Henry Winkler Meets William Shakespeare in Henry Winkler Meets William Shakespeare

Henry Winkler Meets William Shakespeare. Dir. Jeff Bleckner. Perf. Henry Winkler, Tom Aldredge, Bruce Bouchard, and Kevin Kline. 1977.

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I wasn't a Shakespeare prodigy by any means, but this after-school special from 1977 would certainly have appealed to me when I was growing up. And it appeals to me now, though perhaps in different ways.

The plot of the show centers on Henry Winkler taking a group of schoolchildren to see one of the places he loves best: The Theatre.  More specifically, that's the American Shakespeare Theatre of Stratford, Connecticut. There, Shakespeare appears, together with some of his players, and they explore what the modern age thinks of Shakespeare's works.

Here's a quick sample that shows Shakespeare first appearing in 1977 in the United States of America and then goes on to show a well-acted scene from The Taming of the Shrew—with Bruce Bouchard as Kate and a very young version of the inimitable Kevin Kline as Petruchio.

Yes, it has a 1970s after-school special production vibe, but it's still an intriguing and educational resource. Should you need more, the link to the full video is below.

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Links: The Film at IMDB. The Complete Film at YouTube.