Thursday, June 30, 2016

SHAKESPEARE ON THE SOUND DEALS WITH PRINCELY PROBLEMS




When the honorable and loyal son Hamlet returns to Denmark, he discovers, to his great dismay, that his father has been murdered and his mother, the Queen, has remarried his uncle, all in the space of two short months. Already suspicious, the strange appearance of a ghost or apparition of his father (Justin Cunningham) only strengthens his resolve that his uncle, the newly anointed monarch, is guilty of this grievous transgression and Hamlet must seek revenge.

To enter the bewilderingly tragic world of the hero Hamlet, bring blankets and chairs and a picnic to Shakespeare on the Sound's probing production of surely the Bard's most revealing tragedy until Sunday, July 3 at Pinkney Park in Rowayton, evenings at 7:30 p.m. Sitting under the stars by the river is a glorious way to experience Shakespeare, especially with the wonderfully nuanced Joey Santia as the suspicious son set on revenging his parent and unmasking his uncle (John Pasha) and his mother (Simone Moore) and their guilt.

With his trusty friend Horatio (James Hesse) ever at his side, Hamlet feigns a cloak of madness, causing his lady love Ophelia (Haley Robinson), her brother Laertes (Alexander Shaw) and their father Polonius (Wynn Harmon) to question his actions.  Hamlet determines "the play's the thing by which I'll catch the conscience of the King" and he hires a troupe of passing actors to trick the king into revealing his sins.

When Hamlet confronts his mother for remarrying with “wicked speed,” he sets off a tumbling turn of troubles. How can he as a devoted son let his father’s poisoning go unavenged? The crown and queen have been unnaturally stolen and it falls to Hamlet to balance the scales.  Hamlet accidentally slays Polonius, mistaking him for the traitorous King, and the tragedy only deepens. This stirring drama is directed by Claire Shannon Kelly who sets the action in the 1950's with a definitely jazzy tone.

Come out and enjoy the summer breezes as this high drama unfolds right before your astonishing eyes.

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