If you enjoy
live theatre, you have a chance to see a master craftsman on stage with Murphys
Creek Theatre.
Don Bilotti, former
artistic director at Stage 3 and teacher of theatre for Columbia College, heads
a talented cast in a production of the comedy, “I Hate Hamlet."
The show
takes a humorous look at the conflict between people who avoid Shakespeare in
favor of more contemporary entertainment and those who consider Shakespeare the
pinnacle of the arts. A young TV star,
Andrew, goes to New York when his series is canceled, and his first (and only)
job offer is to do “Hamlet” outdoors in Central Park.
Anthony
DiGregorio fits the conflicted young star, who gets sage advice from a veteran
Hamlet, John Barrymore, in whose apartment Andrew is staying. Okay, so Barrymore is long dead, and it’s
really his ghost who comes to the rescue. This is Bilotti, and he fills the
stage with the sweeping, swash-buckling style of acting that recalls silent
film stars. But don’t get me wrong; Bilotti makes Barrymore very human, dead
though he may be.
I don’t mean
to slight the other actors, for this would not be the satisfying production it
is without a cast of a caliber to match Bilotti. I just think the play and the
Barrymore role that playwright Paul Rudnick created demands an over-the-top
performance where over-the-top is a good thing, and Bilotti delivers.
See “I Hate
Hamlet” weekends through August 31 at Black Bart Playhouse in Murphys. Call
209-728-8422 for tickets or go to www.murphyscreektheatre.org.