Hamlet

Saw Hamlet at the Atlantic Theatre Lab (16th St.). It was a student production, I suppose, but quite good overall. (The director was there, and most of the audience -- largely NYU acting students -- knew her and/or the actors.)

It was cool to see Polonius played as a pompous ass but not a doddering old man (the actor was young and tall, and very, very funny). Gertrude and Claudius were quite good, and Horatio was well done (he is much more present than usual, so it becomes more believable that he is the last man standing at the end). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were hysterical -- and especially the one of them that also played the grave digger. He was perfect.

Hamlet himself was pretty good, although it's tough to do the 2B or not 2B speech -- it's just too well known, and very hard to do it in a way that is fresh, meaningful and un-self-conscious. It wasn't well done here. Hamlet's chemistry with his fellow actors seemed a bit off, which may or may not have been a purposeful part of the direction. Are we supposed to believe that he is a lot more comfortable with men (other than his uncle, natch) than with women? This is what I gather from his hearty welcomes of Horatio and the players, and his strained, cold/distant interaction with Gertrude and Ophelia. But that doesn't quite make sense. We are also supposed to believe that he genuinely cared for Ophelia, I think, so that her "betrayal" is a real blow to him. Or maybe not. It's not quite clear. But he's reasonably upset that The Powers That Be are using his old chums R&G and his old flame O to monitor him.

Ophelia was a real disappointment to me. I think she may have been chosen for her ability to seem mad, rather than her acting. But it is a tough role, especially for a modern woman. Her motivations are not fully fleshed out in the text, and the societal norms that may once have justified a descent into madness are no longer part of our culture. Tis strange, tis wonderous strange.

Hamlet certainly isn't my favorite Shakespeare play, but it is very familiar. (Naturally, as a Shakespeare addict, I have seen the play multiple times, both live and on film -- including the Glenn Close/Mel Gibson movie, the "Denmark Inc." take on it (with Ethan Hawke), and the surreal Kenneth Branaugh version. But I also took a class on it in college -- yes, an entire semester devoted to Hamlet).

So it was a lot of fun to hear the familiar phrases and speeches, including some famous sayings that people do not necessarily associate with the play, taking new life in the breath of these young actors and actresses.