A Modern, Tenacious Take on Hamlet

Shakespeare is getting all kinds of fresh beginnings these days. 

Photo by Amy Anderson

And what a joyful trend it is! First we had the stunningly modern take on Romeo and Juliet at the Guthrie (read my review here - one of my faves I've written lately); now we have a strikingly fresh rendition of Hamlet at Park Square Theater.

Photo by Amy Anderson

Hamlet has proven to be one of theater's most enduring scripts. Why? Something about this backstabbing family speaks to the human condition. As an extremely quick overview: Hamlet is the son of the freshly buried King of Denmark. His uncle has married his mother in an incestuous plot to become king, and Hamlet is having none of it. Things should have ended at Hamlet simply living his life with a surly attitude - but instead, he discovers that his father's ghost is roaming the castle. The ghost tells Hamlet that his father was murdered by his uncle; upon receiving that knowledge, Hamlet wholeheartedly dedicates himself to revenge. Like all Shakespearean tragedies, the plot only gets worse from there for our poor hero; much suffering and death faces the players until finally their lives are all spent and our emotions rung clear through.

Photo by Amy Anderson

This production has an exceptionally young cast. This has the effect of not only making the tightly edited action (the original play is near to five hours or so long, but this production clocks in at around 2 1/2 hours) pop, but really enlivens the material. At the center is Kory LaQuess Pullam as Hamlet. Long a rising star in the Twin Cities theater scene (check out this wonderful recent feature at the Strib), this production seals Pullam's place in Minnesota's thespian zeitgeist; stay tuned for much more from him. Pullam captures Hamlet's heated angst and lends a surprisingly funny gallows humor to the part. His style, mirrored in the rest of the cast, is almost conversational, and his intimate delivery really helps the material feel modern.

Photo by Amy Anderson

Surrounding Pullam is a tight, smart team of fellow young actors. Maeve Coleen Moynihan was my absolute favorite as a shiver-inducingly good Ophelia. Moynihan's delivery is truly haunting and horrifying, and you won't easily forget the finale of her powerful performance. Wesley Mouri is swift and brave as Ophelia's brother Laertes. Mouri shares all of the swashbuckling appeal of a Disney prince, and he charms here in this part. Kathryn Fumie is steadfast as Horatio, and brings a warmth and love to her role that helps enliven Pullam's Hamlet. Charles Hubbel and Sandra Struthers are expertly poised as King Claudius and Queen Gertrude, respectively. Their years of acting experience really shows, and Struthers' understated performance in particular sparkles amidst the more dynamic action on stage. My only unfulfilled request? I wish we could have seen Theo Langason in person as the king's ghost - his vocals are great but the physical representation of the ghost, with his face swathed in black fabric (??) is quite awkward and anathema to the straightforward modernity of the rest of the cast.

Photo by Amy Anderson

The set and staging of this production was truly unique, an it hit a lot of references home for me throughout the performance. The entire set is an enormous off-kilter cube, framed with beaming lights and paved with rough stones, in the middle of the stage. The back-center of this cube is a constant change of projections to move the scenes and intermittently used for closeup videos of the actors, almost as a giant TV set. It's really reminiscent of a mashup of the Ethan Hawke 2000-era film version of Hamlet and basically anything Baz Luhrmann made in the millennial era. It's eerie but effective, and the clean, harsh presentation yanks the audience straight out of fusty traditional territory. Costumes are very Matrix-level, with pleather coats, combat boots and dark sweatsuits attiring the heated actors.

Photo by Amy Anderson

Overall, I enjoyed this production. The first act drags a little despite Director Joel Sass's aggressive cutting; I'm not sure why. They make up for this in the second act, which races into a tempestuous fight scene that ends the show with breathless tension. I really appreciated the fresh take on long-hallowed lines (yes, despite the heavy cutting you will hear your To Be Or Not To Bes and Good Night Sweet Princes) that removed their precious reputations and imbued them with a deeper feeling. It was awesome to see more non-traditional casting and an intentional - and mostly successful - attempt to imbue this very dark plot with a healthy dose of humor. I'm excited to see where this dynamic, fresh acting crew heads after this production. They are the future of our local theater scene, and what a promising prospect we have to look forward to. Hamlet runs at Park Square Theater through November 11. For more information or to buy tickets, click on this link.