Reviewed
by Will Stackman
As
the third Hamlet
in four months around here, the Actors' Shakespeare Project's production of the
longest play in the canon has their usual flair for the unexpected plus
eclectic casting. Directed by the New Rep's Rick Lombardo, the show is being done of the
stage of the old Strand Theatre in Upham's Corner, Dorchester, a Boston
redevelopment area. This once grand movie palace is being slowly resurrected.
Both the audience and the action are mostly on the large stage itself, with all
the seating stage left as per Lombardo's design. There's plenty of somewhat
obstructed overflow seating in the orchestra however. Some of the action does
happen in the house aisles and the Ghost is first seen up in the middle
balcony. The rest of the "set" is three building scaffold units, two
fixed, one rolling, plus a large rolling platform/table, a chaise, and a couple
of bentwood chairs.
The
cast has the usual mixture of styles and training with effective enunciation
being the only commonality. The title role is taken by the company's founder
and Artistic Director , Benjamin Evett, a 20 year veteran of the ART from his student
days at Harvard. His nemesis, Claudius the King, is played Johnny Lee
Davenport, a
widely experienced Shakespearean, seen with Shakespeare & Co., who last
appeared in Orlando Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" in the title role.
His longterm goal is to be the first African-American actor to appear in
important roles in every play in the canon at least once; he has nine to go.
Gertrude the Queen, Hamlet's mother, is done by ASP regular Marya Lowry. Her husband Robert Walsh, who's directed for the company,
plays a vigorous Polonius. Both have appeared in numerous Shakespeare
productions throughout the region. Brandeis M.F.A. Marianna Bassham, seen at the New Rep, the Lyric
Stage, and other prestige venues is Ophelia, Polonius' unfortunate daughter,
Hamlet's sweetheart. Her brother, Laertes, is Yale MFA Edward O'Blenis, whose credits range from
Shakespeare in Nebraska to "Big Trouble in Little Hazard" in NYC.
Horatio, Hamlet's old friend, is done by Willie E. Teacher, a recent Brandeis MFA, who's
done Shakespeare with the Classic Theatre of Harlem and the Colorado
Shakespeare Festival. part of his varied credits.
Most
of the smaller roles are doubled, which brings the cast to 16, counting
avant-garde composer Bill Barclay who performs onstage with the players using a digareedo,
an out of tune piano and singing glasses. He also plays a steel cello under
covered pit during the show. ASP regular Ken Cheeseman appears as The Ghost of Hamlet's
Father, the Player King, and the First Gravedigger, the first two roles which
the Bard may himself have assumed. Fight director Ted Hewlett, another Brandeis MFA, plays
Rosencrantz, the Priest, and at the climax referees the very athletic duel
which starts with rapiers and ends with sabers. Sarah Newhouse, seen last season as Cordelia
and Viola, starts off as Guildenstern, played as a man, and winds up as Osric,
a woman , played as the Queen's social secretary. Skidmore grad Jason Bowen is Marcellus in the opening and
Fortinbras at the end. Patrice Jean-Baptiste, a Trinity MA, does the Player
Queen, and Reynaldo from Polonius' household. Risher Reddick, seen at the Publick Theatre in
"The Beard of Avon" this summer, is ambassador Cornelius--without his
final message--as well as Bernardo, while Robin Smith, a Bowdoin grad is Francisco and
the 2nd Gravedigger. Many of these actors also set and reset the stage,
function as messengers and deal with other necessities.
The
outstanding lighting design from John Malinowski, who's lit almost every
important space in the area including the Boston Common, makes use of the
unusual arrangement of the theater. Arthur Oliver, Shakespeare & Co.s resident
designer, who dressed the ASP's "All's Well..." last spring, has done
this show in indicative modern dress, ranging from the Ghost in a bleached
cammie jump suit to Ophelia in a ruined oversized evening gown for her mad
scene. Claudius is always seen in formal wear, Hamlet in disarrayed black,
except when he borrows motley from the Players. The company's basic metaphor of
actors reinterpreting the text according to their own special skills while
remaining faithful to the original has again resulted in interesting
Shakespeare, at least three hours of it. The integrated cast, especially
appropriate in this venue, adds an contemporary dimension to the production.
ASP is also working with the Strand on a year-long residency starting with
internships during this production and culminating in a production of
"Romeo & Juliet" in the spring by the Strand Youth Theatre.