Theater Review : ‘Hamlet’ Puts Power Into Play

To do “Hamlet,” or not to do “Hamlet.” Whether you have anything fresh to say is the question.

The San Diego Repertory Theatre does. In the hands of director Todd Salovey, Shakespeare’s most poetic, anguished and complex play has a lot to say about power--who has it, who doesn’t--and how hard it is to see justice served.

CIA-like figures in shades, suits and trench coats eye the audience chillingly before the play begins. The murder of Hamlet’s father by his politically adept uncle is presented as a coup d’etat complete with cover-up. Hamlet, like the father in the 1982 Constantin Costa-Gavras film “Missing,” is up against a government-wide conspiracy.

All of which gives this production--which plays through Sunday at the Lyceum Stage at the Horton Plaza shopping center--an illuminating approach to Hamlet’s character.

Hamlet’s famous hesitation makes sense here. This cover-up is so large that at first it defies belief. When Hamlet finally does believe, he feels overwhelmed. By the time he gathers up his resolve, he is doomed as an enemy of the state.

Of course, without the right Hamlet, vision and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee. And here again, the Rep offers up a surprise that works. The remarkably talented Jefferson Mays, an Obie winner, gives a decidedly different but winning performance. The small and wiry actor does not attempt a noble, larger-than-life Hamlet. In his edgy interpretation, Hamlet is an Everyman, a little guy, caught in a web where he is tormented and tortured by forces beyond his control.

The smallness of his stature makes his final resolve to act all the more a triumph--even though it comes too late.

The production is not perfect. Perhaps to keep this lengthy play down to three hours, actors rush through the dialogue, particularly in the opening scenes when it is so crucial to set the mood.

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Also, given this interpretation, there could have been more of an edge to Felton Perry’s Polonius and Shanesia Davis’ lovely Ophelia. Instead of the usual old windbag, this Polonius could have been more of a fox, in on the conspiracy, committed to plugging up little leaks like the Queen’s son.

Ophelia could have been tormented by her impossible position of loyalty to her father and love for Hamlet. She could have realized herself as the bait to buy his silence. One can almost see it, hanging over Hamlet’s head like an unspoken promise: Marry her, as the Queen married Claudius, pretend nothing has happened, and we’ll take care of your right to succession.

The other interpretations are right on the mark. Douglas Jacobs, the company’s artistic director, plays Claudius as an arrogantly adept general or chairman of the board type. His real-life wife, actress Darla Cash, offers up a smoothly smiling Gertrude, fashionably dressed and coiffed by Mary Larson, as the ultimate plastic, political wife.

Amy Shock’s minimal, metallic sets open up the stage in a way that makes Hamlet seem all the more overpowered, while John Philip Martin’s smoky lighting suggests a fog of deceit. With the quirky exception of Hamlet’s backward baseball cap, Larson’s handsome costumes help convey a sense of power.

And the emphasis on power is ultimately what makes this “Hamlet” resonate with fresh insights. The San Diego Rep’s contemporary interpretation brushes the cobwebs from a sometimes arcane plot and so brings the rottenness of Denmark disturbingly close to home.

* “Hamlet,” San Diego Repertory Theatre, Lyceum Stage, 79 Horton Plaza, San Diego. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. Ends Sunday . $19-$25 with discounts for students, seniors, military, groups. (619) 235-8025. Running time: 3 hours.

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Michael Behrens: Rosencrantz

Darla Cash: Gertrude

Linda Castro: First Player/Lucianus/Osrick

Beth Custer: Musician/Player/Prologue

Shanesia Davis: Ophelia/Fortinbras

Matthew Henerson: Horatio

Dana Hooley: Player Queen/Voltemand

Douglas Jacobs: Claudius

Antonio T.J. Johnson: Barnardo/Reynaldo/Priest

Jefferson Mays: Hamlet

Catalina Maynard: Marcella/Player King/Messenger

Felton Perry: Polonius, Francisco/Second Gravedigger

Kevin White: Laertes/Guildenstern

Sam Woodhouse: Ghost/First Gravedigger/Captain

A San Diego Repertory Theatre production of a tragedy by William Shakespeare, directed by Todd Salovey. Composer: Beth Custer. Sets: Amy Shock. Costumes: Mary Larson. Lights: John Philip Martin. Sound: Debby Van Poucke. Fight director: Christopher Villa. Stage manager: Susan A. Virgilio.