A Review by Robert Jowaiszas
Nyack, New York – Elmwood Playhouse is celebrating 80 years of community theater, and its production of I Hate Hamlet shows that the Nyack theater still knows how to create a little magic on an intimate stage.
Written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Kathleen Mahan, I Hate Hamlet is a hilarious comedy with a ghostly dose of theatrical magic.
TV star Andrew Rally has come to New York to play Hamlet in Central Park. He moves into an apartment once inhabited, and now haunted, by legendary Broadway actor John Barrymore. What follows is a funny battle over fame, romance, ambition and art, with Barrymore trying to convince Andrew that Hamlet is a role he was born to play.
Andrew is torn between the comfortable world of television and the challenge of taking on Shakespeare, while Barrymore tries to convince him that playing Hamlet could change his life. Along the way, romance, career ambitions and the ghost of one of Broadway’s legendary actors collide.
At the center of the production are Christian Frahme as Andrew Rally and Jason Summers as John Barrymore, and the dynamic between them is a big part of what makes the show work.
Frahme plays an actor frustrated with his career and trying to figure out what comes next. Interestingly, there is a real-life parallel between Christian and Andrew. Christian had most of his acting experience on screen after graduating from the SUNY Purchase Film Conservatory. Now, after 13 years away from acting, he is making his stage debut.
After the show, Christian lightheartedly told me he had been looking at casting calls in Rockland County when he saw they were looking for “a frustrated actor in his mid-30s who’s staring down the barrel of a career change.”
“I know that guy!”
After two rounds of auditions, Christian got the call.
That real-life connection gives Frahme’s Andrew an extra dimension. You can see the uncertainty in him, but you can also see an actor gradually getting pulled back into the excitement of performing. There is something fitting about watching someone making his stage debut play a character who is trying to rediscover what acting means to him.
And then there’s Jason Summers as Barrymore, and, my God, this guy is Barrymore.
Summers is an Elmwood veteran, and he brings that experience to John Barrymore, the legendary actor whose ghost returns to his former apartment. Barrymore is witty, flamboyant, romantic and completely convinced that Andrew needs to play Hamlet.
Summers makes Barrymore larger than life, but he never turns him into a caricature or lets the character become overwhelming. He owns the room without taking the entire production away from everyone else. You can actually see the other actors drawing energy from Barrymore’s presence, and each actor takes that energy and adds something of their own to the scenes.
Tina D’Amato brings confidence and elegance to Lillian, Andrew’s experienced agent, while Siobhán Noonan gives Deirdre, Andrew’s girlfriend, a sweet, romantic quality with an almost Ophelia-like innocence.
Allison Costello has fun with Felicia, the forceful real-estate agent who brings plenty of energy and comedy to the room. John de Guzmán gives Gary, the fast-talking Hollywood dealmaker, sharp comic timing and represents the very different world of television and money.
The chemistry among the cast is helped by the world created around them. Bill Mentz’s set puts us right inside Barrymore’s apartment, making the audience feel as though we have been invited into this strange little world. The lighting by Deanna Koski and costumes by Janet Fenton add to the atmosphere, while the props and technical work keep the action moving without calling attention away from the actors.
Producer Ayn Lauren told me she loved the cast and the chemistry they developed. When Christian came into the production, she said, “When Christian came in, we knew we had Andrew.”
She described the cast as wonderful and said the rapport they have is something special.
Lauren also sees the play as something audiences can simply sit back and enjoy.
“This isn’t a life-changing or overly serious piece of theater. It’s something light. We need something to laugh at, enjoy and not think too much about.”
Director Kathleen Mahan sees another layer. For her, the play is about “romance and the magical aspect, the whole atmosphere of enchantment.” She also sees it as being about art, with the characters sharing similarities with those in Hamlet.
Elmwood’s intimate stage is the perfect place for those ideas to come together.
You don’t feel like you’re watching Barrymore’s apartment from far away. The actors are right there, close enough that the audience becomes part of the room. You hear the laughter around you and feel the reactions as the scenes unfold.
One audience member called the show “entertaining,” particularly praising its “theatrical flair.” She especially enjoyed the sword-fighting scenes and said Barrymore’s eccentric character added to the show.
Another audience member simply called it “hilarious” and said they wanted to see it again.
For me, sitting there in Elmwood’s intimate theater, I Hate Hamlet brought together the romance, the comedy, the Shakespeare and that little bit of theatrical magic that makes you forget about everything outside the theater for a couple of hours.
By the end, the audience rose to its feet.
That standing ovation felt right.
After 80 years, Elmwood Playhouse still knows what an intimate theater can do.
More information about Elmwood Playhouse, upcoming performances, tickets and other productions is available through the Elmwood Playhouse website.