & Retellings

Hi friends! I hope your month is going well! As you all know (because I literally never shut up about it, you’re welcome), I love all things Shakespeare —- what you may not know is that William Shakespeare’s birth date and death date is April 23rd. Because of this, I always like to consume lots of Shakespeare-related media at this time, and I figured, why not make a blog post out of it?

In this post, we’ll be talking about some of my favorite books, movies, and musicals inspired by the Bard and his works. So as always, grab a cup of tea, get cozy, and let’s talk Shakespeare!

I think it only makes sense that we begin this post by talking about books. Which I know, is shocking, considering this is a book blog. Here I’m talking about some of my favorite books that are either Shakespeare retellings or inspired by Shakespeare.

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If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

I won’t go into too much detail considering I’ve spoken about If We Were Villains on the blog a lot as it’s my favorite book —- you can read my spotlight post and my annotate with me post (both include spoilers, so be careful!) —- but, I will take any opportunity I can to rave about this truly masterful book. Really, when I think of Shakespeare-influenced books, this is the first that I think of for many reasons. 

In If We Were Villains, Oliver says that Shakespeare was almost like their eighth housemate and it’s true. Shakespeare is the eighth main character in this story. They lived and breathed Shakespeare’s words not only on stage but off stage as well and many instances in their lives mirrored the situations in some of Shakespeare’s most famous works. They perform Julius Caesar and King Lear throughout the course of the book, perform selected scenes from Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet and reference just about every other Shakespeare show at some point in the book. If you’re looking for a book that is practically a love letter to his plays, look no further than M.L. Rio’s If We Were Villains.

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These Violent Delights/Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong

If you’re looking for a well-crafted, imaginative, intelligent, and diverse Romeo and Juliet retelling and you haven’t read Chloe Gong’s These Violent Delights and the sequel, Our Violent Ends, I honestly do not know what you are doing. In my opinion, this is how you write a fresh retelling of a classic — Gong was able to put a twist on this story while honoring the original text. The references and callbacks to the original story were done so smartly because they make complete sense in the story that she was telling — I’ve read some retellings where the author throws in the references because they feel as though they have to, but don’t do anything to make these references cohesive with the plot. Luckily for Chloe, and for her readers, she doesn’t fall into that trap. I really just think this is a masterfully done retelling. You can read my full review of These Violent Delights here.

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That Way Madness Lies edited by Dahlia Adler

Honestly, I love anthologies! I think they’re a great way to get introduced to new authors that you maybe wouldn’t have read from before, and I’ve found them especially good if you’re not sure what you’re in the mood to read as you get a variety of stories. I really loved That Way Madness Lies, a Shakespeare retelling anthology — it’s actually the book that started my love of anthologies. If you’d like to read more of my thoughts on this collection, you can read my review here.

This collection includes some authors that I really enjoy reading from, such as A.R. Capetta, Brittany Cavallaro, Joy McCullough, and Emilly Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka. It’s been a while since I last read this collection, but I’m looking forward to reading it again, especially as I work on annotating Shakespeare’s works. 

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Enter the Body by Joy McCullough

Enter the Body is my latest obsession, I honestly can’t stop thinking about it. I would rank this right behind If We Were Villains as my favorite Shakespeare-inspired book. I’ve spoken about this book quite a bit recently, both with my review and in my book recs for theatre fans. Because of that, I won’t go into too much detail, but I really think that if you like Shakespeare you need to read this one.

I’ll be rereading and annotating at some point this year, and I can’t wait to dive into this book again, and once I do I’m sure you’ll see another post about it!

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Twelfth Grade Night by Molly Horton Booth

I started reading more graphic novels last year, and this one is without a doubt my favorite. Twelfth Night is my favorite Shakespeare comedy, so I’m always looking for retellings of it, and I just adored this one. It felt so true to Twelfth Night and any changes made perfect sense to me. I also loved the inclusion of some characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The art was absolutely stunning — some panels I just stared at because I loved them so much. Overall, this was just a really fun and great read that I highly recommend, particularly if you love Twelfth Night!

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A few other books that I felt deserved honorable mentions were Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin, a truly wild ride retelling of Macbeth (this book is incredibly heavy, so please look up the trigger warnings before reading it or ask me if you have questions!), The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake, another Twelfth Night retelling, Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George, a Much Ado About Nothing retelling (you can read my review here), and If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, a Taming of the Shrew retelling.

All of these I really enjoyed and am looking forward to reading again soon!

I thought it would be fun to also include some other forms of media in this post. There are so many Shakespeare-inspired films, if I listed all of them there this post would literally never end, so I’m just listing my personal favorites!

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She’s the Man (2006) dir. Andy Fickman

She’s the Man holds such a special place in my heart. It’s inspired by my favorite comedy, Twelfth Night, and it’s also a film that was an essential part of the bonding process between me and my best friends. It really appealed to me as a kid who played soccer, and I totally understood Viola’s motivations. I loved all the obvious nods like keeping the names Viola, Sebastian, Olivia, and Duke Orsino, and the more subtle nods like Malcom’s last name being Festes and his pet tarantula being named Malvilio. It’s just such a fun film, it’s one of my all-time favorites (they just don’t make them like this anymore!) and always makes me laugh

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10 Things I Hate About You (1999) dir. Gil Junger

10 Things I Hate About You is just iconic. I personally really like The Taming of the Shrew, and in my opinion, this is one of the most perfect modern-day retellings. The casting is incredible, Heath Ledger as Verona, Julia Stiles as Kat, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cameron, and Larisa Oleynik as Bianca…honestly the casting department went off on this one. It’s witty, it’s funny, it’s still relevant, and it’s just an all-around great film. 

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Shakespeare in Love (1998) dir. John Madden

Oh, I love this film. It was so clever, well written, and performed — the cast is STACKED, the costuming perfect, and I love all the references to Shakespeare’s plays throughout the film. I’m sure that it’ll surprise no one that I love this film considering Romeo and Juliet is such a huge part of it, especially since we all know R&J is my favorite tragedy. I love how the screenwriters wove together the romance between Shakespeare and Viola and the writing of Romeo and Juliet — and I love how so many of the general plot points resemble Shakespeare’s works, especially Twelfth Night, and that the movie ends with Shakespeare writing Twelfth Night, my favorite comedy. It really just feels like this film was made for me.

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Rosaline (2022) dir. Karen Maine

So, fun fact, when I was in high school and auditioning for musicals, I loved using a monologue that was from Rosaline’s point of view starting with the line, “Oh, Romeo, Romeo. I am going to hurt you, Romeo” all that is to say, I’ve always been so curious about the elusive Rosaline, who we don’t see in Romeo and Juliet — all we know is that she’s Juliet’s cousin. When I first heard about the film Rosaline, I was excited, and a little scared. Considering how much I love Romeo and Juliet I was just nervous about how they would portray the story. Luckily for me, I LOVED this film.

What I really loved about it is that it’s so satirical. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s why I love it so much. I loved the modernized language and storytelling, while still keeping it set in the 14th-15th century. Sometimes that can bother me, but I thought that it was so perfectly done — it had the perfect amount of humor that could definitely be mocking but in a fun way, not in a way that felt obnoxious to someone who loves the original story as much as I do.

I cannot recommend this movie more highly, it’s just so fun. I’m probably gonna go watch it again right now.

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Other Shakespeare films that I loved/enjoyed are the 1993 version of Much Ado About Nothing directed by Kenneth Branagh, and of course, the 1996 Romeo and Juliet directed by Baz Luhrmann. I also liked the 2018 King Lear film directed by Richard Eyre starring Anthony Hopkins as King Lear, Emma Thompson as Goneril, and Florence Pugh as Cordelia.

Last, but most certainly not least, we’re going to talk about Shakespeare musical adaptations! At my core, I am a musical theatre girlie, and some of my most beloved musicals are inspired by Shakespeare’s stories.

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& Juliet (2019) Book by David West Read, Music & Lyrics by Max Martin

This is a jukebox musical at its finest. & Juliet, currently starring Lorna Courtney (Juliet), Betsy Wolfe (Anne), Stark Sands (Shakespeare), Tony Award winner Paulo Szot (Lance), and shining new-comer Justin David Sullivan (May), asks the question, what if Juliet didn’t die? 

This show fills my little millennial heart with so much joy — as someone who grew up listening to *NSYNC (they were actually my first concert when I was 7) and The Backstreet Boys, this show feels so nostalgic yet brand new. There are so many songs in this show that I really enjoy and hearing these musicalized versions of them is so fun! 

I also love that Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway (his wife, not the actress of The Princess Diaries fame, just to be clear) are characters in the show and that Anne especially plays such a large role. It could just be because I absolutely love Betsy Wolfe’s voice, but most of the songs that Anne sings are my favorites in the show (even if the original songs are not ones I particularly enjoy).

& Juliet is currently on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, and I’m absolutely thrilled that I’ll be seeing it next month! Is it May yet?

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Venice (2010) Book by Eric Rosen, Music by Matt Sax, Lyrics by Matt Sax and Eric Rosen

If Venice has a million fans, then I am one of them. If Venice has ten fans, then I am one of them. If Venice has only one fan then that is me. If Venice has no fans, then that means I am no longer on Earth. If the world is against Venice, then I am against the world.

Okay, really, I absolutely love Venice, and like 3 other people know it even exists, which is a shame because it really is so great. Venice focuses on a dystopian near-future in the fictional city of Venice which has been at war for generations. Venice Monore, named after the city, is the city’s new leader and promises to bring change. His childhood best friend, and daughter of the assassinated President, Willow Turner, announce that they will get married and lead the reunification of the city together. Markos, Venice’s half-brother is a commander in the military, and Markos, wanting to keep the city in fear, plots to disrupt the wedding.

Venice is very loosely based on/inspired by Othello. There are parallels such as two men who are in love with the same woman, characters who are Generals and military advisors, and there are many similar characters to those in Othello. Additionally, there are more straightforward references, such as the song “Put out the Light” in Act 2, referencing one of Othello’s lines in Act V, Scene 2, and one of my favorite songs “Willow” in Act 2, which has lyrics adapted from a song that Desdemona sings in Act IV, Scene 3, and Emilia sings in Act V, Scene 2.

This show also starred some of my favorite performers, Jennifer Damiano as Willow, Leslie Odom Jr. as Markos Monroe, and Claybourne Elder as Michael Victor. Additionally, Uzo Aduba played Anna Monroe, the mother of Venice and Markos, who sacrificed her life in order to bring the city peace. It’s an all-around amazing cast with a beautiful score. I highly recommend checking this one out!

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All Shook Up (2004) Book by Joe DiPietro Music and Lyrics from the songbook of Elvis Presley

I was in a production of All Shook Up in 2008 and ever since this show has held the most special place in my heart. I’ve always loved Elvis’ music, so when I heard that this was a jukebox musical with his music, I just knew that I had to do the show, and then I found out that the plot was Twelfth Night in the ’50s and I was 100% sold!

All Shook Up also takes inspiration from Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream as well, but in my opinion, Twelfth Night is the most prominent inspiration source. This show is just so fun and uplifting (If I Can Dream makes me cry every single time that I listen to it), but it also touches on some really important topics such as racism and interracial relationships. If you’ve never listened to it before, I definitely recommend checking it out!

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And of course, two of the most popular and well-known Shakespeare-inspired musicals are West Side Story (1957) Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Leonard Bernstein, and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim based on Romeo and Juliet, and Kiss Me, Kate (1948) Book by Bella and Samuel Spewack, Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter based on The Taming of the Shrew. I really do enjoy both of these shows a lot!

I highly recommend the 2009 recording of West Side Story, featuring Matt Cavenaugh as Tony, Josefina Scaglione as Maria, and Karen Olivo as Anita — Olivo won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. This production also features songs in both English and Spanish, with Spanish translations done by Lin Manuel Miranda. In my opinion, this is the best revival of the show (we DO NOT acknowledge the 2020 revival) and it’s the only one I listen to.

Kiss Me, Kate was revived on Broadway in 2019, starring Tony Winner Kelli O’Hara as Lilli Vanessi/Katharine, Will Chase as Fred Graham/Petruchio, Corbin Bleu as Bill Calhoun/Lucentio, and Stephanie Styles as Lois Lane/Bianca. I got to see this production and it was truly fabulous! In my opinion, Kelli O’Hara has one of the most beautiful voices in musical theatre, and being able to see her perform live was a true honor.

All the cast recordings of the shows mentioned above are available on Spotify and Apple Music, so definitely check them out!

Okay friends, I know that this was a long one — and this was me cutting down on recs! If you made it all the way to the end I truly appreciate you and your indulging me. Have you read/watched/listened to any of these? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts, and if you haven’t, are you now interested in checking any of these out? Additionally, if you have any favorite Shakespeare adaptations I’d love to hear about them. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Until next time!