Broadway Critics Review Public Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Critics Respond to Starry Hamlet
Compiled by Broadway Magazine Staff
The Public Theater continued its free Shakespeare In The Park tradition with the opening of “Hamlet” starring Michael Stuhlbarg and directed by Oskar Eustis. While the criticial reception was nearly unanimously unenthusiastic for the choices and interpretations of this production of Hamlet, there were some elements that garnered universal praise. The performance of Sam Waterston as the tragic-comic-historical Polonius received significant praise by the Broadway critics, as did the puppets and puppetry used for the play-within-a-play performance. Though trimmed, the production runs over three hours, but the admission is free to all. The production runs through June 29. Samples of reviews below:
“Oskar Eustis’s Central Park revival is the most misguided “Hamlet” I have ever seen. If there existed a booby prize for consummate demolition of Shakespeare, Eustis would win it hands down.” -John Simon, Bloomberg
“As played by Michael Stuhlbarg in this Public Theater production directed by Oskar Eustis, the Prince of Denmark is flamboyant, loud, hyperkinetic, unavoidably watchable and on occasion quite entertaining, but never for an instant moving.” -Ben Brantley, New York Times
“But his interpretation is far too fussy and mannered, sometimes bordering on the bizarre. In the famed “Get thee to a nunnery” speech, he makes his point by applying what looks like the Heimlich maneuver to a stunned Ophelia.” –Clive Barnes, New York Post
“On the old side for the young student, Stuhlbarg seems less like a disturbed nobleman than John Belushi in a costume-drama parody.” -Linda Winer, Newsday
“But Stuhlbarg, ignoring his character’s tip about overacting, is also the most frenzied Hamlet I’ve ever seen. When he’s not racing around, he’s listening to the loud, gravelly sounds of his own voice, which he flaunts endlessly like a kid showing off his rackety new toy. The effect is maddening and enervating.” Joe Dziemianowicz, Daily News
“In keeping with the al fresco nature of the Delacorte, Eustis has encouraged his actors to play in a grand style. Andre Braugher’s Claudius sometimes comes across as grandiose.” -Malcolm Johnson, Hartford Courant
“The Public Theater’s new production of “Hamlet,” featuring the acting prowess of Michael Stuhlbarg as the titular character, is chockfull of admirable qualities - riveting acting, clever directing and even a few laughs.” -John Soltes, The Ledger
“The eternal debate over whether his madness is strategically feigned or genuine may rage on in Stuhlbarg’s performance, but the simpering playfulness and fussy physicality he brings to Hamlet’s soliloquies strips them of their emotional weight and robs the drama of its pathos.” -David Rooney, Variety
“…this “Hamlet,” which opened Tuesday, is a sprawling, unfocused production with no discernible point of view, either personal or political.” -Michael Kuchwara, AP
“His (Stuhlberg) is easily the busiest Hamlet I have seen, and the method in Mr. Stuhlbarg’s madness can be a bit too methodical.” -Eric Grode, New York Sun
“A terribly significant concept, a dreary leading man and a performance that lasts way over three hours reduces an outdoor staging of “Hamlet” to a butt-numbing experience.” -Michael Sommers, Star-Ledger
“Director Oskar Eustis has trimmed and rearranged segments of the text, although his most shocking and peculiar decision - a gratuitous betrayal - comes at the very end (no spoilers).” -Toby Zinman, Philadelphia Inquirer
“Stuhlbarg speaks just about every line as untrippingly as he could; saws the air so often that were there actual wood on the stage he could have stacked enough to build a log cabin…” -David Finkle, Theatremania
Tags: Hamlet, Publc Theatre, Sam Waterson, Shakespeare, Stuhlbarg
July 10th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I enjoyed your writing style and I’ve added you to my Reader. Keep these posts coming.
November 15th, 2011 at 10:53 pm
Its like you read my mind! You seem to grasp so much approximately this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I believe that you simply could do with a few p.c. to force the message house a little bit, but instead of that, this is magnificent blog. An excellent read. I’ll certainly be back.