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Hamlet

adapted by Charles Marowtiz
review by Brad Rosenstein in SF Bay Guardian February 24, 1999

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Hamlet Exit Stage Left, 156 Eddy; 673-3847. $10-14.
Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Sat/27. The play to end all plays gets a
Cuisinart treatment from Charles Marowitz, whose '60s
adaptation fractures Shakespeare's story, characters, and
dialogue to give us an absurdist glimpse into the mind of the
melancholy Dane. It's hardly a new approach, and although
Marowitz creates some striking juxtapositions of oft-quoted
lines springing up in new contexts, director Jonathan
Gonzales seldom takes his finger off the fast-forward button
long enough for those moments to breathe. The large cast is
uneven, with many following Kurt Kroesche's lead as Hamlet
and holding their characters at a mocking distance. But Cat
Schaulis-Thompson manages to override the posturing with
her funny, tender, and self-aware Ophelia, and Roberto
Robinson is a riveting, mellifluous Fortinbras. There's
abundant intelligence and energy at work in this production,
but Marowitz stumbles in endeavoring to pack the whole story
into 90 minutes, and Gonzales's relentlessly ironic texture
keeps things intellectually hot but emotionally chilly.
(Rosenstein)

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