So the National Endowment for the Arts is paying to bring Shakespeare to the far corners of America. “On the face of it, it seems like a sound idea, but you don’t have to scratch far beneath the surface to detect the icky stench beneath,” writes Dominic Papatola. “By aiming high, the program targets the lowest common denominator: The NEA’s decision to do a nationwide Shakespeare program speaks more to the once-controversial agency’s fear of offending than it does to bringing a master playwright to the masses.”