More Theater Monday - Alt Hamlet

We were given complimentary tickets to Alt Hamlet for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What: Alt Hamlet

Where: The Players Theatre             

             115 MacDougal

              New York, NY

Who: Recommended for Ages 18 and Up

When: Through September 24, 2005

Alt Hamlet is a modern feminist take on Hamlet. In this version, the Hamlet character is represented by a pair of daughters and it is their mother who has been killed by their father and their aunt. A lot of the characters seem to be mad like Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet and a lot of characters die, but that is where the resemblance between the two shows ends. Other than that the connection between the two shows seems very thin.

The playwright does seem to have some important things to say here about cancel culture and the way women are treated in society, especially in a society in which they don't even have control of their own bodies (all of the women are pregnant in the show). However, a lot of its message gets lost in the strangeness and confusion of the story.  The show is billed as a comedy, but most of it doesn't really seem all that funny. In fact, the audience at the performance which we attended was mostly very quiet. I had the feeling that some of them probably would have walked out if it wasn't one of those theaters where you pretty much had to walk across the stage to leave the theater. 

Nevertheless, the actors' total commitment to the story and their characters was admirable. It was quite annoying the way a few of them seemed to shout all their lines, however. That seemed unnecessary in such a small theater, and surely, there were ways they could have gotten across their character's emotions without actually shouting. All in all, although this was a show with a lot to say perhaps this play was not necessarily the best way to say it.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.

Photo credits:

All Alt Hamlet production photos by Find the Light

Images used in this post have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and/or  PR firms.
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