Hamlet
Reviewed by Lovell Estell III
The 6th Act
Through March 31
Shakespeare’s best plays are a rich source of complex, conflicted characters and readily lend themselves to creative, critical exploration or inspired adaptations. Of course, there are always risks when treading the path of the unconventional, but there are also creative successes. Director Matthew Leavitt’s updated take on the Bard’s famous tragedy, though far from perfect, offers some enjoyable quirks and surprises. This, however, is not a Hamlet that will resonate especially well with those who are new to the play, or, alas, with diehard purists. This version features “modern” additions like cigarettes, popcorn, a radio, a devilishly clever putting green, and a movie projector.
Leavitt has done away with some of the non-essential characters and pared the cast down to a diverse group of six actors (Janet Greaves, Jonathan Medina, Luke McClure June Carryl, Desiree Mee Jung, Cindy Nguyen) to play all the other roles. The night this reviewer attended, all performed except for Nguyen. On balance, they do a good job with the daunting task of role-swapping throughout the evening. But the heart of the play is the tormented Prince himself, and here the performances are particularly engaging.
Each actor brings their own peculiar talents and interpretation to the character, some better than others. Greaves (who also does a great job as Polonius), is the best of the lot, her performance being more emotionally resonant and robust and, more importantly, projecting the requisite gravitas. Both Medina and McClure (the latter galloping through the opening moments of the famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy) inject a lethal playfulness into the role, while Jung’s performance is more restrained and deeply pensive, as is Carryl’s to a lesser degree.
The production is formatted in a series of scenes, and it is sometimes difficult to parse out what is happening onstage and who is who. This is especially evident in the play’s opening segments. Pacing is also a problem. Act I is agonizingly long, and while the short second act fares better, it could still benefit from a more concise tempo. The final bloody reckoning is quite well done.
Leavitt does a clever job in staging this play, making the most of limited space. The set design by Gary Lee Read is simple, yet attractive and functional: blue tinged panels painted with flora-like images, a prominent window, a door and two upper tier windows. Josephine Wang provides an equally effective lighting schema.
The New American Theatre, 1312 N. Wilton Pl., Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through Mar. 31. https://hamletla.eventbrite.com. Running time: two hours and 40 minutes with an intermission.
