To Be or Not To Be

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the title character tackles weighty issues of grief, betrayal and revenge. In Paul Rudnick’s comedy I Hate Hamlet, a television actor faces the marginally lighter problem of playing the part onstage. Cast as the lead in a Shakespeare in the Park production in New York, Andrew Rally worries whether he can fill the big shoes of the Danish prince, a role relished by thespians throughout the ages. Cue the ghost of one such player, the famous John Barrymore. Sensing trouble, he rises from the grave — in tights — to rouse Rally to action.

I Hate Hamlet opens at the Community Players in Pawtucket, running from January 18-27. And, after a hit Hamlet at the Gamm Theatre in 2011 and the creative Leigh and Melissa Present: Hamlette! at 95 Empire in 2012, local audiences can expect another royal treat. Director Eric Barbato notes, “The play offers something for everyone: a ghost, a few special effects, romance, extremely smart dialogue and a twist or two that will surprise and delight. The pace is quick and the laughs keep coming.”

Playwright Rudnick’s inspiration for I Hate Hamlet struck in ’87, when he moved into Barrymore’s old Washington Square Park apartment. The actor had lived there some 70 years prior, around the time of his own acclaimed turn as Hamlet. The play takes place in the modern-day apartment, where the fictional Andrew Rally’s ambivalence about performing summons larger-than-life Barrymore. Upon seeing him, Rally sputters in disbelief, “You’re... dead.” Barrymore replies, “You know, occasionally I’m not truly certain. Am I dead? Or just incredibly drunk?”

Handsome John Barrymore, grandfather to movie star Drew Barrymore, brought tremendous talent to the stage and screen until his death in ‘42. But a ruinous reputation of drinking, womanizing and carousing accompanied him. As depicted in I Hate Hamlet, his character is a devilish rake and a raging egomaniac — with a heart of gold. He struts in Elizabethan garb and earnestly attempts to improve Rally’s acting skills, insisting, “I do not overact. I simply possess the emotional resources of ten men. I am not a ham; I’m a crowd!”

When I Hate Hamlet premiered on Broadway in ‘91, the volatile actor playing the volatile Barrymore exhibited increasingly bad behavior himself. In a witty New Yorker essay entitled “I Hit Hamlet”, Rudnick later recalled of Nicol Williamson, “His complaint was essentially that he was being asked to appear onstage with other people.” Williamson ended up whacking his co-star Evan Handler with a sword in the middle of a performance, prompting the latter to storm offstage and quit the show. Thankfully, at least as of press time, no such problems plague the Community Players’ cast and crew. Director Barbato reports, “I can’t say enough about how hard they work or how committed they are to putting on the best production possible.”

The Community Players’ Ross Gavlin plays Andrew Rally, the actor debating whether “to be or not to be” Hamlet. He knows the part would impress his virginal girlfriend Deirdre (Christine Lariviere) and excite his agent Lillian (Susan Staniunas). Even his realtor (Erika June Pastel) wants him to do it. But he’s just not sure if he has the chops. Further discouragement, along with the temptation of television work, arrive in the form of his L.A. pal Gary Peter Lefkowitz (John Joseph Gomes). And, of course, Rally must contend with the powerful, supernatural presence of Barrymore (C. Richard Koster, Jr.). As Barrymore points out, “You are Hamlet. A study in frustration. Thwarted action.” 

I Hate Hamlet is a lighthearted romp about the unlikely friendship between a contemporary actor and a star of yesteryear. It leaves the tragic side of Hamlet’s story in Shakespeare’s capable hands (and the tale of Barrymore’s downward spiral to history), humorously exploring themes like facing fears and finding self-confidence. “It’s about theatre and romance and what it means to be a success or a failure,” Greg Geer, the Community Players’ producer, explains. “And you don’t even need to know who John Barrymore was or anything about Shakespeare to enjoy the show (although you’ll get more of the jokes).”