By Michael Buzzelli
“The Play is the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.”
After Hamlet (Ayden Freed) is visited by the Ghost of his father (David Nackman), he is tasked to avenge his father’s death in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet: The Bad Quarto.”
This isn’t your father’s “Hamlet.” It’s your great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaddy’s version. “The Bad Quarto” was written 20 years before the famous First Folio. While some of the names have changed (to protect the not-so-innocent), the plot remains the same. It’s still a tale of regicide and Hamlet’s indecision, but it’s streamlined in many ways. This is a leaner slice of Ham.
Note: A preview piece about the differences can be found here.
The nuts and bolts remain. Just as it is in the more famous Folio, Claudius (Johnny Patalano), Hamlet’s uncle, murdered his father and married his mother, Gertred (Joanna Lowe), AKA Gertrude (in the famous First Folio).
Claudius’s top advisor, Corambis (Brett Sullivan Santry), AKA Polonius (in the First Folio), is the father of Hamlet’s friend, Laertes (Ryan Rattley), and of his girlfriend, Ofelia (Ailka Samora).
The names Rossencraft (Jordan Coury) and Gilderstone (Lorna Lominac) are slightly altered, but they still plan to betray their friend from college, Hamlet, for a price set by the dastardly King Claudius.
While there are entire passages that differ, including the famous “To Be or Not To Be” speech, it still ends badly for Hamlet and his relations.
P.S. Shakespeare is meant to move. When delivering dialogue, think more Lorelai Gilmore and less Lawrence Olivier. Most actors can reach the end of the soliloquy before Olivier reaches the second “to be.”
The famous speech is in a rough draft here, but its placement makes more sense. He delivers the soliloquy in front of Ofelia rather than alone in a room. It gives the speech more urgency, more meaning.
Jeremy Seghers directs a kinetic version of the play, with a talented cast of hand-picked actors. The show moves at a breakneck pace (it’s hard to believe the runtime is 2 hours and 30 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission).
Side note: Seghers is a director, set designer, costumer, and more. He handles every job but the acting, which he’s left to a stalwart crew of near-perfect professionals.
Freed is a charismatic lead. He embraces the role with zest, playing the Danish prince with zeal. It’s a star turn for the recent Point Park grad. At one point, Freed’s Hamlet melts through the negative spaces of a strategically placed ladder, bending and contorting in his melancholia.
Patalano’s diabolical Claudius is magnificent. Shakespeare even gives the murderous king a moment of anguish and doubt as he begs God for forgiveness, but turns around and plots more villainy.
Lowe’s Gertred is equally brilliant. The scene between Hamlet and his mother is breathtaking. The characters writhe around on the floor in a tumult of feverish emotions. Lowe gets another devastating scene when she carries Ofelia’s corpse into the royal chambers.
Spoiler alert: Gertred’s death is particularly gruesome, when the poisoned wine causes her to foam at the mouth.
Ofelia’s death is heartbreaking because Samora plays her with such a spirited kindness and joy…until her lover’s sword kills her father.
Rattley’s rage as Laertes is palpable. He explodes with fury over the death of his father, and then he collapses in utter grief when his sister dies. It’s another fine performance in a show of flawless performances.
Sullivan Santry’s Corambis is a delightful fool. Normally, this reviewer cheers when Hamlet dispatches Polonius with his sword, but this time, it seemed more bittersweet. Sullivan Santry imbues the fool with enough humanity to make his quick demise sadder than usual.
Even the side characters, Nackman’s wise fool of a Gravedigger, Steven Gallagher’s Jersey Boy Braggart Gentleman, and Mike Psenick’s Player One each get a moment to shine, and they all shine brightly. Lominac doesn’t have many lines as Gilderstone (and fewer as Cornelia), but she delivers them with panache.
The costumes are elegant and tasteful, if understated. The set is simple but ethereal and spooky, with long diaphanous drapes illuminated by candlelight (artificial candlelight… but candlelight nonetheless).
If you’ve seen “Hamlet,” you can marvel at the variations. If you haven’t, you can let the play wash over you anew. “Hamlet: The Bad Quarto” is a chance to see the Danish Prince in a new light.
Mark you well, Pittsburgh theater-goers will be talking about this production for years to come. You don’t want to miss it.
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“Hamlet: The Bad Quarto” runs from June 19 to June 28 at the Richard E. Rauh Studio Theatre, 4200 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For tickets and more information, click here.
