Use adverse these comments in your favour, closer to the production. Emgineer a 'letter to the editor' of your local News Rag, denouncing moderising shakespeare & keep the pot bioling by stiring it up. Nothing like free promotion at little cost.
You might even snag a spot on a TV show, with one of your local talking heads. if you create enough of a bull dust storm.
This article may help you stoke the fire under the pot? ;-http://www.senioryears.com/shakespeare.html

Was old Bill a con man, of course! He pulled a big stroke & Coney [rabbit] out of his titfer, when he fell into this game & would have made every post a winner in order to survive. The timely forced engineered death & dissapearance of Chris Marlow.
{An educated upper crust author]. That allowed his escape to the Contiinent,avioding the debt collectors sword &/or the daggers of irate fairer gender fathers, he left behind. It was a gawd sent bonus for old Willy S.
Also it is believed Willy never ventured further from London, than that of the trades hall stage in Norwich Town, where the troupe he was in performed once. There again the author Greene, who also performed under the stage name of 'Shake Speare' throws some doubt on that. Billy might not of got out beyond his Digs in Southall London?
I can't remember the name of that famous HSND  production. That was the first broke away from tradition? To that of just  a plain colourless set & took it out of the fairy woods for once!

Just don't listen to the bad comments.  I saw a local production of Shakespeare modernized and it was wonderful and gorgeous.  The key is to make it a good production--so have the actors believe in it; have great direction and a great set.  The beauty of theater is that its make believe, and people who attend theater attend wanting to believe.  Artistic risk is my favorite thing--I'm betting yours too.

Your right, there will always be some toffee nose academic purist, that will knock your endeavours.
Take it with a pinch of salt.
When Simon Gallagher devised his take on a series of G&S classics here a few years ago.
Simon & John English added an upbeat to the music & shows. [Dave from P&M sales - I believe is now the UK agent for Simons productions 'ESGEE']
http://www.essgee.com/html/essgeepg2.html

The local G&S Society went butchers hook [Crook] about it in the local media. By making comments of? how dare this upstart change the works of G&S?"
Which worked in Somons favour because he got full houses everywhere the shows went & sold heaps of CD's as well.
Actualy I would not be surprised if someone had of slipped a few dollars for the G&S mobs thru out the country, to get them fired up?
Now that's worth thinking about!

A number of years ago I did a production of Midsummer in modern setting (the royals were all business people and the settings were posh offices and board rooms; the faeries were all sort of goth-like street punks and bag people with the forest settings being alleys and streets).

It was very popular - and was such fun to work on.

If you have a vision, go for it. Nobody else should dictate your vision! (Unless you plan on updating West Side Story, in which case  you should have somebody reign you in and medicate you )