Hamlet, In Central Park

[YouBetcha'Berry]

I scored some last minutes tics from a friend to see Hamlet in Central Park last night.

This is one of those NY things I have always wanted to do but never got around to it.

I was in awe of it all, the trees, the smells, the birds flying around making noise, helicopters flying overhead, the whole scene before the actually play was pretty magnificent. The fear of pouring rain never far and the sound of the wind brushing up against the leaves in the trees contributed to an edginess...  As if Hamlet needed an edginess.
The pre-play Rocked.

I hadn't watched a live Shakespearean play before. They played it with a kind of contemporary twist which I liked and I loved the diverse casting and costumes . I thought that was pretty amazing. It was pretty cool to recognize some of the actors from Law and Order and 6 Feet Under.  The Redhead from 6 Feet Under played Ofelia and she was fun to watch and much more compelling then the HBO characters she plays. She has skills.

But they all have skills, each and everyone of the actors had me in their grip. I watched, I believed, I feed into the drama and insanity and I recognized aspects of my own craziness on stage familiar but very different. There nothing like watching a play to remind yourself that you have to lighten up. Free psychoanalytical therapy is the way to go.

The sound and light and special effects, for those of you that are into that, were cool and worked perfectly but they paled by comparison to the acting which is where the magic is.

The wife and I had to leave at the intermission. It was getting late and we had to return to Rock but the 1st half was just great.

If you haven't ever done Shakespeare in the Park you should. I just happen to get lucky with the tics, But the play is def. worth waiting on line for.
 

   

[uptown]

Apparently this show got panned by the critics, which surprised me.  Some of the actors were just ok, but I thought Hamlet himself was great.  And my friend is playing the fiddle--actually, some of you will remember her from one of Mario's St. Paddy parties.
And yes, I agree, the audio is great, and it's so fun to be outside on a nice night.  The night I went there were racoons wandering around right behind the stage in plain view.

[YouBetcha'Berry]

Btw way, yes Hamlet was really good but to me that's a given for anyone taking that part. The namesake and all.

I knew tha.t was ur friend. I remembered her. SS had doubts but I was sure of it.

Good show.

[uptown]

yep-- i was there with another friend and in the last scene he pointed her out as one of the soldiers--dressed in a jumpsuit with a big gun, which is really funny if you've met her.