THEATER REVIEW ‘HAMLET’ : A Princely Staging : California Shakespeare Company puts on a solid ensemble production that is three hours of pleasure.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. The King is dead, perhaps murdered. The old ruler’s corpse hasn’t even cooled off, and his widow, Gertrude, has married Claudius, the King’s brother. Prince Hamlet suspects the worst of his new stepfather and is peeved that Mom isn’t showing more respect for her late husband. If that isn’t enough, soldiers on the night watch are reporting sightings of a ghost roaming among the battlements.

Thus begins what’s generally regarded as the greatest play in the history of English-language drama, in production through Feb. 29 by the California Shakespeare Company.

Nothing if not ambitious, the company--under the direction of William H. Fisher--attempted and delivered a solid “Romeo and Juliet” last fall, and “Hamlet” is a worthy successor.

Like the company’s earlier productions, the play is being presented in a small warehouse in a commercial section of Moorpark, a couple of blocks from the city’s better-known Magnificent Moorpark Melodrama & Vaudeville Company. With minimal sets and fewer than 40 seats, the setting allows an audience to concentrate on the words and the action.

There’s an old joke to the effect that “Hamlet” would be an even greater play if the script wasn’t so riddled with cliches--”the play’s the thing,” “good night, sweet prince,” “. . . in my mind’s eye,” etc. Well, you can add another, more contemporary, cliche to the list as the prince of Denmark tells his sweetheart, Ophelia, “I loved you--not!”

Has Hamlet spent too much time watching “Wayne’s World” on “Saturday Night Live”? Is he trying to put a Kevin Costner-like, medieval surfer interpretation on his dialogue? Or is Hamlet as deranged as he’d like the royal family to believe?

Or does actor Darin Singleton simply give an odd spin to certain phrases, in this case using the joke reading rather than the simpler “I loved you not”?

A couple of other instances during opening night’s performance suggest the last option, which is to take little if anything from Singleton’s overall performance. One of the longest and best-known roles in the theater, Hamlet is perhaps the character most subject to individual interpretation. Singleton’s Hamlet isn’t the melancholy, brooding Prince we may be used to. He’s angry. And loud.

Singleton’s interpretation is valid enough, and its relative lack of subtlety may work to the advantage of those new to “Hamlet,” who might find an introspective prince more difficult to follow.

Particularly strong supporting performances are turned in by Alan Lee as Hamlet’s friend, Horatio, and Mark Reyes as King Claudius.

Terry Fishman takes two great comic roles, playing Polonious less broadly than many and, as the Gravedigger, more than holding his own in a punning, verbal joust with Hamlet.

Steven Fiorillo and Jeff Wallach supply many of the production’s laughs as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, indistinguishable to just about everybody.

This is an ensemble cast in the best sense of the word. The play’s three hours or so often seem to be galloping by.

A sad note: This may be the California Shakespeare Company’s final production in Moorpark; Fisher has already found a new location in Agoura.

* WHERE AND WHEN

“Hamlet” continues Thursday through Sunday nights through Feb. 29 at the California Shakespeare Company Theater, 111B Poindexter Ave., Moorpark. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 5 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $10, or $8.50 for seniors and students, and must be reserved in advance due to the theater’s small seating capacity. For reservations or further information, call 523-7642.