Tuesday, September 9, 2008

By Mark-Brian Sonna of MBS Productions

Do you hate Hamlet? Love it? Or have never seen it? It doesn’t matter because Labyrinth Theatre is presenting a guffaw inducing production of Paul Rudnick’s play I Hate Hamlet.

Andrew is a TV actor who finds himself cast as the lead in Hamlet for New York City’s Shakespeare in the Park. He is also moving in to John Barrymore’s old home while he stays in NYC. His girlfriend is practicing abstinence, his LA friend thinks stage acting is a waste of time, his realtor is a loon, his agent is pushy, and the ghost of John Barrymore begins to haunt him. To make matters worse he realizes he hates the play Hamlet but is stuck having to play the seminal role.

The cast of this uproarious comedy is a very talented bunch. Here is a gathering of some of the best actors in town on one stage. Little goes wrong in this wonderful production.

Joel McDonald as Andrew, the actor who doesn’t want to act, gives a wonderful nuanced performance. He is the "straight man" for all the comedic shenanigans on stage. Watching him slowly and progressively stress out as he realizes he’s going to flop on stage brings a delight to the audience. We’d like him to succeed, but down deep inside we know better and look forward to his failure and how he will cope with it. The wonderful twist at the end, which coincides with his re-enacting a soliloquy from the play, gives this silly comedy a level of truth that exalts the play above the level of pure entertainment. No, I haven’t spoiled it for you, more happens after that, you just have to go see it. Joel’s performance is pure gold.

Felicia, the loony realtor, is played with much gusto by Phyllis Cicero. Watching Phyllis on stage is like enjoying a triple scoop of ice cream, she’s that good. Juli Erickson as Lillian, the agent, is a stitch the moment she walks on the stage. She so completely embodies her character that it’s almost hard to take ones eyes off of her. Jeff Swearingen as Gary, Andrew’s friend, is, as expected, marvelous. I’m constantly amazed by Jeff’s versatility in his acting. I’ve given this man so many accolades this year in all the various plays he’s done, I’m sure he’s beginning to think I’ve developed a crush on him or even worse, that I’m stalking him. I assure you Mr. Swearingen, I’m not, you simply are a force to reckon with on a stage, and a wonder to behold. Anastasia Munoz plays the role of Deidre, the girlfriend. Unfortunately, her character isn’t as strong as the rest, but this is more due to the script. In the second act her character is a little more developed and Ms. Munoz delivered the goods.

The actor that entranced me from the moment he stepped on the stage is Miles Brennan as John Barrymore. No, he really doesn’t look like John Barrymore, but he captures the spirit of the know it all, have been there before, and I’m too good for my own sake feel of the character. His delivery is droll and should be studied by actors who want to master this style of deadpan comedy. Miles has perfect comic timing; he even made the lines that really aren’t that funny seem brilliant with his astute delivery. His performance ranks as one of the best things I’ve seen on stage this year.

The set itself was comical. The Labyrinth Theatre is located in a church. This normally would work against the set, but in this case the odd architecture enhanced the bizarre and exotic quality required for Barrymore’s apartment. Because of the space, lighting effects are kept to a minimum, but they were able to work some magic with their limited technical resources. The costuming was spot on, too.

Stephanie Wulfe Epstein deserves credit for pulling together such a strong team, and herself displaying a talent by making her direction unobtrusive and allowing the zaniness of the plot to flow.

I must also mention the fight choreography by Joel McDonald for it was brilliant! The sword play was done right: it was intoxicating, exciting, and flawlessly executed. More theatres should come see this show so as to learn the proper way to do a sword fight, too often its so obviously choreographed you can count the time moves: 1, 2, 3, clang, 5, 6,7, clang!.

A small quibble that hopefully will get fixed as the run progresses: the energy level. Frequently, the energy problem in the play is because its too low. Curiously enough, in this production it was too high for the first part of Act 1. It may have been the opening night jitters, but the cast during the first 15 minutes or so hit their characters too hard, it nearly fell into overacting. Once the plot got going and Barrymore appeared everyone settled down.

I cannot emphasize how much I enjoyed this play. It’s nice seeing a show that makes you laugh so resoundingly, even after the show, on my long drive back home. Thank you, Labyrinth, for giving me two hours of unadulterated joy.

I Hate Hamlet runs through September 27 and you can purchase tickets online or by calling 972-231-1012.

RITA FAYE SMITH - PARK CITIES PEOPLE

   Labyrinth Theatre opened a very funny production of Paul Rudnick's farce, I Hate Hamlet.  Inspired by an ad the playwright answered in a New York Times real estate section to lease a "medieval duplex" once occupied by John Barrymore, Rudnick let his imagination run wild.
     As the play opens realtor Felicia Dantine (Phyllis Cicero) enters the apartment with the new tenant, Andrew Rally (Joel McDonald),  who plays the lead doctor in a TV series.  Felicia is gushing all over the place about how this is the perfect apartment for Andrew; while he is having serious second thoughts.  It seems that Felicia, in her zeal,  has misrepresented the accommodation to Andrew, and he has taken the apartment sight unseen.  Just as Felicia is trying dramatically to convince Andrew: "I want you to be happy!  You belong here," his girlfriend, Deirdre (Anastasia Munoz) arrives.  The starstruck Deirdre is emoting all over the place about just being in the space of "his walls, his floor, the staircase to his roof, and the air he breathed."
     Within minutes Andrew's agent, Lillian (Juli Erickson) arrives.  She is a German woman of a certain age who once had a dalliance with Barrymore in the '40s.  Lillian has managed to get Andrew an audition, and ultimately the lead, in Hamlet at the New York Shakespeare Festival .
     The flaky Deirdre hears a church bell in the distance and shrieks: "Oh my God.  Just like in Hamlet.  Right before the ghost of Hamlet's father appears."  Deirdre thinks this is an omen that Barrymore is trying to contact them.  It just so happens that Felicia is a psychic, and a seance ensues.  And that is when the action really gets going.  Adding to all the hi-jinks is the fact that Deirdre, at age twenty-nine is a virgin and is not about to relent until "the time is right" which Andrew is beginning to believe is never.
      Also thrown into this zany mix is Gary Peter Lefkowitz (Jeff Swearingen), Andrew's hip, tres chic best bud from L.A., who has gotten a network commitment for Andrew for a pilot and five episodes on a new TV show at a salary of 3M.  Gary's obliviousness to live theatre leads to some riotous dialogue.
     Of course this cast would not be complete without John Barrymore in the earthly form of Miles Brennan, who plays Barrymore to the hilt, sword and all.
      I Hate Hamlet is replete with insider theatrical jokes.  Among them is a protracted scene in which Andrew is doing his warm-up exercises, a staple of every actor's repertoire, and throwing in a spoof on The Method (the technique employed at the time by the famous Group Theatre in New York.)  The one-liners abound, as when Deirdre asks Andrew: "Do you think Hamlet slept with Ophelia?" and Barrymore (who is invisible to all but Andrew in this scene) replies: "Only in the Chicago company."  Another inside quip comes as Gary says:  "Are you in trouble, Andrew" to which Andrew replies: "You guessed it; Joe Papp (Founder of the New York Shakepeare Festival) has my parents."
     The cast is uniformly talented with McDonald carrying the lion's share of the play.  Munoz, a relative newcomer to the Dallas theatre scene, turned in a very good performance, and Dallas audiences will, no doubt, see more of her in the future.  Cicero, as always, has a finely honed comic flair which she utilized to its fullest.
     Ably directed by Stephanie Wulfe Epstein this show also had some of Labyrinth's best set design (Kevin Ash and David Piper) and costume design (Deborah Gerard) to date.  Labyrinth seems to be paying more attention to the technical aspects of this production than to those in years past, and it shows.
     Continues through September 27.  For tickets call: 972-231-1012.   www.thelabyrinththeatre.org  Arapaho United Methodist Church at NE corner of Coit and Arapaho in Richardson.  Entrance on Arapaho.

Submitted by Rita Faye Smith