‘Hamlet’: A focused worldview

As long as audiences exist, “Hamlet” will be playing somewhere. If William Shakespeare’s deathless tragedy isn’t his greatest work, it must be among his most popular, “Romeo and Juliet” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” notwithstanding.

The modern dress production holding court at the Court is a straightforward reading. Carl Reggiardo’s spare staging and textual realignment favor narrative thrust. Act 1 peaks with Hamlet’s advice to the players; Act 2 ends on his departure for England. Act 3 is the most revised, compressing the Claudius/Laertes treachery to underscore Ophelia’s plight and propel the denouement.

The conversational tactics yield an almost confessional intimacy. Barring some inaudible asides, the story takes top priority, courtesy of an avid, intelligent cast.

From Richard Burbage to Richard Burton and beyond, “Hamlet’s” title role has been the summit for ambitious younger actors. Jonathan Wade Drahos’ sardonic prince, first spied taking a chisel to his uncle’s unfinished bust (statuary and portraiture being the dominant motif of Bradley Reyes’ setting), displays ample charisma. Drahos is more moody than enigmatic, his specificity halting profundity. The madness is clearly feigned, and metrical nuances are still refining. Still, it’s a vivid turn, vital in the soliloquies, explosive at the climaxes.

Joseph Sanfelippo’s superb Laertes and Ian Putnam’s eloquent Horatio are incipient Hamlets waiting to happen. Other notables include Ethan Phillips’ Wallace Shawn-flavored Polonius, Raymond O’Connor’s scene-swallowing Gravedigger, and Rosemary Morgan’s feckless, fragile-voiced Ophelia. Dinah Lenney’s subtle Gertrude recalls Marian Seldes (Kitty Swink alternates in the part). At the reviewed matinee, an emergency found director Reggiardo portraying Claudius (normally played by Armin Shimerman or Tony Amendola) with calm expertise, book in hand.

Some collegiate aspects are present. The edits, pacing and visuals at times hold the mirror up not to nature but the National Forensic League (though David Palmer’s lighting and Mauricio Balvanera’s sounds are keen). Yet, as ever, in “Hamlet” the play’s the thing; its easy accessibility recommends this intriguing revival.

-- David C. Nichols

“Hamlet,” Court Theatre, 722 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 8, 2 p.m. only. Ends Feb. 8. $30-$35. (877) 234-7654 or www.uprising theatre.com. Running time: 3 hours, 15 minutes.

*

‘Bubbles’ that merely effervesce

Conceived and directed by Eva Minemar, “Angry Jellow Bubbles” attempts to tap into the feminine zeitgeist through a series of revealing monologues, somewhat in the spirit of Eve Ensler’s “Vagina Monologues.” However, whereas Ensler’s play, culled from dozens of interviews with women from all walks of life, deals specifically with sexual issues, Minemar’s piece, which incorporates autobiographical monologues from its cast members, treats subjects that range from abortion to personal grooming.

The show, which is now in a limited engagement at the Tamarind after an extensive run at the Hudson Guild, was originally produced in New York in 1999 and has gone on to play various cities and fringe festivals since then. Because its monologues are autobiographical, “Bubbles” changes substantially as new actors are brought on board. The core L.A. cast consists of eight women, including Minemar, but the number actually performing at any given time varies. The actors remain onstage throughout, punctuating the action with song, vocal “effects” and fluidly choreographed movement.

Minemar’s staging is polished and inventive, but the material itself, with certain exceptions, is sophomoric. Perhaps that’s at least partly due to the fact that these performers, though ethnically diverse, are all unvaryingly young and attractive. There’s nothing wrong with that, but when it comes to the down and dirty heft of collective life experience, these particular women are a bit too short in their nicely bleached teeth to inspire our keenest sympathy. Indeed, considering the general juvenility of the participants, a group riff about “The first time I got pregnant” seems tastelessly dismissive of the experience.

Perhaps other “Bubbles” companies incorporated a few older women. (Apparently one production even featured male actors.) However, this incarnation is not diverse enough to achieve the poignancy for which it so obviously strives. That’s not to say that the cast isn’t likable and, well, bubbly. Minemar, in particular, is a sassy, bawdy performer with a knack for comedy, while Jesse Bliss contributes a fierce rap segment that is the most original moment in the show.

-- F. Kathleen Foley

“Angry Jellow Bubbles,” the Tamarind Theater, 5919 Franklin Ave., Hollywood. Nightly, 8 p.m.; also Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. Ends Tuesday. $15. (323) 465-7980. Running time: 50 minutes.