William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is a sinister play about the revenge of the title character. In this year’s studio comedy, “I Hate Hamlet,” which was performed in the library on Tuesday, December 18 and Wednesday, December 19, the Stuyvesant Theater Community (STC) brought some humor to the subject.
“I Hate Hamlet,” written by Paul Rudnick and directed by senior Boris Jacobson and junior James Dennin, is set in New York City. The main character, Andrew (junior Robert Stevenson), is a TV actor who is to play Hamlet, said to be the hardest theatrical role, as part of the Shakespeare in the Park program.
Felicia (junior Rosie Friend), Andrew’s broker, rents him the apartment of John Barrymore (sophomore Wes Schierenbeck), now deceased though acclaimed as the best Hamlet of all time, to help him grow into the role. Andrew, however, decides not to go through with the production and must face Barrymore, who refuses to return to the dead unless Andrew does his part. Meanwhile, Andrew has to deal with his girlfriend Diedre (sophomore Clio Contegenis), who refuses to have premarital sex. In the end, despite his failure to give the performance of his life as Hamlet, Andrew follows a life of promising glory in theater.
The chemistry between him and Contegenis was fabulous. Though Contegenis was not an obvious cast choice—her performance was more reserved compared to the slapstick humor of Schierenbeck and Stevenson—she was a good addition to the cast.
Schierenbeck, who played the charismatic ghost of Barrymore, had the audience laughing the whole time. He was outrageous and over-the-top as he silently made humorous attempts to seduce characters on set. The chemistry between his Barrymore and sophomore Singha Hon’s Lillian, who had had a brief fling with Barrymore and is now Andrew’s agent, had its own distinct humor and awkward moments. Hon played a minor character but delivered her sarcastic lines well.
“I’m really impressed with how well they made use of the space,” senior Isaac Miller said. “The sword fight was excellent given they are using Power Ranger swords.”
“The hardest thing was getting people to be on task because we just mainly sat around telling the same four jokes over and over again and laughing at each other,” Contegenis said.
Said Schierenbeck, “This is the most fun I’ve ever had with a play and the most proud I’ve been of anything I’ve done.”
Though Andrew may not have given his best performance as Hamlet, the “I Hate Hamlet” cast had a lot of fun—and judging by the laughs actors received, the audience did too.