“Hamlet” is among the best plays ever written and deserves careful preparation and execution.
The MSU Department of Theatre’s production is entertaining and mindful of Shakespeare’s intent - overall, a success.
The play, directed by theater Professor Frank Rutledge, ran Thursday through Saturday and continues this Thursday through Sunday at Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre.
What really made this play good was the lead actors.
Mike McKeogh, who said playing Hamlet was the opportunity of a lifetime, was clearly prepared for his performance. He delivered his lines passionately and skillfully.
McKeogh is able to pass Hamlet off as a smart aleck when he needs to, and genuinely emotional as well.
Often the problem with Shakespeare’s verse is the actors’ deliveries sound forced and fake. This was true with a few of the characters in MSU’s production, but most of the main characters handled their lines well.
Again, this is true with R. Scott Cantrell as Claudius. He spoke nonchalantly, as if Elizabethan English was common.
Fitting with Shakespeare’s occasionally bawdy humor, the director included a few sight gags, which at times seemed unnecessary. But when the bard’s own words were meant to be funny, the cast did a good job of making the audience see the humor.
In this adaptation, many of Horatio’s lines were cut, disappointingly. Admittedly, performing the full text would have been a marathon for the cast and audience, and as with most productions, shortening the play was necessary.
There’s an interesting addition by the director, the role of Horatio’s girl, who does not have a speaking part. It may help this weekend’s audiences to know that her character, Horatio’s beau, is intended to contrast Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia.
The scene when Rosencrantz and Gildenstern confront Hamlet at the request of the queen was amusing. The conversation showed Hamlet was smart enough to see right through the queen’s setup and was at the same time fun to watch.
Throughout the play, everybody tries to use Hamlet for their own devices, which is unfortunate, because Hamlet is really just a young man trying to work things out.
Those unfamiliar with the story might want to know a bit about it before they go, instead of trying to figure it out as the play progresses.
It’s all about Hamlet (surprise!), the prince of Denmark. He is visited by the ghost of his recently deceased father, the king, who tells Hamlet he was murdered by his brother, Claudius. Claudius has taken the throne and with it, the former king’s wife, which upsets Hamlet immensely.
Over the course of the play, Hamlet ponders revenge against Claudius, his relationship with his mother, his love for Ophelia and of course, his own existence (“To be or not to be ...”).
Some people think the world revolves around them. For Hamlet, it does.
The end is dramatic and exciting. It’s a barn-burner finish and was surely the action-thriller of its day. It’s a little shorter in this version, Fortinbras fails to make his appearance, but that’s not what we were really looking forward to anyway.
Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre. Tickets are $10, student and senior tickets are $8.
