From the preface of Bob Abelman’s new novella “All the World’s a Stage Fright:”

“To non-theater lovers,” wrote actor Joel Grey in an opinion piece in *The New York Times* shortly after the worldwide outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S., “lamenting the closing of Broadway in the face of so much widespread suffering may seem, at best, frivolous. But for many of us, this tragedy has been made that much more devastating by having to face the nightmare without the laughter, tears and sense of community that a night in the theater delivers.” The same thing happened in London between 1603 and 1613, when the Globe Theatre and other playhouses were shut down for a total of seventy-eight months – more than 60 percent of the time – because of recurring bubonic plague outbreaks. And yet, some of Shakespeare’s best, most creative writing was done in the shadow of this pandemic. While his plays and sonnets were by no means a cure, they were certainly a source of most welcome respite from the suffering. They still are. In immediate response to the coronavirus, London’s National Theatre Live offered a free streaming of its production of the comedy *Twelfth Night* on YouTube. Actor Sir Patrick Stewart recited all of Shakespeare’s sonnets, one each day, on his <https://www.instagram.com/sirpatstew/>Instagram account <https://www.instagram.com/sirpatstew/>. His first post boasted more than 457,000 views and 3,800 comments. And I wrote this fictionalized memoir of a true lover of theater, which is also a love letter to Shakespeare. It is written for those like me – like you, I think – who need live theater and Shakespeare’s prose and poetry now more than ever. NEohioPAL gets a $5 donation for each purchase of this $14.95 book to help it remain a free and vibrant resource for the local theater community. Go to: https://www.grayco.com/coupon/neohiopal/ -- Fred Sternfeld Neohiopal Ltd. Owner and Administrator fredsternfeld@neohiopal.org http://www.fredsternfeld.com/neohiopal/