I forget exactly when I learned that
Hamlet was making an appearance off Broadway at the
Public Theater. As soon as I heard, though, I made a calendar note to buy tickets when they went on sale. That day arrived, and I discovered that there were not many available seats. Wondering what was going on, I settled (not entirely begrudgingly) for a seat in the front row, stage left.
Researching the cast led me to an answer as to the relative unavailability of tickets. Hamlet was played by Oscar Isaac. While many of the audience likely knew him from his turns in
Star Wars and
X-Men, I recognized him from his early role in
Pu-239, an excellent film about a radioactive element. He was only one noteworthy cast member, however. Keegan-Michael Key (Horatio) was familiar from his
Key and Peele days. Anatol Yusef (Laertes) appeared in AMC TV show
Preacher, another favorite. To top all of that off, though, I recognized two cast members from their turns on
Law & Order: Peter Friedman (Polonius) and Ritchie Coster (Claudius). With a cast like that, how could I possibly miss it?
I took an overview of the Anspacher Theater upon entering. Where was the stage? There is none
per se, although a raised portion of the floor upstage could serve as one. The lack of a true stage, though, meant that the action would be on my level (literally) and only a few feet in front of me. Given that, there was not much of a set--a rectangular table, some chairs, and a few props. There were several pillars which, unfortunately, blocked patrons' view of portions of the action. As they appeared to be supporting the building, though, they were not movable. Those of us seated in our location were warned by an usher of three things. First, the outlet upstage was not for charging cell phones. (Apparently someone had done this the previous night. Stupid.) Second, the closed door was not an exit. Third, the garbage can was not a garbage can; it was a prop. Informed, we were ready for the evening.
After a brief prologue by Keegan-Michael Key, the action began. Claudius (actually it was Hamlet's father portrayed by the same actor) entered, shirtless and with IV ports in his arm. It was the first of several oddities of the evening. Costumes were modern dress--Hamlet in black sweats, Polonius in a smart business suit, Claudius in a henley shirt and slacks. While the atmosphere was modern, the dialogue was original Shakespeare, and it fit perfectly.
One additional facet of this production was live music. Instrumentalist Ernst Reijseger was upstage, playing the cello and pump organ. The music, while at times distracting, did create a great atmosphere for the play. The performance was captivating; at times, I found myself watching the musician instead of the actors.
How does one stage a castle exterior without a castle exterior? One turns out the lights and has actors speak lines in the dark. Novel, interesting, weird. This opening was the first clue that each of the seven actors would be performing multiple parts, something that would cause difficulties later in the evening. It became apparent early on how the director, Sam Gold, would shorten his production. All traces of the Fortinbras sub-plot were removed.
Ophelia's first appearance set the tone for her character. This was not a wishy-washy character, but rather a female with a presence and an attitude. Gayle Rankin was unknown to me prior to the play, but certainly was not by its finish. Her performance was one of many highlights.
Claudius seemed appropriately slimy upon his arrival. While this may have been intended, my previous experience with Ritchie Coster probably helped matters. In
Law & Order he had been cast as a serial killer, a corrupt cop, and a porn film producer. I won't say he was typecast from the outset, but he was perfectly fit for the role of Claudius.
The secret of the non-exit door upstage was revealed when Polonius delivered his remarks to the courier sent to spy on Laertes. The door swung open and,
a la LBJ, Polonius did business while sitting on a toilet doing business. The door concealed a bathroom and utility closet, and this set piece would get considerable use during the evening. It was a unique addition to the play, and it provided considerable humor. Hamlet's antic disposition was displayed by his emergence from the bathroom, clad only in black T-shirt and briefs, with a paper toilet seat cover around his neck.
When the players arrived at the castle, confusion reared its head. Cast members in dual roles took up the spots as players, switching back and forth between roles with no costume changes. Laertes became the Player-King, delivering the speech about Priam. When Polonius delivered his line about the player turning red and crying, the actor literally had done so. It was striking to say the least. This was a cast that were serious about their roles and cared about their characters.
The first of two intermissions occurred after "The play's the thing...." It was the first time I have seen
Hamlet with multiple intermissions. The break was nice for the audience, and it was necessary for the MVP of the night, the theatre carpet! Hamlet's second soliloquy involved, in part, him stabbing a lasagna to death. (Ophelia had brought it to stage earlier, eating away her distress over Hamlet's lunacy.) Portions of the lasagna ended up on the carpet, as had flower petals and stems that had begun the evening on the table on stage. A carpet sweeper took care of the issues and we were ready for the second part.
The action opened with Hamlet supine on the table, much as his father had been at the start of the first part. His interaction with Ophelia was graphic, and it led her to tears, which from my vantage point were real. It was striking to see an actress so believably into her role. Eventually, she ended up in the bathroom, head over the toilet.
The play within a play showed both directorial positives and negatives. All of Hamlet's instruction to the players were intact. The dumb show, much to his chagrin, was hilariously overdone, with Keegan-Michael Key as the King. His death scene was truly ridiculous. How could Claudius have missed it? Easy; he was in the bathroom. (Cue toilet flush.) This was a great way to deal with a sticky situation. The remainder of "The Mousetrap" was a muddled mess, though. Claudius and Gertrude played the roles of the king and queen within the play. Coster with shirt--Claudius; Coster without shirt--Hamlet's father/player king. How could they watch a play while they were in it? (I doth protest too much methinks?) Hamlet played the role of Lucianus. He delivered the poison via syringe, which he had received from the ghost (?) at their earlier meeting. Claudius' call for lights made no sense. What was the cue, the fact that he was being murdered? The interrelationship among characters was displayed, but the production would have been better served with a few more cast members to eliminate the confusion.
Claudius' soliloquy and Hamlet's "Now might I do it" soliloquy were delivered with the two actors immediately next to each other, separated only by the rectangular table turned on its side. How does one not hear the other? Best not to ask. This is a consistent problem among productions I have seen, and the problem was not resolved this evening.
Poor Polonius met his end shortly thereafter, and Peter Friedman demonstrated an excellent ability to portray a corpse. (That's a compliment!) After spilling stage blood on the carpet, he was dragged about the stage area by Hamlet and then hidden in plain sight--in the audience in a vacated chair with Playbill in hand. Not once did he break character. The second part of the play drew to a close with Claudius urging England to "Do it" and then discovering the body in the audience.
The third part opened with a dead Polonius lying supine on the stage floor. Ophelia's mad scene was among the best I have seen. She was in all parts believable; her song (with live accompaniment) was well-played, her tears were real, her emotion seemingly so. It was a credit to Gayle Rankin's abilities. The carpet took the brunt of her madness. Two potted plants were emptied of their soil on the floor and on Polonius' legs. (He never broke character.) Flowers ended up on his legs. A drink offered by Claudius and swatted by Ophelia ended up on Polonius' crotch (and in the audience). Then, in a directorial gem, Ophelia emerged from the bathroom carrying a garden hose attached to the utility sink. She doused herself and lied down next to her father while the hose continued to soak his suit, her costume, and the carpet. Alas, she had drowned.
A fantastic transition followed. The lights came up, Polonius and Ophelia sat up and voila! They were the gravediggers. Part of the action involved them shoveling up the mess Ophelia had made on the carpet. The gravedigger scene was humorous and well-played. Hamlet and Horatio watched the action from the audience, Hamlet in the very seat Polonius had occupied previously, leaving that audience member quite the story to tell. (Oscar Isaac took my seat!) The quarrel between Hamlet and Laertes left both emotional, as well as wet and muddied. The climactic duel was mediocre, and the dagger was a syringe. (Why?) Claudius died and somehow turned into Hamlet's father (the shirt came off) and hugged him. It was wondrous strange. Horatio's final speech, normally delivered to Fortinbras, was instead delivered to the audience. It was not really necessary, as ending on "The rest is silence" would have been sufficient.
A friend and I were discussing recent performances of
Hamlet that we had
seen--he in London, I in NYC. His trip was as poor as mine
was excellent, and he hit upon something as we chatted. When the cast
members care about the play and show it, that can excuse considerable
ills. The cast I saw were excellent. All played their roles well, with kudos to
Anatol Yusef and Gayle Rankin for their realistic portrayals of
emotions. Oscar Isaac was believable and did not resort to slapstick
madness. It was great to see Ritchie Coster and Peter Friedman live and
in person, and both were impressive in their performances. The actors made up for the few directorial oddities, although Sam Gold also deserves considerable credit for an excellent show. For being three and one half hours long, it did not feel it. The action flowed and kept my interest right to the end.
I ended my previous review questioning my degree of
Hamlet criticism as too severe. After seeing this performance, I realized that it's not expecting too much for a production that is done right. This one was.
