Shakespeare by the Sea’s “Hamlet” Has Plenty of Energy but Often Misses the Mark

On the surface, it may seem the most natural thing in the world for a Shakespeare company to stage Hamlet, probably the Bard’s most celebrated (and best, IMO) work. But dig a little deeper and you find what an awkward choice it is for Shakespeare by the Sea, which specializes in bringing the world’s most famous writer to the masses, including keeping the running time of each show to two hours. See, Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most complex — not to mention longest (a full version runs roughly four hours) — work, which means that Shakespeare by the Sea could never hope to come anywhere near exploiting all Hamlet has to offer.

But they probably could have come closer. Although projecting every line out to the cheap seats may be Shakespeare by the Sea’s default aesthetic, director Stephanie Coltrin has doubled down on this style in Shakespeare’s most nuanced play. The result is too often an unwaveringly intense emotional pitch. While the best Shakespearean acting imparts a sense of what’s being said even when the words are largely unfamiliar, this production is plagued by passages where the meanings are notably missing from the delivery even if you know the text backwards and forwards. 

But the actors have their moments. The “antic disposition” Hamlet puts on is right up Brendan Robert Kane’s alley (the kid don’t lack for energy), and his scenes with Rosencrantz (Trevor Guyton) and Guildenstern (Savannah Moffat) most always work. But the finest performances come from Hamlet’s would-be in-laws. Gregory Mason Dodds humanizes Polonius while simultaneously milking all the humor out of his tediousness. As Ophelia, Melissa Booey has a great energy, and she finds the sweet spot of Ophelia’s distress, particularly in her final scene. Additionally, Cylan Brown does a charming turn as the Gravedigger.

It may be a curious choice for Coltrin to have changed and even added material in a script from which so much has been cut. But considering that this is far from a purist production, personally I don’t mind the replacement of the Gravedigger’s song, and I like the original dumbshow she’s tacked on prior to Act I. But inserting a scene from the Q1 version of Hamlet is a bit more puzzling — it’s like adding a demo that the band chose not to include on the album (the “authorized” version of Hamlet is Q2 plus a bit of FF). 

This does, however, demonstrate the particularity of Contrin’s choices. For all the missed meaning under her direction, here and there she finds effective ways for the cast to communicate a few typically thrown-away bits (Hamlet and Polonius’s exchange about “the mobled queen”; “These foils have all a length?”). And Jeffrey Schoenberg’s costume design gives the play a nice look. R&G are downright natty!

Doing Shakespeare in the park is tough. Hell, doing Shakespeare, period, is tough. Shakespeare by the Sea has been holding it down for over a quarter-century now without charging a single penny for their trouble. Okay, so this isn’t a definitive Hamlet; you still might find something new here. Or you can always come out for Twelfth Night, the other show they’re doing this summer. You know it’ll be worth the price of admission.

This season’s Shakespeare by the Sea performances — for FREE, as always (donations gratefully accepted) — include the following at Point Fermin Park (807 W. Paseo Del Mar, San Pedro):

• • • Hamlet — July 7 and August 5, 8pm

• • • Twelfth Night — July 6, 8, and August 4, 8pm

For a listing of over a dozen additional performance locations (including Cesar Chavez Park in Long Beach on July 14), visit shakespearebythesea.org or call (310) 217-7596.