It’s been ten years since the then
artistic director of the Festival Darco Tresnjak produced the Bard’s “Hamlet”
on the Festival Stage. Before that it was seventeen years. For those not
holding tickets for this production now would be a good chance to get a pair. “Hamlet”
will be playing through Sept 10th.
The long awaited “Hamlet” with
executive director David Edelstein at the helm started off a bit slowly on
opening night.
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| Grantham Coleman as Hamlet |
After a few technical glitches were
ironed out and the ghost of the dead King (Michael Genet) in full armor, lumbered
onto the drawbridge frightening the bejuses out of the centuries on guard duty,
the production sailed into high gear.
Spooked by what Hamlet’s friend
Marcellus (Amara James Aja) saw that night, he begged Hamlet to return the next
night to confront the ghost.
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| Grantham Coleman and Michael Genet |
When Hamlet comes face to face with
his father’s ghost (“I am thy father’s spirit/doomed to walk the night…”) and gets
the details of his murder by his own brother, he promises without hesitation, to
seek revenge. (“foul and most unnatural murderer”)
Hamlet is not the only tragic figure
in this Shakespearean tragedy of biblical proportions. His father the King is
dead. His mother Gertrude (Opal Alladin) is married to the King’s brother; her
brother-in-law Claudius (Cornell Womack) and “Something is rotten in the state
of Denmark”.
His best pals Rosencrantz (Kevin Hafso-Koppman)
and Guildenstern (Nora Carroll) have turned against him, and are now doing the
King’s bidding.
He is being denied entrance to his
one time lover’s apartment, and the ghost of his deceased father makes his son,
the young prince, swear revenge on his uncle, the king. It’s a murky mess rife
with Oedipal themes and psychological musings.
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| The cast of Hamlet |
Surprisingly, no one in the court of
the Royal Danish Castle of Elsinore, sans young Hamlet, seems suspect of the
sudden death of the King Hamlet or nature of his death (snake bite, they say
while he was sleeping), or of the hasty marriage of Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother to
the kings brother. The body was still warm!
No raised eyebrows from the court’s
counselor, Polonius, not Hamlet’s one time lover Ophelia, Polonius’ daughter
and love interest; no one seems the least bit phased. It’s business as usual.
Edelstein’s casting of this show is,
in many ways pretty much top notch. That Grantham Coleman’s Hamlet is himself
young, good looking, agile, sane and insane at the same time gives another
dimension to this altogether complicated character.
Coleman hops, slides, wanders and
jumps around the stage like an animal seeking out his prey as madness/or not
sets in. His “To Be or Not To Be” soliloquy is pensive, passionate and complex
and edgy, leaning on the moral issues of suicide.
From the outset, when he learns of
his father’s mysterious death and his mothers and uncle’s marriage, his portrayal
as pretending to be mad puts him one step further into an ominous demise. His commitment
to seek revenge takes over his life and even his sanity is in question, a sport
in which Hamlet delights.
His interactions with his friends
change like the wind depending on whether he thinks they are friend or foe.
Most of them, in his mind are foe. And when he pretends to be mad, he is more
than convincing, pouring out the Bard’s words as they belonged to him.
Coleman is a fine enough actor to let
his emotions rage without raging himself. He might be best served to let them
build slowly as the reality of his fate settles in and he discovers the
unthinkable.
In contrast, Cornell Womack’s
Claudius is calm, collected, mature and not deterred in his mission to head his
kingdom whether Hamlet stays in Denmark, goes back to University, goes mad or
disappears (read gets killed off), a chance the new king is willing to take as
he sends the young prince off to England.
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| Cast with Talley Beth Gale, Patrick Kerr and Cornell Womack |
He’s cool and gives a reassuring
atmosphere to the rest of the court. One might note that just below the
surface, he’s revengeful, crafty, burning with rage because Hamlet is so
difficult, but one would hardly notice. His
larger than life presence overshadows his fear of Hamlet, yet Hamlet’s feigned
insanity will soon wear on him.
Gertrude, his mother is another one
who seems unperturbed by the events that just happened. (“Frailty thy name is
woman”) She too appears cool, calm and collected until she also fears Hamlet. Alladin
certainly looks the part and as Gertrude she is aloof and an onlooker rather
than a player.
She casts a worried eye on her son,
but never lends an explanation as to her husband’s death only a reassurance
that what she’s doing is OK. She is on her son’s side except when she’s not.
She’s welcoming of Ophelia and agrees with her until she’s not in agreement.
Claudius’ support system is the sly
like a fox Polonius (Patrick Kerr) who is at his utmost best as the loquacious
and comical (without his knowing, of course) advise giver and general tochas
licker in the court.
Kerr’s performance is such a fine
balance between the old and the young and the experienced and the beginner, the
confident and the hopeful and the soothing and the prickly.
He goes on and on and on so much so
that one wishes he would stop his pontificating already. (It’s in the script) It’s
such fun to watch and listen as he recites, in beautifully balanced cadences,
Shakespeare’s words. We wouldn’t have him any other way.
Ophelia (Talley Beth Gale), his
daughter is in love with Hamlet and from the letters in the letterbox, the
feelings were mutual. Claudius’
intentions are to make sure she does not marry Hamlet. He sees to the kings
every wish even to the point of plotting against Hamlet with the now king.
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| Opal Alladin and Grantham Coleman |
Gale better cast as the insane rather
than the sane young woman in love with Hamlet. As she presents herself going
mad, she’s fragile and at the end of her wits, singing Curtis Moore’s original
compositions, about flowers and wearing a throne of twigs and offering smaller twigs
to the royal couple.
She is most pathetic when she appears
before the royal couple in tattered clothes after she learns of her father’s tragic
death at the hands of Hamlet. Her mad scene (and she really does go mad as
opposed to Hamlet’s feigned madness) is absolutely and tragically agonizing to
watch.
When her brother Laertes (Jonny
Orsini) learns of their father’s death, he’s thundering mad and threatens to
kill Hamlet.
He challenges Hamlet to a duel
admitting to Claudius that he is better with the sword than his one time
friend. He and Claudius cook up a plot to have the blade on Laertes’ sword
laced with poison.
In the background Hamlet’s friend Horatio
(Ian Lassiter) offers fine support as the only person Hamlet trusts. Again, he
convinces that their bonds are strong and Hamlet can always depend on him.
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| Grantham Coleman, Michael Genet and Opal Alladin |
At plays end, when Horatio holds the
young prince in his arms, after his duel is fought and he has drunk the
poisonous wine that killed his mother and Claudius, he cries out in agony,
“good night, sweet prince”; I felt a nag in my heart even though I knew it was
coming.
“The rest is silence.”
A strong ensemble makes up the rest of the players.
They wander in out and about, move the half finished set (Tim Mackabee) of
scaffolding (curious choice) and place and reposition as needed.
Credit Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum as
fight director, David Huber, vocal coach, and Sten Severson, sound design.
Lighting designer Stephen
Strawbridge’s design is some of then best seen on the open stage in some time.
Kudos for that.
Props are minimal and used sparingly.
In the background is a huge (Hit me over the head to make a point) golden statue
of the deceased king, illuminated (Stephen Strawbridge) and overpowering
looking.
Cait O’Connor’s costumes are a mixed
bag with gorgeous looking courtly period pieces on some and others in rag tag
street duds as seen in the players in Hamlet’s ‘play within the play’. Polonius,
“I don’t like the classics in modern dress” is definitely not in script but the
sentiments ring true, at least to this reviewer.
Edelstein, whose expertise is Shakespeare, deserves a stamp
of approval for this well- rounded and outstanding and thought provoking production
of “Hamlet”, which he mentions in his notes on the recent death of his own
father was ‘on his mind’ as he dealt with his own loss.
It’s Shakespeare and “Hamlet” at its best.
See you at the theatre.
Dates: Through Sept. 10th
Organization: The Old Globe
Phone: 619.234.5623
Production Type: Drama
Where: 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA 92101
Ticket Prices: Start at $30.00
Web: theoldglobe.org
Venue: Lowell Davies Festival Stage
Photo: Jim Cox
