A Theater Review [with post-credit cookies] by Julinda D. Lewis
By: Richmond Shakespeare
At: Gottwald Playhouse at Dominion Energy Center, 600 E. Grace St., Richmond, VA 23219
Performances: October 19 – November 12, 2023 | EXTENDED to November 17
Ticket Prices: $20 – $45
Info: (804) 340-0115 or quilltheatre.org
Everyone has heard of Hamlet. Some of us read it in high school. Some have seen productions on stage or film. Others have avoided it like the plague. Wherever you sit along this spectrum, Richmond Shakespeare’s Hamlet will bring out a new-found love and admiration for Shakespeare’s most well-known drama. Seriously. I personally know people who either knew little to nothing about Hamlet or had an aversion to Shakespeare in general, who raved about this production after seeing it.
Hamlet is a play about loss, unbearable grief, betrayal, revenge. . .and a ghost. When Prince Hamlet’s father, the King of Denmark, dies suddenly – under suspicious circumstances – Hamlet’s mother marries his uncle Claudius. Hamlet and members of the king’s guard experience a visitation from a ghost who appears to be the spirit of Hamlet’s father, and set the stage for a revenge plot.
Joshua Carter is an engaging and intense Hamlet, who cunningly slips in and out of madness. His grief appears authentic and his unhinged rants convincing. Physically he is controlled and seems always on the verge of erupting like a human volcano. His voice is beautifully resonant, well-modulated, and his gestures are tight and just eccentric enough to place him outside of our time. This is significant because this Hamlet is clothed in contemporary garments.
At the celebration of the new King’s court, the attendees wear tuxedos and most of the women wear semi-formal or business attire. Interestingly, Ophelia, Hamlet’s sometime love interest, favors cowboy boots – glittery ones for special occasions.
Joseph Yeargain, as Claudius, is suave and slimy at the same time, and it’s never clear whether Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude (Lucretia Marie) is involved in the murder and power plots or if she just goes along with whatever the men in her life tell her to do. Neither scenario is enough to stir any real sympathy for her.
The same cannot be said for Ophelia. Rosemary Richards tugs on our heartstrings as she plays her heart out, from the heights of love to the depths of despair, from beautiful fair maiden to a wretched shell of herself.
All is not doom and gloom. Avery Michael Johnson gives new meaning to the word “loyalty” as Hamlet’s friend, Horatio, and someone made an absolutely brilliant and hilarious decision to cast Toby O’Brien and Rachel Garmon-Williams as Hamlet’s friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Did I remember to say Hamlet’s stoner friends?
The entire ensemble, including Jody Ashworth as the Ghost of Hamlet’s father, MaryBeth Adams as the king’s counselor, Polonius, Robbie Winston as Laertes (son of Polonius and brother to Ophelia), John Moon as an unintentionally witty gravedigger are deserving of recognition, individually and as a collective. James Ricks’ direction is intuitive and when the play is over it comes as a shock to discover that nearly three hours have passed.
Don’t get thee to a nunnery, but do get thee to the Gottwald Theatre to see this marvelous production. Oh, and I sat with my husband and a friend in the front row of a bank of seats that is practically on the stage. My heart was in my mouth during the sword fight, and from my vantage point I also got to see the expressions of other audience members. Be daring – sit there! You can always change your seat after intermission if you chicken out. Your estimation of William Shakespeare, Hamlet, and Richmond Shakespeare will be forever elevated.
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Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County. When not writing about theater, she teaches dance history at VCU and low impact dance fitness classes to seasoned movers.
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Hamlet
by William Shakespeare
Directed by James Ricks
Cast
Hamlet …………… Joshua Carter
Claudius …………… Joseph Yeargain
Gertrude …………… Lucretia Marie
Ghost/Player King ……… Jody Ashworth
Horatio …………… Avery Michael Johnson
Polonius …………… MaryBeth Adams
Ophelia …………… Rosemary Richards
Laertes .…………… Robbie Winston
Guildenstern/Francisco/Player
Queen/Priest ……… Rachel Garmon-Williams
Rosencrantz/Fortinbras/
Bernardo ………… Toby O’Brien
Gravedigger/Marcellus/
Player …………… John Moon
Voltimand/Osric/
Player ……………. Keegan Ferrell
Ensemble …………….. Kenjae Lundy, Milind Murthy
Production & Design Team
Artistic Director ……. James Ricks
Managing Director ……. Jase Smith Sullivan
Costume Design ……. Keith Walker
Lighting Design ……. Gretta Daughtrey
Set Design ……. Frank Foster
Sound Design ……. Kate Statelman
Production Manager ……. Melissa Johnston-Price
Stage Manager ……. MariaElisa Costa
Fight Choreography ……. Aaron Orensky
Assistant Stage Manager … Diandra Chiaffino-Butts
Properties ……. Jordan Dively
Run Time: About 3 hours including one intermission
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Photo Credits: David Parrish Photography
HAMLET ON NBC “12 ABOUT TOWN”
https://www.nbc12.com/video/2023/11/03/hamlet-continues-through-nov-17/
AN OBSERVATION
In Act I Hamlet is seen reading – and eating the pages of – a book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln. The authors propose that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children with her whose descendants later emigrated to southern France where they became part of a secret society called the Priory of Sion. The authors further concluded that the Holy Grail of legend is both the womb of Mary Magdalene and the sacred royal bloodlines she birthed.
AN ANALOGY
Hamlet:Claudius as David:Saul
Just as the biblical David had a chance to kill the treasonous King Saul while hiding in a cave, but he chose not to, Prince Hamlet had a chance to kill his uncle, the treasonous King Claudius, as he prayed, but he chose not to.
YOU DO SPEAK SHAKESPEARE!: Phrases We Got From Hamlet
To thine own self be true.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Murder most foul.
Pernicious woman!
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, that are dreamt of in your philosophy.
The time is out of joint.
Although this be madness, there’s method in it. [i.e., a method to one’s madness]
There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so.
What a piece of work is a man.
I know a hawk from a handsaw.
The play’s the thing!
To be or not to be…
Conscience makes cowards of us all.
Get thee to a nunnery!
Oh, woe is me!
Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.
Suit the action to the word.
The lady doth protest too much!
Act your age!
Sweets to the sweet.
The dog will have his day.
The grinding of the ax.
Good night, sweet prince.
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