Contributed by Tracey Paleo, Gia On The Move

Brit Week: A Shakespeare Jubilee has wrapped at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, but not without plenty of highly memorable comedy and drama from U.K. and local Los Angeles theatrical talents, who collaborated to celebrate the bard, and recreate the almost royal OMGs of 1768 famed actor David Garrick and his attempts to ‘improve’ on Shakespeare’s greatest plays. (Luckily, that didn’t work out so well for David.)

M.C.’d to stunning effect by the absolutely glamorous Joely Fisher (Ellen, ‘Til Death) and accompanied by a dashing Ioan Gruffudd (The Fantastic Four, Forever), highlights included performances by actors from Antaeus Theatre, Actors’ Gang and Independent Shakespeare Co.; a medley of songs for Shakespeare; an operatic excerpt from Giuseppe Verde’s Macbeth; also actor Harry Hamlin destroying a guitar on stage rebel Hamlet style, a deliciously sassy Taming of the Shrew with Jamison Jones and Isabella Hofmann and L.A.’s critically acclaimed Impro Theater ravaging The Wallis stage with an alternate-ending, jolly good King Lear where everybody lives.  Huzzah!

The cast of British and Hollywood actors includes: Genevieve Allenbury, Eric Braeden, Jane Carr, Suzan Crowley, Karen David, Kelsey Deanne, Joely Fisher, Lisa Fredrickson, Michele Greene, Ioan Gruffudd, Harry Hamlin, Lexie Helgerson, Isabella Hofmann, Kelly Holden Bashar, Finola Hughes, Brian Jones, Jamison Jones, Lisa Locicero, Brian Lohmann, Nigel Lythgoe OBE, David Melville, Dan O’Connor, Wale Ojo, Edi Patterson, Mike Rock, Armin Shimerman, Joe Spano, Kitty Swink, Joan Van Ark, Floyd Van Burskirk, Peter Van Norden, Sabra Williams BEM, Sherry Williams and Oscar ZC Zhang.

Photo above by Rex Gelert: Impro Theatre Group performs an improvised happy ending of ‘King Lear’ for Brit Week: A Shakespeare Jubilee.