World Literature student, Zachary Jenkins–also known as our Temporary Executive Arts-and-Theatre Blog Correspondent–submitted this review of Mr. Sarkis’s reprise of Shakespeare at Starlucks. Zach‘s findings were somewhat surprising . . . .
A quick glance of Shakespeare At Starlucks might reveal this production to be a fun look at a play about an odd little coffee house where all of Shakespeare’s characters come to drink a cup of joe; however, we must wake up and look at what this play really is. If one does not know the true meaning and tone of this play, the truth will only come out when it is far too late, for this play is obviously communist brainwashing at its finest.
In order to o
pen your eyes to this sick truth, we must first look at the author and director, Mr. Ken Sarkis. Ken Sarkis, though he has never come out and said it, is a communist, maybe even a deep cover Soviet spy. Though few thin
k that the time spent toe to toe with the USSR and the USA still affect us today, I must clarify that it does, and Mr. Ken Sarkis is a prime example of this. Through his childhood and some of his adult life, there was a silent, and yet very loud, war going on overhead. This was, of course, the Cold War. In this war stood two respectable sides, communism and capitalism. Though Ken was raised in the US, this did not stop communism from seeping through the cracks right into his little empty head. After this evil seed was somehow planted, Ken Sarkis lived what appeared to be a normal American life, claiming to do regular American things. However, there are 
gaps in his timeline, and with these gaps unfilled, we must assume that he was training to become a Russian spy, and likewise, a communist. Now, looking at what he has given us for his incomplete timeline, one can see that he has been a teacher for many years now. This is, as you might have guessed, the perfect job for a man who wants to spread the evil seed of communism and the everlasting glory of the USSR upon the American youth. In order to spread this even further, he expanded into writing plays, specifically targeted at a larger audience. This leads us to this play. Last year, Mr. Ken Sarkis wrote another play called Rhythm. This, however, failed to get across as many communist ideas as he may have hoped. Desperate to make a clean shot, he went back to one of his most reliable plays, Shakespeare At Starlucks.
If you have made it here, then you must not believe me yet. Honestly, I’d hope that any good American citizen would have already been out the door with their pitchfork of freedom, but since you are still reading, I guess I am going to have to go into the play itself. In the very first scene of the play you can already see Comrade Sarkis at work. The poor actor who plays Othello is the first pipeline of Ken’s ideas. Othello starts by playing a capitalist, who is seen through a communist lens. He is shown wanting not just one role in the play, but mostly all of them. This rotten perspective of a good American citizen is worked throughout the entire play. The next scene that you can see this is when Prospero arrives. This mighty man obviously portrays a fine Russian ruler, perhaps even Stalin himself, who is there to bring the new recipe of communism, that will brainwash all who drink it. After passing this vile recipe along to be made, he leaves two spies there to watch over his creation, Othello and Prospero’s own daughter, Desdemona. Now comes the grip of the storm. Three heroic capitalists, portrayed as evil, see what is going on and come up with a plan to stop it. This plan includes turning Prospero’s spies against each other and then getting rid of the mighty Russian ruler himself. In order to do this, they supply a heroic undercover spy by the name of Caliban with a test tube of freedom made from poison to pour into Prospero’s drink of communism, now code named, Frappe-Ever-After. As the heroic three American “villains” put their plan into motion, a glorious mix up happens, and the fairy who is sent out to gather the still beating heart from a good Russian girl accidentally rips out the still beating hearts of two wonderful and young American girls. Though this is a disturbing and tragic loss, it is still for a good cause, for it buys the three American “villains” time to execute their plan to end communism. Now, with the stakes set high, we reach the end of the play. Sadly for our heroes, Prospero’s two spies have reconciled and once again are on the prowl. Everything is mostly aligned. As Caliban slips the poison of freedom into Frappe-Ever-After and passes it on, he is caught by the evil heart-ripping fairy, who forces Caliban to drink the drink of communism. This rips poor Caliban’s mind into shreds and forces him to flip on his allies.
In all, this is really a tragic play that entails the victory of communism over the good forces of capitalism, and tries to brainwash all who act in it, and all who watch it. As this has been more of a warning than a review, I will now leave you with the words of our very own David Kocen, “Eleven out of ten! It was okay.” Also, Shakespeare’s goatee is a perfect triangle.
*We went to Mr. Sarkis for comment. He said:
“Besides sparkling with ironic humor it glitters with subtle Truth.”
