Stage review: Shakespeare Coeur d’Alene brings intensity of ‘Hamlet’ to life
At the end of a brief speech given during the intermission of Shakespeare Coeur d’Alene’s production of “Hamlet,” director Mary T. Bowers warned the audience that the show was about to get pretty crazy.
By the time we reached the curtain call, having watched scene after scene featuring murder and madness, I thought “That might have been an understatement.”
William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is a classic for a reason, full of family drama, betrayal and, yes, a lot of madness. It’s dark, but with lots of humor and sword-fighting, it’s wildly entertaining.
This modern adaptation of the play opens as Prince Hamlet (Ben Schulzke) of Denmark is both grieving the death of his father, King Hamlet, and upset that his uncle King Claudius (Jak Oritt) has married his mother, Queen Gertrude (Deborah Marlowe), just two months after his father’s passing.
Denmark, now under the rule of King Claudius, is worried about an invasion from neighboring Norway led by Prince Fortinbras (Joey Kunzler, who also plays Francisco), son of the king who was killed by King Hamlet.
One evening, at Elsinore, home to King Claudius and Queen Gertrude, two soldiers, Barnardo (Jeffrey St. George, who also plays Guildenstern) and Marcellus (Roger Huntman, who also plays Lucianus), see a ghost (Jim Davis) they think looks just like King Hamlet.
The duo call Hamlet’s friend Horatio (Seth Weddle) over to witness the ghost himself, and the men decide to tell Prince Hamlet what they’ve seen.
The next day, the king and queen meet with their adviser, Polonius (Matt Rakes). Claudius allows Polonius’ son, Laertes (Nick Kittilstved), to return to school in France but questions why Hamlet is still grieving the death of his father, forbidding him to return to school.
An upset Hamlet then learns of the ghost from Horatio and wants to see it for himself. Meanwhile, Polonius is helping Laertes prepare for his trip back to France. His daughter Ophelia (Lucille Simpson) admits she’s interested in Hamlet, but Laertes and Polonius caution her to reject his advances.
That evening, Hamlet sees the ghost of his father, who reveals that Claudius poisoned him. The ghost then asks Hamlet to avenge his murder. Hamlet agrees and begins to formulate a plan.
The cast also features Shelby Marcott, Anne Labella, Naomi Babine, Amanda Moore, Amelia Polocz, Jeff Spicer, Sarah Vazquez and Maria Stromberg.
If you’re looking for actors with range, look no further. As Hamlet, Ophelia and Laertes, Schulzke, Simpson and Kittilstved, respectively, really blew me away.
Schulzke portrays Hamlet as if he’s on the brink of breaking down from the opening moment, devastated as he is by his father’s death while also being upset that his uncle has married his mother. He keeps things contained, but after seeing his father’s ghost and learning it was his uncle/new stepfather who killed his father, all bets are off, and Hamlet sets out for revenge.
Simpson’s Ophelia is sweet when audiences first meet her, a young woman interested in the prince. But after experiencing his madness and the death of her father, it’s too much for Ophelia to take, and she has a complete breakdown.
The intensity Simpson brought to the stage in these moments was shocking, in the best way. One minute she was speaking with others, the next she was singing, the next crying and muttering to herself. Her makeup (by Sadie Selby) and hair got more crazed as the show went on, echoing her mental state.
As Laertes, Kittilstved had a fairly tame first three acts. After intermission, for acts four and five, his energy rocketed to 100 and rarely came down, save for scenes in which he was mourning his sister.
Seeing him and Schulzke battle it out, literally, in the final moments of the show was a real nail-biter.
Rakes as Polonius and Oritt as King Claudius also made their presence felt onstage; both were conniving behind the scenes and fairly amiable when in the public eye. Rakes’ Polonius was funny in many scenes (especially when he had to check notes on his phone when speaking with Laertes), but willing to spy on Hamlet for the king and queen in an effort to send him away.
Once Claudius found out Hamlet was on to him, he set his sights on getting rid of him and was all too happy to have others observe Hamlet and build a case for his madness. Watching Oritt’s Claudius realize his plan was unraveling in the final moments of the show was a treat.
Weddle made for a strong Horatio, the voice of reason in the show, and he really did seem devastated by Hamlet’s fate at the end . Marlowe, as Queen Gertrude, also had an incredible last few scenes. The look on her face when she realized – poisoned glass of wine in hand – her current husband was responsible for the death of her first husband and had attempted to kill her son was really powerful.
Marlowe, wiping the sweat off Hamlet’s forehead, delivered a sweet goodbye between the pair.
For all the drama and tragedy of “Hamlet,” there are lots of lighter, more humorous moments thanks to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as well as the Gravedigger, a funny Marcott, St. George and Stromberg, respectively.
Bowers made the fun choice to modernize her production via clothing, like blazers, T-shirts and jeans, glamorous sequined dresses, (costumes by Mary Basta) and props, like cell phones and a laptop, but the Bard’s language remains the same.
If you’ve not seen a Shakespeare play since school, you might feel as if you won’t be able to follow the story, but it’s easier than you think to catch on to the way the characters speak.
As long as there is humanity, there will be betrayal. While the moments of betrayal we experience likely won’t be as intense as the ones the characters in “Hamlet” dealt with, seeing their story still feels like an important lesson about revenge. It may initially feel satisfying, but there’s no telling how much hurt you can cause yourself while trying to hurt others. In the end, is it really worth it?