William Shakespeare will officially be 450 years old on April 23rd, 2014.

The man who brought us “To be or not to be”, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo”,” “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes,” and so many other phrases that live on the tips of our tongues, is someone to celebrate!

Shakespeare coined over 1,700 new words — among them: majestic, champion, amazement, discontent, premeditated, bedroom, advertising, compromise, impartial, laughable, excitement, and so on…and on… and on! He created immortal lovers who fill us with passion, inspiring heroes who urge us to action or warn us against haste, and clowns that show us our own follies.

In 2000, he was voted The Man of the Millennium!

For the rest of the month here are a few events presented by the Long Beach Theatre Company that you can attend to celebrate the spirit of the bard.

April 18 and 19— Two half-hour old-time radio shows, both performed with live music and sound effects.

Gunsmoke episode: Shakespeare From 1952, a good story about a crazed Shakespearean actor who commits murder during a Kansas heat wave.

Mister Shakespeare From 1948, a story about what might happen if the greatest of all playwrights could come out of the past to work for a modern motion picture studio.

On April 23, Will’s— Official Birthday, in partnership with World Book Night U.S., LBSC will give away a FREE copy of the Shakespeare Sonnets to each person in attendance. The actors will perform selected sonnets, followed by a reception with cake and beverages to celebrate Shakespeare’s birth!

April 25 and 26— Richard Armour’s Twisted Tales From Shakespeare. A parody of serious lectures on the Bard.

April 27 —LBSC presents the final event of Shakespeare Month FREE!

Louis Fantasia, Director of Shakespeare at the Huntington Library and former Director of the Shakespeare Globe Centre’s Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance Institute from 1997 to 2002, presents “King Lear or Survivor—Tragedy in The Age of Oprah.

At the Richard Goad Theatre, 4250 Atlantic Ave. in Long Beach.
Sunday performances at 2 pm; all others at 8 pm.