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| Hamlet at the Public, Sun Matinee -- Spoilers | |
| Posted by: stan 06:57 pm EDT 07/09/17 | |
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| Oscar Isaac was terrific. The rest of the cast were very good. The venue, not so hot -- difficult to understand the Shakespeare when they're speaking away from you. The sets -- there was a folding table and some chairs -- phooey. The costumes -- i'm not so crazy about a leading man in underpants. The direction -- erratic, confusing, disconcerting -- if you didn't know the play, G-d help you. The famous mousetrap play had the same actor (in the same non-costume) playing the actor King in the play within the play who gets poisoned, Claudius, and the dead King Hamlet I. Where was the response of Claudius when the same actor has to abandon his part to react?? The famous ending duel was ridiculous. A group hug?? Still, I'm glad I saw it. Isaac performed in a clear, emphatic way -- with strong emotions and great humor | |
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| re: Hamlet at the Public, Sun Matinee -- Spoilers | |
| Posted by: Chuck 11:00 pm EDT 07/09/17 | |
| In reply to: Hamlet at the Public, Sun Matinee -- Spoilers - stan 06:57 pm EDT 07/09/17 | |
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| Agreed, pretty much. Oscar Issac was excellent, at times thrilling ("Get thee to a nunnery" comes to mind). Other actors were very good but a lot of the direction was a misfire. Sam Gold is very uneven these days - I was a big fan of OTHELLO, not so much GLASS MENAGERIE. | |
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| re: Hamlet at the Public, Sun Matinee -- Spoilers | |
| Posted by: Budinsky 10:42 pm EDT 07/09/17 | |
| In reply to: Hamlet at the Public, Sun Matinee -- Spoilers - stan 06:57 pm EDT 07/09/17 | |
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| Unlike you, I didn't stick around after the second intermission of today's matinee having had my fill of this nonsensical, sophomoric, and absurdly underpopulated production. I thought Gold's OTHELLO was dreadful, so I knew going in that I may have a similar opinion of his HAMLET. Isaac's performance had merit--not an easy feat since he played a great deal of it with no pants. The fact that the only "throne" on stage was a toilet -- how clever! -- encapsulated it all for me. Minimalist Shakespeare when done with grace and intelligence -- the Globe's CYMBELINE at BAM comes to mind -- can be exquisite. This mini-HAMLET, alas, was dreck. |
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