'Pericles: A New Rock Musical' comes to TBPAC

Even if you've seen a lot of Shakespeare, you've probably never seen Pericles. It would certainly not be included in a collection of the Bard's greatest hits.

So you may not be inclined to rush out and get tickets for the upcoming Jobsite Theater "modernization" of the obscure Shakespeare nonclassic.

In fact, even Shawn Paonessa, who wrote the script with Neil Gobioff, says he didn't much like the original at first either.

But, he said, you won't need to know the source material, or even have a particular interest in Shakespeare, to appreciate this new show.

"I don't even like to use the term 'modernization,' " Paonessa said. "It's more like an adaptation."

(Paonessa and Gobioff also wrote The March of the Kitefliers, a wonderful straight play that Jobsite produced twice.)

The show keeps the violence and incest that make the original so arresting, but infuses them with modern language and humor.

There's also lots of new music written and performed by Joe Popp, a former luminary of Tampa's pop-punk scene. He's now based in New York and creates a lot of edgy, original musical theater. He has done several projects with Jobsite, and is perhaps best known to local theatergoers for his punk treatment of Macbeth for American Stage's Shakespeare in the Park in 1997.

Pericles: A New Rock Musical runs through Aug. 23 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Shimberg Playhouse. 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday. $24.50 plus service charge. (813) 229-7827 or tbpac.org.

Marty Clear, Times correspondent