Rogue and peasant slave? Try petulant teenager. Jeffrey Carlson’s take on the title character of Shakespeare Theater’s production of Hamlet, is much more a pouting, stubborn young man rather than a noble, conflicted individual.
At first, Carlson’s Hamlet seems a bit affected. He’s constantly sniffing, as if a coke addict, and it seems for awhile that his steady whining will be too much to handle for the entirety of a three-hour production. But his portrayal becomes more nuanced as the work progresses; his manic mood swings and moments of sly self-awareness are interesting to watch. It’s a portrayal lacking in gravitas, but a legitimate take nonetheless.
Gravitas is something frequently lacking in this production, a sleek, modernized take on the play. Michael Kahn’s production injects a surprising amount of humor into the tale, using modernized touches like iPods and tape records to amusing rather than hackneyed effect. But the work as a whole lacks the power one would expect from seeing such a great work. Hamlet’s father’s ghost is less than chilling; Michelle Beck is never fully pitiable during Ophelia’s descent into madness. The actors speed through their lines, and soliloquies as a result often fail to grab you.
Still, seeing Hamlet is seeing Hamlet, and the production has much to recommend it. Though he may not mesmerize as Hamlet’s father, Ted van Griethusysen commands the stage as the leader of the players who perform at Elsinore, and makes for an appropriately hilarious gravedigger. J. Clint Allen and David L. Townsend’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are given the winking Stoppard treatment, and their scenes with Hamlet, which could be forgettable or frustrating, here are full of energy. The set is cool and sexy — dangling trees and crashing lightning do a nice job setting the initial mood; a catwalk across the top of the stage provides some opportunities, such as Hamlet jarringly dropping his schoolbooks from above, breaking up the wedding celebration of his mother and uncle.
Perhaps we’ve become spoiled by all the great Shakespeare we’ve seen during the Shakespeare in Washington festival. But while this Hamlet is frequently intriguing and smart, it rarely engrosses.
Hamlet runs through July 29 at Shakespeare Theater. Tickets are available online.
