Phillyist Reviews... Hamlet

Poor Hamlet (the play, not the character). It's one of those plays that just can't catch a break. Hell, there's even a play called I Hate Hamlet. And yet, it manages to be one of the most quoted plays in the canon, one of the most frequently taught plays from its time, and (one could argue), one of Shakespeare's most analyzed (and over analyzed!) works.

I happen to really like Hamlet, which is why I was skeptical at the news that the Lantern Theater would be mounting a production this spring, especially when the cast was announced. It's not that I have anything against Geoff Sobelle (I love him, actually) or Mary Martello (ditto); it's just that I was having a lot of trouble picturing them as Hamlet and Gertrude, respectively. But it turns out that any anxieties I may have had about Sobelle and Martello helming Hamlet were quickly assuaged as they (and, for the most part, the rest of the cast) did an excellent job not just at bringing the show to life, but at making it accessible to those who didn't understand or like the play when they had to read it in high school.

To be sure, Sobelle isn't exactly the teenager that Shakespeare wrote, but too old for the part or not, he performed it to the "T"—petulant, manipulative, and quite possibly mad. In fact, I have nothing but good things to say of Sobelle's performance, or of Martello's (she made Gertrude seem more human but no less superior than most actresses who play the part), nor of the performances of Melissa Dunphy, Dallas Drummond, or Dave Johnson (Ophelia, Guildenstern, and Rosencrantz), nor of many of their co-stars. But I did have one problem with the Lantern's Hamlet. A problem so big that it really diminished my enjoyment of the show.

That problem, was Joe Guzmán as Claudius. Perhaps it's that I've not been especially receptive of Guzmán's other plays I've seen, but nothing about his performance worked for me. In fact, if Hamlet didn't kill his uncle/stepfather, I very well might have. Scenes with Claudius often felt painfully slow, no matter how dynamic the actors with whom he shared the stage were. I'll even admit to attempts at escapism during Claudius's longer monologues in the form of closing my eyes and thinking happy thoughts for a few moments. (What bothered me about this was that I ran the risk of missing Sobelle or Martello on an entrance or key line, but otherwise it seemed a solid solution.)

Is it worth going to Hamlet before it closes this weekend? Absolutely. You'll be charmed by Sobelle's Hamlet, Dunphy's Ophelia, Martello's Gertrude, and Johnson and Drummond's R&G. But be prepared to catch up on lost sleep during Claudius's "my office is rank" soliloquy. It's not an ideal situation, but it's a decent trade-off.

The Lantern Theater's production of Hamlet, directed by Charles McMahon, continues through May 17 at St. Stephen's Theater (10th and Ludlow Streets in Center City). Image courtesy of the Lantern.