Tavia Williams (Photo by Mike Hardy)
Reviewed by Dana Martin
Long Beach Playhouse
Through May 4th
The play’s the thing at Long Beach Playhouse this spring. This dark incarnation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, adapted by James Rice and Amanda Karr, is set in a dilapidated 19th century asylum where an unnamed patient struggles to accept his father’s death. In order to cope with the loss, the patient ruminates on the story of Hamlet within his fractured and chaotic mind. The provocative concept is intriguing but too often reverts to a conventional telling of the famous tragedy.
First, a review. Hamlet (Sarah Green, Roberto Williams, Autumn Yesterday, Carmen Tunis and Sophia Gonzales respectively) is the troubled, petulant Prince of Denmark. Claudius (Neil Switzer), the newly crowned King of Denmark, has hastily married Hamlet’s mother Gertrude (Rose London) shortly after the death of his brother, the late King. The ghost of the late King is spotted wandering near the castle whereupon Hamlet promptly confronts this spectral incarnation, who then entreats Hamlet to seek revenge for his murder by killing Claudius. Hamlet devises a scheme to entrap Claudius by presenting a story about his father’s murder in a play performed for his “Uncle-Father and Aunt-Mother.” He observes Claudius’s foul reaction and thereby confirms his guilt. He uses the young Ophelia, (Tavia Williams) as a pawn for his schemes, as do Claudius and Ophelia’s father Polonius (Michael Hovance). In a fit of madness, Hamlet murders Polonius. Ophelia cannot come to terms with her grief, loses her mind and drowns herself, incensing her brother Laertes (Lee Samuel Tanng), who challenges Hamlet to a duel. Claudius impetuously decides to poison Hamlet, but his plan goes awry and the bodies hit the floor.
In this adaptation, the play begins in a dingy institutionalized cell of a man who’s lost his mind and cannot navigate his own grief. Snatches of the Bard drift throughout the patient’s incoherent babble and soon, we’re thrust into his skewed and tragic imagination. Madness and grief are overarching themes within Hamlet so the use of this particular story as a means of cathartic release by a patient suffering from mental illness is quite interesting.
Director James Rice sets up a house of horrors — then doesn’t take it quite far enough. The first several scenes are clipped and engaging, but the action slows down considerably as the play progresses. Further, there’s one “core” Hamlet (Green) while the others embody aspects of Hamlet’s personality: Vengeance (Williams), Justice (Yesterday), Wisdom (Tunis) and Innocence (Gonzales). The Hamlet chorus does have moments of brilliance throughout, but the risk of turning the title role into an ensemble endeavor too often outweighs the reward — the actors are weighed down by the task of choral delivery which impedes the pace of the text and decelerates the story.
The five actors playing Hamlet find varying success: Sarah London, the “core” Hamlet, is tasked with driving the production, and she just manages to do so. Green often lacks the inherent emotional drive that spurs the character into action. Sophia Gonzales’s Innocence is fascinating conceptually and as a performer, she understands the assignment. Roberto Williams finds an uneven performance as Vengeance: while he’s the most successful at committing to the emotional stakes, he’s sometimes under-energized. Carmen Tunis’ Wisdom has the least to do or say and therefore falls into the background. Autumn Yesterday’s Justice is calm and measured. Neil Switzer’s Claudius is subdued and straightforward — a pragmatic and unassuming King. Michael Hovance finds a good-natured, fatherly Polonius and brings welcome levity to the production with his textual specificity and exacting comedic timing. Tavia Williams adds a youthful ferocity to her interpretation of Ophelia. Rose London’s Gertrude is outwardly serene, inwardly conflicted.
David Scaglione’s set design suggests institutionalized squalor, yet leaves plenty of space for the play to move. Jesse Bosworth’s lights provide a moody quality. Laurel Mura’s sound design is minimal and sporadic. Christina Bayer’s costumes are hard to place in any time period but somehow manage to synthesize the madness. Alex Shewchuk’s prop design is functional and appropriate.
At least this adaptation of Hamlet has teeth. There are certainly interesting elements; personifying various aspects of Hamlet’s personality and setting the drama within a madman’s fragmented mind is fascinating. The play is at its best when it leans into its own madness and chaos; the least conventional ways in which the story unfolds are the most engaging, by far.
Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 Anaheim St., Long Beach; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru May 4th. www.lbplayhouse.org. Running time: Two hours and 40 minutes with an intermission.
