Hamlet--Playing A Tragedy For Laughs

By Joseph Cervelli

I first came upon the brilliant actor Oscar Isaac in the off Broadway play “Grace” a few years ago. While the play itself was fair, Isaac took the stage by storm especially in his one scene where his primal scream was electrifying. He has proven to be just a fine an actor in films, most especially “Inside Llewyn Davis” and the more recent “The Promise.” 

In Sam Gold’s muddled new version of “Hamlet” at the Public there are a few saving graces and Isaac is certainly at the top of that list.  As the famous Dane he is true to the character in occasionally being deep in thought though not as contemplative as portrayed by a slew of fine actors including both Ralph Fiennes and Jude Law both of whom portrayed Hamlet on Broadway. Isaac plays him with a visceral, emotional ferocity none of which I have seen before. This is not to say that the actor becomes so demonstrative that his famous soliloquy “To be or not to be” is less than introspective. He is experienced enough to know when to come on strong and when to be pensive. 

Yet, as terrific as he is and almost worth the endurance test of a “Hamlet” which runs close to four hours with two intermissions, Gold whom I normally have a fondness for with his originality flounders badly here. I admired the director’s deconstructing last season’s  “The Glass Menagerie” which worked beautifully for me and his placing actors right at the very front of the stage in his powerful “Look Back in Anger” a few seasons back. However, here he has turned what is considered one of the finest pieces of literature into a silly, convoluted mess. 

Gold who found much more success with his thrilling production of  Shakespeare’s “Othello” from last season staged the opening scene of that play in the dark. While I had some reservations with that, his staging the opening of “Hamlet” also in darkness makes more sense. For it is in the dark when suddenly a faint light comes on and  the two officers on night watch see the ghost of Hamlet’s late father who was murdered by his brother Claudius now King of Denmark. 

Gold has the nine actors doubling various parts which does work although some of the other performers do not match up to the superiority of Isaac. 

Ritchie Coster portrays both the Ghost and Claudius and is a bit too laid back as the latter. His calculating nature is never forthright and his crazed desire for power never is convincing. The  usually fine Charlayne Woodard makes for a less than impressive Gertrude and is not helped by costume designer Kaye Voyce putting her in an unflattering pants suit or is  lounging pajamas?  Roberta Colindrez and Matthew Saldîvar  who was quite funny in “Honeymoon in Vegas” and touching in “Daphne’s Bare” are both far from the bumbling and crowd pleasing clowns Rosencrantz  and Guildenstern. I have never seen such lumbered portrayals of both those characters as portrayed  these two actors. The famed line “Frailty thy name is woman” certainly does not apply to the lasagna (not kidding) eating Ophelia played too strongly by Gayle Rankin. Gold has her singing some blue grass style number in her mad scene. Instead of her being vulnerable she has a hardness that you would expect to see in the new Netflix show “Ozark.”

Yet, on a more positive note the always reliable Peter Friedman does quite well as the pompous Lord Chamberlain Polonius although having him sit on a toilet giving instructions to his son Laertes (a fine Anatol Yusef) was absurdly foolish. Speaking about foolish, having Ophelia drown herself by turning on a garden hose over her head is dumb enough without having her then falling on her father’s grave with. Keegan-Michael Key does well as Horatio although in the staged play “The Murder of Gonzago,” he plays his scene for slapstick laughs going way overboard. 

The purpose of that “play” which mirrors the death Hamlet’s father  has added lines written by our hero pointing  an accusatory finger at Claudius. Yet, for some inexcusable reason Claudius leaves as “Gonzago”  begins which makes no sense whatsoever while  Gertrude’s reaction is so unemotional it is as if she is on a sedative.  

While Gold does adhere to Hamlet’s demise at the end of the play it makes little sense  having both Claudius and Gertrude remain alive. Talk about deconstruction.  

If you are well acquainted with the play you might find yourself shaking your head at much of the director’s interpretation, yet if you are unfamiliar with it you certainly will be completely  baffled at its conclusion if you last that long. 

Tickets are available at the Public Theater/Anspacher Theater 425 Lafayette Street or by calling 212.967.7555. Limited engagement ends September 3. 

PHOTO CREDIT: CAROL ROSEGG