Meat and Wine Friends go Cultural

by Paul Lee

 

This applet displays a navigational drop down menu		May 25 - July 1, 2007 Segerstrom Stage HAMLET by William Shakespeare directed by Daniel Sullivan Dr. S.L. and Mrs. Betty Eu Huang/Huang Family Foundation and Honorary Producers Coast Magazine, Media Partner Approximately three hours, including one 15-minute intermission. Hamish Linklater (left) as Hamlet and Michael Urie (right) as Horatio in the Shakespearean classic directed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan. Photo by Henry DiRocco.     SCR’s grand season of theatre includes its first-ever production of the most famous play in the English language. Playgoers will discover it was well worth the wait when Tony® Award winner Daniel Sullivan illuminates the stage with an imaginative interpretation of this paradoxical masterpiece. While scholars through centuries have discoursed on the moods and motivations of the Prince of Denmark, the play endures because Hamlet endures — Shakespeare’s most memorable character, a man for all ages. Playwright: William Shakespeare, renowned playwright and poet, boasts a body of work that is considered the greatest in the history of English literature. Born in 1564 at Stratford-upon-Avon, in 1595 he joined Lord Chamberlain's men, an acting company that performed before the royal court. He later became part owner of London’s Globe Theatre where many of his plays would be performed. By 1611 he retired to Stratford where he died in 1616. Hamlet was written in the same time period as Macbeth and King Lear as well as Twelfth Night and the epic history play Antony and Cleopatra. He wrote a total of 38 plays – 12 of which SCR has brought to its stages, several on more than one occasion. Cast:   Brooke Bloom - Ophelia Matt D'Amico - Gentleman/Marcellus/Lord David DeSantos - Fortinbras/Cornelius/Player Queen Richard Doyle - Ghost/Doctor/Others Robert Foxworth - Claudius Linda Gehringer - Gertrude Graham Hamilton - Laertes Matthew Henerson - Voltemand/Lucianus/Others Hal Landon Jr. - Player King/Gravedigger Hamish Linklater - Hamlet Louis Lotorto - Osric/Reynaldo/Bernardo/Others Henri Lubatti - Rosencrantz/Others Jeff Marlow - Guildenstern/Others Dakin Matthews - Polonius Michael Urie - Horatio and Carrie Darrow, William Landsman, Andrew Matthews, Dillon Tucker - Ensemble Creative Team:   Ralph Funicello - Scenic Design Ilona Somogyi - Costume Design Pat Collins - Lighting Design Obadiah Eaves - Composer/Sound Design   Robin McFarquhar - Fight Director Cynthia Bassham, Philip Thompson - Vocal Coaches Armando Molina - Assistant Director Recommendation and Resources: Everyone, junior high school and above, will be compelled to join the debate, as they become captivated by the many thought-provoking ideas that make Hamlet a classic. But this is also an action-filled story — with sumptuous sets and costumes — that moves from castle battlements to graveyards, from the royal court to the high seas. (Violent actions.) USA Today - All the world's a stage for Michael Urie Los Angeles Times - Linklater, Urie make laugh tracks to the Bard's stage. The sitcom actors tread the boards as Hamlet and Horatio at South Coast Repertory. OC Register - To be, or ... you know the rest The weight of familiarity is one of many challenges facing director and star of 'Hamlet.' The District - Life is Acting. Critics say Hamlet is a perfect play, maybe even the perfect piece of art because it doesn’t just speak to us, it shapes us. So what does South Coast Repertory’s newest version say about America right now? And how will it make you different? Adobe Acrobat is required to print the program and Playgoer's Guide. Download Acrobat here. PERFORMANCE CALENDAR MAY 2007 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 20 21 22 23 11:00 am*** 24 11:00 am*** 25 8:00 pm preview 26 8:00 pm preview 27 7:30 pm preview 28 29 7:30 pm preview 30 8:00 pm preview 31 8:00 pm preview     JUNE 2007           1 8:00 pm Opening Night (Sold Out) 2 2:30 pm 8:00 pm 3 2:30 pm 7:30 pm 4 5 7:30 pm 6 8:00 pm* 7 8:00 pm Ovation Club 8 8:00 pm 9 Inside the Season 2:30 pm 8:00 pm 10 2:30 pm 7:30 pm 11 12 7:30 pm* 13 8:00 pm 14 8:00 pm 15 8:00 pm 16 2:30 pm 8:00 pm 17 2:30 pm 7:30 pm 18 19 7:30 pm 20 8:00 pm 21 8:00 pm 22 8:00 pm 23 2:30 pm 8:00 pm 24 2:30 pm 7:30 pm 25 26 7:30 pm 27 8:00 pm 28 8:00 pm 29 8:00 pm 30 2:30 pm** 8:00 pm JULY 2007 1 2:30 pm 7:30 pm 2 3 4 5 6 7 *Post-show discussion led by SCR literary staff and artists from the show. **ASL interpreted performance for the Deaf community. ***Theatre Discovery Project. For more information please call 714-708-5569. HOME • TICKETS • CONTACT US • SITE MAP Updated: July 16, 2004 ©South Coast Repertory

On June 9, Saturday, a group of meat and wine friends went to a performance of Hamlet at the South Coast Repertory.  They were guests of SL and Betty who have been strong supporters of cultural events in the Orange County.  But they have outdone themselves in taking up the role as producer for the most famous play by the Bard.

 

Sixteen of us arrived in several batches and were greeted by SL, Betty and Terence who was home after his junior year at Penn to work at a hedge fund.  We settled comfortably in our seats for the 2:30 performance and had time to read the deservedly glowing tribute to the Huang’s in the program.

 

 

“Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t” 

(Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2, 206)

 

The stage was dominated by a large bare platform where all the actions took place.  This simple arrangement is quite effective and was probably close to what they had at the Globe.  At the perimeter was a set of chairs where various actors and actresses would sit.  This was like a backstage that was put in front and was quite puzzling.  Perhaps that cut out the time between scenes by a small amount but it created some confusion.  This was particularly apparent at the opening scene where the two guards were talking with the cast surrounding them at the dim perimeter.  It was a relief that the cast was silent and it was not going to be a entirely new version of the play.

 

Claudius came out strong with excellent diction.  By contrast, Hamlet’s first utterances were disappointing.  His first line “A little more than Kin and less than Kind” was said by him sitting on the side.  The biting sarcasm was lost.  The second line “Not so, my Lord, I am too much in the Sun” should carry more mischievousness.  It would take him a long while to overcome this initial weakness.

 

The ghost scene was acted well.  One strange aspect was that the scene began with the clock at twelve and then the ghost had to depart because the cock had crowed.  Assuming that Shakespeare was accurate, we could infer that cocks at Elizabethan era crowed around one o’clock.

 

The actor that stole the scene was Polonius.  He spoke his lines with great clarity.  It imbued the language with a naturalness that was less apparent in many of the others.  He turned the character of a tedious old fool into a sympathetic, well-meaning man who was clouded in his judgment.  This made his death at the hand of Hamlet even less justified.  His murder scene was done with him at the front of the stage while Hamlet and Gertrude were seen in silhouette behind the drapery.  It was innovative and effective.   Also innovative was Hamlet presented to the king with hands bound.  The play’s dialogue did not give any suggestion that Hamlet was bound.  This bondage imposed a limit to Hamlet’s freedom of action and appeared to be at variance with the spirit of the play.

 

The five acts were merged seamlessly into two parts and there was an intermission after Act II.

 

 

 

“Now I must pause …”  (Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2, 108)

 

SL and Betty had set up a private room for us to gather during the intermission.  We were made to feel like VIP’s as we walked past the multitude into a room where drinks and fresh cookies were laid out.  Everybody was enjoying the play; some were clearly relieved that Shakespeare could be so entertaining.  The intermission was only fifteen minutes.  But that did not prevent us from finishing up the cookies.

 

 

 

“The play’s the thing”  (Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2, 642)

 

Fortified with coffee and those yummy cookies, we settled down for the second half of the play.  We were soon met with Hamlet’s greatest soliloquy.  “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”  The speech was delivered in a low-key fashion.  There could be justification not to over-emphasize this soliloquy since it was only one or many philosophical utterances from the noble prince.  However, the tempo seemed too fast.  This was also true for most of the speeches.  It is understandable to speed things up a bit since Hamlet was so long but at certain crucial junctures, some slower tempo and pauses would be nice. 

 

Shortly after this soliloquy, the ear was somewhat jarred when the prince said “Heart of hearts” when what was expected was “Heart of Heart” (Act III, Scene 2, 80).  Let us hoped that this was just a slip of the tongue rather than a concession to present day corruption.

 

The player king was very good but this created difficulty when the same actor became the gravedigger.  He could not put aside his regal bearing and became an overqualified gravedigger! 

 

The most puzzling aspect of the final scene was the appearance of the King’s ghost.  Shakespeare’s ghost only interacted with Hamlet.  The apparition of the ghost after Hamlet’s death in this performance gave it an extra level of significance, which seemed unwarranted.

 

 

 

“Too much of a good thing.”   (As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 1, 124)

 

After our minds were filled with the extravagance of Shakespearean speech, our eyes met the opulence of the Huang’s remodeled entrance way and terrace.  We practically expected a footman to come out to carry our impedimenta. 

 

The champagne and appetizers prepared us well for the stone crabs that followed.  SL tried to explain to us that June was not a good month for stone crabs but nobody believed him.  This was followed by a sumptuous dinner.  After consuming an enormous amount of food and an appropriate amount of fermented grape juice, men and women were reunited in a large dessert table and happy conversation continued till late at night. 

 

Thus ended another spectacular Huang function.

 

 

Thank you

Betty and SL Huang

and

Amy and Paul Lee

On Thursday, June 14, 2007 1:55 AM, Sean Lai wrote:

Thanks to SL and Betty for such an eventful Saturday: Intellectual discourse on Hamlet the play to post-play analysis (Thanks also to Paul Lee's interesting comments and efforts); followed by informal get-together to catch up on our friends and schoolmates, at SL's beautiful and colossal house; and yes the delicious stone crabs and dinner entree, desserts and tea etc.; and of course Maxwell's post gathering web listing of the pictures and the critique on Hamlet. These are some of our most cherished moments, now with carefree attitude towards our finances and responsibilities. Perhaps it is time to pursue deeper meanings in life than the basics of jobs and duties to our loved ones. Yet, one has to respect the finite life-span and stamina left in our advancing age. Shakespeare seemed to massage our thoughts with seeming contradictions and dilemmas, with often tragedy as the most plausible outcome.

Thank you again for this wonderful treat! 

Sean and Maria Lai

(P.S. Monica informed me that she and Tony would be returning to LA in August and not Sept?)

 

On Friday, June 15, 2007 11:27 AM, Rose Cheung wrote:

Hello Paul;  I am amazed at your knowledge and the write up about the Hamlet, Max told me that he learned a lot from you at the Huang's dinner.  How do you find time to accomplish and enjoy so much of our lives?!

We sat at the M row, kind of far up, so most of the performers on the stage looked short.  " Short" is probably the in thing to be I suppose, look at Tom Cruise, the Spiderman................, however it was less convincing to have them portray the Danish, when Lawrence Olivier had bleached his hair blonde for his role.

I agree with you about the opening, perhaps those casts should sit in a bit later to reduce audience's attention panic.  Other than that, I was quite disappointed by the opening's performance, the guards or the Horatio, I could do better.  Out of the whole play, you are so right about Polonius, he was outstanding and he stood out.

The sound effect was quite good, pleasant tune, right timing.  Perhaps our group should do more of such outings, shall we look out and organize one in the coming summer?

Cyber Rose