Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 20, Ed. 1 Friday, September 12, 2003 Page: 44 of 68
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The greatest tragedy — twofold
Doubled-up Hamlet pokes fun at immortal Bard
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Pocket Sandwich Theatre has launched a
new educational program called "Leave No
Theatergoer Behind" — just joking. Yet the real
Hamlet surfaces now and then in the compa-
ny's hilarious Shakespeare for the Modern Man,
Lesson 2: Hamlet. And that link raises Scott A.
Eckert's script above spoof or parody or flip-
pancy. Eckert, who directed as well, obviously
understands Shakespeare. He also knows how
to get a laugh, for in his hands — to para-
phrase Horatio — "Now cracks a noble play."
Two versions of Hamlet unfold simultane-
ously. On stage right, performers try valiantly
to perform it in the traditional mode, while on
stage left a motley crew offers a contemporary
and irreverent gloss on the classic. Lack of
funds, the narrator explains, requires some
actors to work both sides. Those characters
who always keep Hamlet moving — Polonius
(Chris Hause) and Horatio (Tim Shane) — act
like real Shakespeareans and connect the dis-
connections. Hamlet's tedious college friends,
Rosencrantz (Brandon Scott) and Guildenstern
(Charles Moore), have never been so engaging,
here dancing in music hall tradition.
Dona Safran plays the real Queen Gertrude
earnestly, while Angela Wilson's modern
queen appears delightfully clueless and dis-
tracted, more worried about her own family
problems than those of the ancient Danish
royal she's portraying. In contrast, Safran pro-
vides one of the evening's genuine moments in
her stunning rendition of the speech recount-
ing Ophelia's death. Claudius gets model
treatment from Michael Roe, while Wes
Copeland transforms the current king into a
gangster. The twin Ophelias differ dramatical-
ly, the real damsel (Christine Fincanon) a
paragon of innocence, the other (Trista Wyly)
absolutely psychotic. Bob Schlueter and Jeff
Bush ably turn Laertes into the usual pompous
bore — twice.
A pair of Hamlets compete for attention, as
though the play were not complicated enough
in a straightforward staging. Matt Halteman's
official Hamlet and Tim Demsky's up-to-date
Prince of Denmark play off each other effec-
tively. This approach works especially well
when Halteman launches his "To be or not to
be" number, and Demsky interrupts to trans-
late for the modem ear. He explains what your
high school English teacher never told you:
that Hamlet is simply wondering why we
endure so much crap in life. Also acting as nar-
rator and lecturer and at times resembling a
rock star, Demsky shines. But so does everyone
in the 16-member cast.
Jane Goodman's imaginative costuming
embellishes and helps to clarify what's going
on. She dresses the corresponding characters
in Elizabethan and modern costumes that are
Fresh Princes of Denmark: Matt
Halteman, left, and Tim Demsky vie
for attention, each playing Hamlet.
tied together by similar fabrics and colors.
Borrowing a line from good Queen
Gertrude, then changing one word, sums up
this rehabilitated Hamlet: "One woe [substitute
"laugh"] doth tread upon another's heel,/ So
fast they follow." T
Pocket Sandwich Theatre, 5400 E.
Mockingbird. Through Sept. 27. Thu.-Sat. at 8 p.m.
Sun. at 7 p.m. $6-$14. 214-821-1860.
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44
SEPTEMBER 12, 2003 DALLAS VOICE
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Vercher, Dennis. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 20, Ed. 1 Friday, September 12, 2003, newspaper, September 12, 2003; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth616336/m1/44/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.