‘Hamlet’ shines but all is not well

Julia Keimach’s senior thesis production of Shakespeare’s classic, “Hamlet,” can be best described as un-balanced. Certain aspects of the play truly shine, but the overall experience is crippled by a series of odd artistic choices that distract from the sometimes terrific acting and interpretation.

The play is showing in the Berlind Rehearsal Room, which looks just like one would expect. The portable chairs lined up against three of the room’s walls are on the same level as the actors — there is no real stage — creating a misleadingly informal feel that contrasts harshly with the tone of the play and the elaborate costumes. The set pieces also seem geared toward a more aesthetically pleasing forum, as they are simple and elegant enough to enhance an already beautiful stage but not sufficient to draw the audience into the play and make them forget that they are sitting in stackable chairs in a rehearsal room. Even in moments of total darkness, the glow from the lighting-control computers always reminded me of where I was and the fact that I was watching a play.

Noticing all of these details before the show began, I almost expected the play to be framed as some sort of meta-rehearsal, or at least for there to be some sort of acknowledgement of the mismatched setting. The mirrors should be left uncovered, allowing the audience to experience a Shakespeare-in-the-round illusion; the walls should be covered in neo-Shakesperean artwork; and either the setting should be scaled up or the costumes scaled down. That being said, the costumes are beautiful and lavish, and certain actors seem startlingly comfortable in them, including Olivia Nice ’14 as a radiant Queen Gertrude and Brad Wilson ’13 as Hamlet.

Wilson’s performance as Hamlet was completely professional — he is obviously both talented and hardworking in his craft. Wilson did an admirable job interpreting Hamlet with an original and authentic characterization without abandoning the core of the character. He communicated such an understanding of the character and the language that he was far more easily understood than many of the other actors. Wilson’s ability was most fully demonstrated in Hamlet’s most overblown monologue: the “to be or not to be” soliloquy. He approached the speech with a slow, faltering reluctance that drew the audience into the character’s angst and allowed them to hear the sorrow rather than just the oft-quoted lines.

Clearly, Wilson’s performance was the most memorable and impressive, but the supporting cast delivered several strong performances as well. J.T. Glaze ’13 plays a satisfyingly greasy King Claudius and Holly Linneman ’13 imbues the passive Ophelia with a surprisingly assertive attitude. Spencer Gaffney ’12’s Polonius is buffoonish and adorable and so believably blustery that I almost feel I know what Gaffney will be like as a grandfather. His humorous long-windedness was sorely missed in the second act.

The second act fared less favorably than the first. The comedic and creative aspects that were so passionately carried out in the first act — such as Hamlet’s enjoyable interactions with Polonius or the genuinely chilling ghost scene — were either absent or less impactful in the second act. In particular, the interaction between Hamlet and Gertrude immediately following Polonius’ death employed an unexpected amount of black humor that interfered with previous character development and forced uncomfortable chuckles out of the crowd rather than true laughter.

Perhaps this second-act malaise is inevitable in a three-hour play, and perhaps the inconsistent presentation was entirely unavoidable given the available resources, but, either way, they distracted from an otherwise solid performance. Overall, this iteration of Hamlet should be appreciated for its Hamlet, who truly carries the show.

Pros: Fantastic performances; great first half.