‘Fortinbras’: A Lively ‘Hamlet’ Spinoff

Lee Blessing’s “Fortinbras,” the premiere production at the Howard Fine Theatre, uses “Hamlet” (shades of Tom Stoppard) as a springboard for a bombastic, thoroughly contemporary satire.

Seconds after Hamlet’s death, the opportunistic Norwegian prince Fortinbras (Michael Watson) arrives at the Danish court to learn that the entire royal family is dead. Not to worry. The cheeky, buoyantly shallow Fortinbras is thrilled to assume power. A sort of feudal spin doctor, Fortinbras covers up the royal tragedy for his own politically expedient purposes--only to find that his falsehoods have plunged him into a shifting nether-reality populated by the recently departed royals’ restless spirits.

Deftly directed by Howard Fine, this lively, lighthearted production is--despite its intellectual pretensions--pure froth, diverting but certainly no strain on the brain. Lee Blessing attempts to illustrate the disasters that arise when a society’s moral absolutes give way before the petty rationalizations of the individual, but his rambling cautionary tale is more pithy than pointed.

Thanks to Fine’s fine hand, the charming, formidably straight-faced performers sustain an ephemeral zaniness that would vanish with the slightest hint of farce.

* “Fortinbras,” Howard Fine Theatre, 7801 Melrose Ave. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Nov. 24. $20-$22.50. (213) 660-8587. Running time: 2 hours.