With the promise of Center Theatre Group‘s Hamlet (both adapted and directed by Robert O’Hara) being bold and daring for the new generation, it is odd to say that despite a very able and entertaining cast and some novel ideas, this production could do without the first half entirely and leave just the second half. And even then, it still doesn’t quite fulfill the promise of being bold or daring. Was it entertaining? Sure. Was it necessary? No.
Most of you should know Hamlet or at least the basic outline of it. Or maybe the kid friendly version with The Lion King? In either case, O’Hara presents a Hitchcockian contemporary noir take that at first intrigued me but while sitting through two-plus hours with no intermission, I was sorely disappointed that the take really only applies in the second half.
The first half is a straight up abridged version of the play that more or less is successful while also feeling extremely rushed at the same time due to all the cuts. By the second half when Fortinbras (Joe Chrest) shows up as a detective and completely switches the dialogue and tone to be that of a modern murder mystery setting, do we actually get the noir adaptation of the play.
Photo by Jeff Lorch
It’s not to say that the first half was bad. In fact, it was a pretty decent rendition of the play with most of the actors more or less able to handle the Shakespearean verse. I was torn whether I liked Patrick Ball as Hamlet as he seemed too suave and composed to truly inhabit the mad prince but at the same time had a good handle on the language. While there are outbursts to suggest the chaotic energy, his performance was mostly… fine. This compliment applies for the rest of the cast with the exception of Ramiz Monsef absolutely chewing the scenery up as Polonius (I personally enjoyed it but I can see those who might say it was way too over the top).
There are certainly interesting takes on the play, especially with the sexually charged non-dialogue opening of Hamlet and Ophelia (Coral Peña) going at each other in the most devouring manner and the queer relationship angle with Horatio (Jakeem Powell) and Hamlet. While the latter I can certainly dig, I wasn’t quite sure of the “Upon my sword” re-interpretation worked with Horatio bending down on his knees to honor the sword being Hamlet’s… uh… manhood. I also could not help notice that the set design and costumes remind me of those found in vertical short films that have somehow made daytime soap operas look like masterpieces in comparison. This might also be intentional by design considering that the kingdom of Denmark is interpreted to be that of a film production company.
Photo by Jeff Lorch
I couldn’t help but shake off the feeling that as fine as this abridged version was, it was… unnecessary. Once the format completely switched up right when Detective Fortinbras shows up and interrogates Horatio, the Gravedigger (Fidel Gomez), Ophelia, Head Attendant (James T. Alfred), and First Player (Jaime Lincoln Smith), I was thrown into such a whiplash and simultaneously the realization that the entire first half could have been thrown out altogether. Start the play right with the investigation because by having the whole buffet without any intermission to reprieve audience members of a pee break, it is a lot to take in.
But if we are to judge just on the second half, we do get to see characters in a whole new light, particularly that of Ophelia and Gertrude (Gina Torres). It also shines a rather harsh reality that a lot of the women characters, particularly in the original version of Hamlet, are indeed terribly written. The modern take does provides a lot of biting and amusing commentary on the misogyny but ultimately I couldn’t quite remove the thought in my head that there was no need to even do this Shakespeare play, especially for the Center Theatre Group.
Photo by Jeff Lorch
Look, the play was fine. I really liked the actors and I guess I commend the Center Theatre Group for trying to give this Shakespeare play new life, especially since the last time they did it was over 50 years ago. But there might be a reason there has been such a large time gap and after this, unless there is a way to truly make Hamlet different from the countless renditions that have been done before in the past, this is still another Shakespeare production with a pretty white boy as the lead and this is still another Center Theatre Group show where it is relying a bit too hard on name actors. But ultimately, it may simply be time to lay this mad tragic prince to rest… permanently.
Hamlet
• Written by William Shakespeare
• Adapted and Directed by Robert O’Hara
• Starring Patrick Ball, James T. Alfred, Joe Chrest, Fidel Gomez, Ty Molbak, Ramiz Monsef, Coral Peña, Jakeem Powell, Ariel Shafir, Jaime Lincoln Smith, Gina Torres, Daniel Zuhlke
• Presented by Center Theatre Group
WHEN:
Performances May 28 – July 6:
• Tuesday through Friday evenings at 8:00 p.m.
• Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
• Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Prices — begin at $40.25
Website — CenterTheatreGroup.org
Phone — Audience Services at 213.628.2772
In person — Center Theatre Group Box Office (at the Ahmanson Theatre) at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012
Groups —CenterTheatreGroup.org/Tickets/Groups-and-Corporate-Offers
Access — Center Theatre Group offers a number of services to accommodate persons requiring mobility, vision, and hearing access.
For more information, please visit CenterTheatreGroup.org/Access.