EMA Review: Hamlet **1/2 Still Hungry

The play’s the thing

By Paul Atreides

Author, Playwright, and Theatre Critic at EatMoreArtVegas.compaul-atreides.com  

I’m all in when it comes to making Shakespeare more accessible to – or should that be for the masses. It’s an admirable task. Nevada Shakespeare Festival’s Matthew Morgan is doing just that with this year’s productions.

Hamlet is the current effort. It's adapted and directed by Morgan; it’s got a great concept by setting the entirety in and around a trashy trailer park in Georgia. He’s used country music with line dancing to put the audience in the middle of Claudius and Gertrude’s wedding reception. He even gets in a few bars from Les Miserables in one scene. Later on, after the intermission, he plays out the pirate attack Hamlet writes about in his letter to Horatio. This incident facilitates Hamlet’s return to Denmark from exile in “New England.” Even though the script was not changed from using “Denmark” to the US, those things are fun and get–and–keep the audience invested. (Except, if you’re going to relocate, commit to it 100 percent.)

Morgan has also used nontraditional casting. Polonius and Rosencrantz are played by women. Considering all the roles were played by men back in Shakespeare’s time, it was refreshing to see things switched up a bit.

I wanted to love it all. I really did.

But the extremely poor sound did it in. The production is being presented in a humongous circus tent on the grounds of Cornerstone Park in Henderson. It’s cavernous, and as a result, it sounds cavernous. Voices echoed with reverb through the upper reaches of the tent, making it impossible to discern much dialogue at all. Sadly, I think this caused a good portion of the audience to leave during the intermission.

The Bard’s language is beautiful, particularly when delivered by actors who know what they’re saying. That detail makes it even more accessible to those who shy away from anything Shakespeare.

The acting here – what little of it could be heard clearly – was decent overall. Annette Houlihan Verdolino, as Polonius, does a fine job, though she is the only actor who uses any southern twang. Consistency in dialect with the entire cast would have cemented the intended Georgian trailer park.

Brandon Alan McClanahan delivers the angriest Hamlet I have ever witnessed, from start to finish. “The play’s the thing” is a revelation for Hamlet as he divines a way to show everyone his father was murdered and by whom; it should come across as somewhat of a joyful inspiration. But McClanahan shows nothing of the sort.  Even the infamous “to be or not to be” soliloquy on life, death, and living in such an unjust world is thoroughly tinged with anger instead of questioning angst.

As Claudius, Christopher Brown gets to deliver one of Shakespeare’s most reverent and intimate speeches. The character is praying for forgiveness and relief from the guilt he carries for killing his own brother, though he isn’t truly sorry (he hasn’t and doesn’t want to give up the fruits of the crime). Instead, Brown begins the soliloquy as if he is addressing the townsfolk rather than the heavens, seeking guidance. It’s his interaction with Laertes, played to good effect by Jamie Maurice Clay, where Brown redeems himself as the two plot to thwart Hamlet’s revenge.

Other than sound, the production values are quite good. The costumes, the staging, the lighting, and especially Kenneth Merckx's fight choreography. It’s tough to stage a fight in a thrust stage situation and keep it realistic to all sides, but Merckx managed to accomplish it.

Hopefully, the sound issues will be resolved and audiences will have a fully accessible production.

What: Hamlet

When: 7 :30 p.m., Wednesday – Saturday through May 17

            3 p.m. Saturday, May 11

Where: Cornerstone Park, 1600 Wigwam Parkway, Henderson

Tickets: $5 - 30; nevadashakespearefestival.com

Grade:  **1/2 Still Hungry

Producer: Nevada Shakespeare Festival, City of Henderson; Director: Matthew Morgan; Set Design: Roxy Mojica; Lighting Design: Jasmine Garcia, Jordan Z. Hall; Sound Design: Matthew Morgan; Dance Choreographer: Johanna Sapakie; Fight Choreographer: Kenneth Merckx; Costumes: Candice Wynants; Stage Manager: Jenay Reitze